Sallie Joe Waters was the mother of Mary Ann Warters, a poor cousin, who came to live with the Lassiter family as they had wanted her to have a better chance than was possible in her own home. When Stephen and Mary Ann wanted to marry, his father forbade it and there was even a rumor that his father, a widower, wanted to marry Mary Ann himself. None the less, Jesse Lassiter sent his slaves thruout the county to tell all of the ministers not to marry Stephen Lassiter and Mary Ann Warters. The young couple tried to marry and returned to the family home, rather upset but determined to live together as husband and wife. It was Mary Ann's mother, Sallie Joe, who had them each lay their hands on the family Bible and pledge their undying love and devotion to each other, in effect, "marrying" the couple until they could find a Justice of the Peace to marry them. However, once they had been "hand fasted" as it were, Stephen decided to punish his father by delaying a legal wedding. Weeks turned into months and Stephen always felt there would be time to get formally married "later", but after five years they had been blessed with three children and still were not married in the eyes of the state of North Carolina. Mary Ann's mother remained in the family home as her daughter was a fragile, sickly girl and needed help with the children. Mary Ann died on Aug 10th, 1868 from typhoid which could have been easily treated had it not been for the terrible conditions in post war North Carolina. Lucius, their son, also died of typhoid in the Fall of 1869, and Mollie, their daughter, died of diptheria almost exactly one year later in the Fall of 1870. Their eldest son, Thomas Lassiter b.1863 was the only child to survive past childhood. He lived into adulthood, changing his name to Thomas Lassiter Warters in honor of his mother and due to what he felt was ill treatment by his father (who died when he was only 9 yrs.) and his stepmother, Loucretia (Pitts) Lassiter. His grandmother, Sallie Joe Waters, the mother of Mary Ann Warters, was living with her widowed sister, Esther Wiggins, in LaGrange, Lenoir Co., N.C. when the 1900 Census was taken. Also in the home were Joseph and Mollie (Wiggins) Aldridge, the daughter of Esther, and Mollie's son, Leon Wiggins; Joseph and Leon farmed the land. Sallie passed from this earth April 27, 1902, when Thomas was 39 yrs. of age. She, her daughter and the two younger grandchildren are all buried in a separate enclosed cemetery on the Lassiter property which is referred to as "The Warters Cemetery" and "The Spring Hill Cemetery". Thomas is not buried there, but is buried with his wife, five daughters and son in Fairview Cemetery nearby.

Surveyed by Glenn Fields July,2008

Eff. March 2017: Sarah "Sallie Joe" Warters was the wife of William and was born in 1812, not 1804, per census records from 1850 and 1860 at Broad Creek, Beaufort, N.C. I have amended her memorial to allow for these changes.