Clues in the Census

In doing general United States original research (meaning that you start researching on your own, not just looking at what others have done), you should almost always start with censuses. This is true in the South as well. Censuses provide a great picture of a family’s structure that is traceable through time, and can be extremely helpful in figuring out what to research next. Here are a few tips and tricks I learned while doing research on the Kennerly Family:

1. Look at the neighbors. In 1810, Thomas Kennerly was believed to have been living in Orangeburgh, South Carolina, and a Thomas Kennerly was indeed found in the 1810 census in that area. But since there were no other members of the family listed in the federal censuses until 1850, it is often hard to determine exactly which entry represents your ancestor, especially if the name was common. In these instances, it can be extremely helpful to look at the other names on the page- the neighbors.

   

   1810 U.S. Federal Census, Orangeburg County, South Carolina    

   The key to identifying Thomas in 1810 was to look at the nearby families: only a few lines above were two Holman families and a Whetstone family.¹ Thomas’s mother’s maiden name was Holman, and the C. Holman listed in 1810 was possibly Thomas grandfather. 9 years prior to this census, Thomas married a woman named Rebecca Whetstone, and the Whetstones listed as living nearby were probably relatives of hers.
2. Make a table for the “tick-mark” censuses. Before 1850, a census taker would ask only for the ages and genders of the members of the household, and record these in a series of “tick-marks.” These censuses are harder to read, but can still be quite useful. In 1820, for example, Thomas Kennerly’s household was marked down as having 4 males under the age of 10.² From FamilySearch Family Tree, I knew that Thomas supposedly had 2 sons born in 1820- Samuel and Daniel.³ I initially thought Samuel was born in 1820 and Daniel was born later, but after finding the 1820 census, I knew I had to analyze the problem better. So, I made this chart:
   
   With the family structure that I knew of, the only way to explain 4 sons under the age of 10 was if Daniel was born by June 1820, which meant that Samuel would have had to have been born earlier. This ended up being a huge clue in determining Samuel's age.
3. Use every clue you are given! When I was researching the end of Samuel Kennerly’s life, I didn’t have any idea when he died. Luckily, the 1860 census taker in their area was of a mind to be extra detailed with his census taking! In Pointe Coupee, Louisiana in 1860 there was no Samuel Kennerly household, but there was a “Wdw S. Kennerly” family listed.⁴

   

   1860 US Federal Census, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana

   For whatever reason, the census taker had marked Samuel’s wife Eleanor as a widow, even though that wasn’t one of the questions. Because of this, I knew to look for Samuel’s death information before 1860, and I ended up finding some very interesting probate records that proved relationships for the whole family.With the family structure that I knew of, the only way to explain 4 sons under the age of 10 was if Daniel was born by June 1820, which meant that Samuel would have had to have been born earlier.

In summary, census records are vital to southern United States research, and it's important to use every little fact from every single census. Sometimes, you’re not given a lot of information, and other times you’re given quite a bit to work with. But whatever the case, analyze every little tidbit, and you’ll be surprised how much you can learn!

~AC

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1 1810 U.S. Federal Census, Orangeburg County, South Carolina, pop. sched., , pg. 130 (stamped), Thomas Kennerly; digital image, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 February 2016).^↩
2 1820 U.S. Federal Census, Barnwell District, South Carolina, pop. sched, , Thomas Kennerly; digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 8 April 2016).^↩
3 "FamilySearch Family Tree", database, FamilySearch.org (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 8 January 2016), Thomas Kennerly, FamilySearch ID L7JN-2BN.^↩
4 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, pop. sched., pg. 93 (penned), dwelling no. 865, family no. 942, Wdw S. Kennerly and family; digital image, Fold3 (www.fold3.com : accessed 22 February 2016)^↩