Researching the family history of potential slave owners part four

This article is part of the continuing case study into the roots of former slave Jefferson Clark of Leon County, Florida. To catch up on the previous articles, read Summary of the Jefferson Clark online case study.” The first two articles in this research segment can be read here: part one, part two and part three.

In the first part of this segment of the case study, we used the 1850 and 1860 federal census to identify the approximate dates and places of birth of George W. Tubb and his children. Using the approximate dates of birth for the children able to be calculated using these two census records, we can estimate the constitution of the Tubb household in the 1800, 1810, and 1820 federal censuses. This may help to identify the father/head of household of the family.

The constitution of the family must be calculated based on approximate ages in each year:

Elizabeth (--?--) Tubb, b. ca. 1777, S. C.

  • 1800: age 23
  • 1810: age 33
  • 1820: age 43
  • 1830: age 53
  • 1840: age 63

Mary (Tubb) Petty, b. ca. 1797-1800, S. C.

  • 1800: age 0-3
  • 1810: age 10-13
  • 1820: age 20-23

Jane (Tubb) Nunn, b. ca. 1801-1802, S. C.

  • 1810: age 8-9
  • 1820: age 18-19

Sarah (Tubb) Moore, b. ca. 1804, S. C.

  • 1810: age 6
  • 1820: age 16

Elisha F. Tubb, b. ca. 1805-1807, S. C.

  • 1810: age 3-5
  • 1820: age 13-15
  • 1830: age 23-25

Elizabeth (Tubb) Williams, b. ca. 1810, Tenn.

  • 1810: age 0
  • 1820: age 10
  • 1830: age 20

Lucinda (Tubb) Cole age 36, b. ca. 1814, Tenn.

  • 1820: age 6
  • 1830: age 16

George W. Tubb, b. ca. 1818-1819, Ala.

  • 1820: age 1-2
  • 1830: age 11-12
  • 1840: age 21-22

Isabella (Tubb) Ikard, b. ca. 1820, Tenn.

  • 1820: age 0
  • 1830: age 10
  • 1840: age 20

Not knowing the ages of the father or several of the children (those deceased or unidentified in 1850 and 1860), the household we discover will not exactly match these estimated households. Yet the household must at least contain these children.

In the next part we will compare the Tubb families that appeared in South Carolina in 1800, Tennessee in 1820, and Alabama in 1830, with the family of George W. Tubb as we have estimated its constitution. This will allow us to narrow down the prospects as to the identity of George W. Tubb's father.

, African American Genealogy Examiner

Michael Hait is a professional genealogist, specializing in Maryland research, African-American genealogy, and Civil War records.  Michael is the creator of THE FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH TOOLKIT CD-ROM, published by Genealogical Publishing Co. in 2008.  He currently serves as the instructor of a...

Comments

  • Profile picture of focusoninfinity
    focusoninfinity 1 year ago

    I've seen calculated birth years, based on stated census ages; differ for the same person in another census, a decade later.

    The 1850 Rowan County, N.C., census for John Cyrus Miller (1811-1893) states his father (John 'Henry' Miller) was born in "Germany", yet Cyrus' brother in Illinois, Alexander Monroe 'Sandy' Miller; in the same 1850 Illinois census, states their dad was born in "Prussia".

    A late 1800's Old Salem, N.C., census indicates in an un-usual note on the census margin; that my great grandfather James Anderson Woollen, Confederate musician, wed Susan Caroline Malcolm when she was age 15. I asked grandmother, why age 15? She said when Sgt. Woollen came home with Pvt. James Landreth Malcolm, CSA musician; Woollen's future father-in-law; to Guilford County; their homes were burnt, and no crops. Pvt. Malcolm had a wife and many children to feed, and near nothing to feed them. With Susan gone to once comrade-in-arms Woollen; Pvt. Malcolm had one less mouth to feed.

    Post-war: whites had it bad; but once-slave blacks, had it badder: theirs still, "A hard row to hoe".

  • Profile picture of Michael Hait
    Michael Hait 1 year ago

    This is definitely the case -- census records were notoriously bad at giving exact ages. In some cases, the informants were people such as neighbors or other individuals who did not know the exact ages of everyone living in the house. In other cases, the people themselves did not know their own exact ages.

    I researched one gentleman who aged 20 years between each of three federal censuses (10-year intervals).

    Where possible, multiple records should be examined. Where definitive and conclusive proof is not available, statements of fact should be qualified to represent the actual level of surety. Hence the use in this article of "ca." for the approximate dates of birth.

    For the purposes of this article, exact ages and dates of birth are not crucial. The pre-1850 censuses, which will be used for comparison, do not provide exact ages. Each member of the household is grouped in age ranges of 5-10 years (or more), which allows for a significant margin of error.

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