NEBRASKA AND MIDWEST GENEALOGICAL RECORD; VOLUME 10; PART 2; APRIL, 1932 ARTICLE: THE 1850 CENSUS [about and use of] PAGES 23 - 28 As transcribed by the submitters from the original publication. Submitted to the USGenWeb Nebraska Archives, February, 1998, by Ted and Carole Miller (susieque@pacbell.net). USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial researchers, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, nor for presentation in any form by any other organization or individual. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express written permission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist. *************** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE NEBRASKA AND MIDWEST GENEALOGICAL RECORD ----------------------------------------------------- VOL. X LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, APRIL, 1932 NO. 2 ----------------------------------------------------- THE 1850 CENSUS By Gilbert Harry Doane, A.B., Lincoln, Nebraska. For many years both professional and amateur genealogists have made extensive use of the printed version of the First Census of the United States, taken in 1790, but very few genealogists, comparatively speaking, have made much use of the Seventh Census, taken in 1850, probably because Congress has never authorized its printing, and hence it can be consulted only in Washington.* As every genealogist knows, the 1790 Census recorded the name of the head of the family only, classing the remainder of the family according to age and sex, indicating merely the number in each class in a given family. Family statistics were recorded in approximately the same way in the next five censuses. But the Act of Congress, authorizing the Seventh Census to be taken the 1st of June, 1850, directed that the name and age of each member of every household in the several states should be recorded, the place of birth indicated, and the estimated value of the real estate owned by the head of the family given as of the 1st of June. Thus we have a typical record of an American family in the following data on the family of Eliel Hungerford, who was living in Mexico township, Oswego County, New York, in 1850: Eliel Aged Real estate Born in Hungerford 48 Farmer $1,600. Conn. Lucy " 35 N.Y. Alonzo L. " 15 N.Y. Darius K. " 13 N.Y. Esther I. " 10 N.Y. Artemas M. " 1 N.Y. Now, as genealogists, let us analyze this record. Eliel Hungerford was born in Connecticut about 1802, it is obvious. He married a woman named Lucy, born in New York state about 1815. All of their children were born in New York. Consequently he must have settled in New York before 1835, when the eldest child, recorded in the census, was born. Presumably he was married about 1834, unless he had a wife ----------------------------------------------------------------- * As Nebraska was still part of an undivided territory in 1850 there was no census of it taken. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 THE NEBRASKA AND MIDWEST before his marriage to Lucy. In view of the difference in the ages of Eliel and Lucy one might be led to the conclusion that he was twice married, and that he married this Lucy between 1840 and 1848, judging from the ages of the children and the long gap between the last two. However, for the sake of comparison and to check ourselves, let us compare the census record with the family record of Eliel Hungerford, now in the possession of the widow of Eliel's son, Artemus M. Hungerford, late of Fairbury, Nebraska. Elial Crosby Hungerford (note the variation of spelling of the given name, and the omission of the second name in the census record), the eldest son of Elihu and Ruth (Crosby) Hungerford, was born in Connecticut (as the census indicates) 14 June 1802. He lived in Oswego County, New York, where most of his children were born, until 1854, when he removed to DeWitt, Iowa, where he died in August, 1881. He married, 28 February 1834, Lucy Manwaring, daughter of Samuel and Esther Manwaring. The census indicates that she was born in 1815; she died in 1864 in DeWitt, Iowa. They had issue: i. Alonzo L., b. 9 Dec. 1834; ii. Darius Kinyon, b. 14 Aug. 1836; iii. Esther Jane, b. 18 Apr. 1840; iv. Artemus Manwaring, b. 16 June 1848; v. Cyrus Allen, b. 16 May 1854; vi. Anna, b. 24 Dec. 1856; vii. Amos, d. before 1890; viii. Mary, d. before 1890. In checking the ages of the children born before 1850, it should be noted that Alonzo was in his 16th year, although the census gives his age as 15; Darius was nearly 14; Esther "I" (remember the written I and J are difficult to distinguish) was aged 10 (her record is the only one where simple subtraction gives the correct year of her birth); and Artemus was within but a few days of 2, although the census taker called him 1. The Act authorized the census to be taken as of June 1st, 1850. Hence, generally speaking, ages were given as of the last birthday, not of the approaching one. However, this rule is by no means without exception. Eliel, for instance, was not actually 48 until the 14th of June, 1850. But it has been observed that an individual over forty generally gave his age as of his approaching birthday. Therefore Eliel spoke of himself as being in his 48th year. Let us take another sort of record to be found in this census. In the family of Hiram Benedict, who was also living in Mexico township, Oswego County, New York, in 1850, there is to be found the name of Ruth Hungerford, aged 75, born in Connecticut. Hiram's wife, Anna (aged 44), and three children are likewise listed. The presence of Ruth --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GENEALOGICAL RECORD 25 Hungerford, of advanced age, in this Benedict family, leads one to assume that she was the widowed mother of one of the elders of the family, presumably of the wife, Anna (she might have been the mother of the head of the family, having married a second time; not, of course, impossible or improbable). Turning, again to Mrs. Artemus M. Hungerford's records, we find that Elihu and Ruth (Crosby) Hungerford had a daughter, Anna, born 13 August, 1806. Moreover these records say that she married Hiram Benedict. But even without the family record, we would be led to this conclusion, by comparing the ages of the Anna Benedict of the census and Anna, daughter of Elihu and Ruth Hungerford. But the family record does not note the death of either Elihu or Ruth. The Census points to the fact that Elihu was dead in 1850 and his widow was living with her married daughter in a vicinity where at least one, if not two, of her sons were living. Still another way of using the 1850 Census may be illustrated by the following case. It happens that a gentleman, now living in the South, was seeking information regarding his paternal ancestry in the Hungerford line. His father's name was Septimus Hungerford, and he thought his grandfather's name was Jacob (the gentleman was the youngest son of the second marriage of his father, and was born in 1867 when his father was 57 years old), and had somehow come to the conclusion that his great-grandfather was named Stephen, although his ideas about this name were very hazy and he was by no means sure of it. He knew, however, that he was born in Wayne township, Cass County, Michigan, and that his father and grandfather had settled there from Oneida County, New York, about 1844. We first wrote to the Census Office in Washington for a record of the Hungerfords in Wayne township in 1850, and the result was the record which follows, the two families living side by side (the census taker went from house to house): Jacob Age Born in Hungerford 71 Farmer Conn. Mary " 69 " Jacob, Jr. " 33 N. Y. Septimus Hungerford 41 " " Sarah L. " 38 " Henry " 16 " Ellen " 14 " Lavina " 12 " Charles " 10 " Albert " 7 " Mary " 4 mos Mich. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 THE NEBRASKA AND MIDWEST The record of Septimus Hungerford, as given in the census, verified the statement that he had settled in Michigan about 1844, for his son Albert was born in New York about 1843 and his daughter Mary was born in Michigan about 1850. Septimus was living beside Jacob, hence lending verisimilitude to the belief that his father's name was Jacob, especially since Septimus was of the right age to be a son of Jacob and Mary of the census. Next we went to the Oneida County, New York, Hungerfords. There we find that Jacob, son of Benjamin4 and Jemima4 (Hungerford) Hungerford, was living with his wife, Mary Newell, and six children, about 1800. Jacob married Mary Newell, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Hart) Newell (see Newell genealogy for dates and list of children). Of these six children, there was a son, Jacob, born 28 January 1780, who, according to the Newell genealogy, married Mary Tryon. Jacob and Mary (Tryon) Hungerford had several children, and finally, according to descendants of Jacob's brother, Asahel Hungerford, removed to Michigan. Jacob Hungerford, of Wayne township, Michigan, was aged 71 in 1850, i. e. he was in his 71st year. He had a wife Mary. Hence we are justified in assuming that the Jacob of Wayne was identical with Jacob, Jr., son of Jacob and Mary (Newell) Hungerford, who was born in 1780, who married Mary Tryon, and who was in his 71st year in 1850, and who was reputed to have moved to Michigan. So here we have built up a case and a hypothetical ancestry for Septimus Hungerford. Note that this is hypothetical. To prove it, the will of Jacob (b. 1780) must be found, and further evidence that he was identical with the son of Jacob and Mary (Newell). It should be noted that Septimus Hungerford had a brother named Newell, and also named a son (b. in 1864) Newell. The recurrence of this unusual given name provides further circumstantial support of our assumption that Septimus was a grandson of Jacob and Mary (Newell) Hungerford. It should also be noted that the supposed great-grandfather Stephen has been entirely eliminated, if our assumptions are correct. Now let us take another example of the genealogical use of the 1850 Census. In this same township of Wayne, Cass County, Michigan, the census indicates that Homer N. Hungerford, aged 15, born in New York, and Calvin Hungerford, aged 7, born in Michigan, were living with James Holmes, born in Michigan, aged 82, and his wife, Laura E. Holmes, born in New York, aged 32. The son of Septimus Hungerford said that he understood from one of his older brothers or sisters that his father (Septimus) had a brother named Newell, who died comparatively young, leaving a widow who --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GENEALOGICAL RECORD 27 later married a man named Holmes. So, we are led to conclude that these two minors, Homer N. and Calvin Hungerford, were sons of Mrs. Holmes, by a former husband [Newell] Hungerford, even though she must have been married the first time when she was about 16 - not impossible in those pioneer days. From this case we draw the inference that the presence of a young child of a different surname in a given family indicates relationship between that child and the family, or some member of it, generally speaking. Frequently, if the corresponding ages are right, it will be found to be the child of the wife by a former husband, or, possibly, the child of a deceased daughter living with its grandparents. Ages must always be taken into careful consideration, however. Let us take a somewhat similar case in which ages tell the story. In Fairfield, Vermont, in 1850 there was living: Ezra Gilbert Aged Farmer Born in 25 Vt. Lucinda " 16 " Julia Lamunda 8 " From records in the state office of vital statistics, Montpelier, Vermont, we learn that Ezra Gilbert, born in Fairfield, Vt., and his wife, Lucinda, born in Isle LeMotte, Vt., had a son born in 1857. A casual search has never revealed the date of marriage of Ezra and Lucinda, nor any clue to her surname and parentage. Now, with this census record before us, we are led to believe that Ezra and Lucinda were married, probably early in 1850, and that possibly her surname was Lamunda, since living with them was this Julia Lamunda, possibly a younger sister. With this possible clue, the records of Isle LeMotte will have to be searched under the name Lamunda. Since this hasn't been done, no further conclusions can be drawn. Ezra Gilbert was the son of Lewis 7 and Polly (Fairbanks) Gilbert, and was born in Fairfield, Vt., 17 April 1825. According to family records he "went West" sometime after 1857. This very superficial survey of some of the genealogical possibilities of the 1850 Census indicates that it will prove a mine of information, and that genealogists will be amply repaid for a careful study of it. To date, only one portion of this census has been printed, and that privately. Mr. W. Guy Tetrick has copied and printed that part which pertains to Harrison County, Virginia (now West Virginia). This was published in 1930 under the title, Census Returns of Harrison County (West) Virginia For 1850. It is unfortunate that Congress has not yet authorized the --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 THE NEBRASKA AND MIDWEST official printing of the entire census of 1850. We hope, some day, to see this done. But until then it remains in manuscript form and must be consulted in Washington. Occasionally the officials of the Census Office will supply data from it free of charge, but only when the name of the individual whose record is sought, as well as the town, county, and state in which he is supposed to have been living in 1850, are very carefully given. If more than one name is to be searched a charge is made. Some genealogists in Washington will search this census on commission and copy such records as they find. Such people work by the hour, generally. Names of competent searchers can be supplied upon application to the writer of this article.