Census "Trick" Works Again

Matthew Boyers, who was probably born in the 1750s, was living in York District, South Carolina in 1810, and in Sumner County, Tennessee in 1830. Although quite a few people have Matthew Boyers on their Ancestry family tree, no one had located him in 1820. So, I used one of my "tricks" and searched for Matthew without his last name.

I specifically searched the 1820 U.S. federal censuses for the following:

• First name: "Matthew" with "sounds like," "similar," and "initials" checked
• Lived in (1st search): "York County, South Carolina" in the field and marked as "exact to this place"
• Lived in (2nd search): "Sumner County, Tennessee" in the field and marked as "exact to this place"

RESULTS:

For South Carolina, only 22 results were found. I looked at a Matthew Biggers to make sure it wasn't transcribed incorrectly, but it looks like "Biggers" to me. None of the others looked like good candidates.

For Tennessee, there were 36 results. Several looked promising: Mathew Bayne, Mathew Boyne, and Mathew Rogers. Both Mathew Bayne, listed as 16 to 25 years old, and Mathew Rogers, listed as 26 to 44 years old, were too young. Mathew Boyne, however, was marked as "45 and over" which would be the correct age for Matthew Boyers.

1820 U.S. census, Sumner County, Tennessee, population schedule, Gallatin Township,  p.140 [printed], 10th family, Mathew Boyers household; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 September 2016), citing National Archives microfilm M33, roll 124.

After comparing the handwriting of the census enumerator to other entries, and comparing the household members to other years, I believe that the 1820 record transcribed on Ancestry as "Boyne" is actually "Boyers."

POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP:

I do not know if Matthew Boyers is related to me or not. I am working on the hypothesis that he is the father of two of my direct ancestors:

• John M. Boyers (~1801 in SC - ~1875 in TN) who married Matilda Dickson (~1805 - ~1875) 
• Rachel Boyers (~1795 in SC - 1867 in Perry Co, TN) who married Joseph Dickson (1795 - 1898)

Both John and Rachel lived in Perry County, Tennessee for part of their lives. Perry County is where my Dickson ancestors lived.

Are you related to the Boyers family? Or do you have more information? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Money, Corn, & Flour To "Alleviate the Sufferings" in Ireland

In 1847, the people of Ireland were suffering from mass starvation during a time period we now call the Irish Potato Famine. As I am continuing to research my Boyers family, I came across a newspaper article that mentions Robert M. Boyers (1788 in SC-1871 in TN) who I believe is either a brother or first cousin of my ancestor, John M. Boyers (~1801 in SC-aft 1870 possibly in TN). (Both men were born in South Carolina and lived in Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee in 1830.)

The scene at Skibbereen, west Cork, in 1847. From a series of illustrations by Cork artist James Mahony (1810-1879), commissioned by Illustrated London News 1847. Image from Wikipedia - public domain. 

This newspaper article was a resolution to help "alleviate the sufferings of that famished country." The money, corn, and flour were to be delivered to Robert M. Boyers who would forward those supplies to Liverpool for distribution. It makes me proud that these Tennesseans were helping in such a concrete way. Here's a transcript of the article:

For the Republican Banner.
IRELAND.

At a meeting at Gallatin on the 6th instant, the following resolutions were adopted:-

   Resolved, That the heartrending accounts received from the suffering Irish are calculated to awaken sympathy in the coldest bosoms.

   Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the poor of Ireland, inasmuch as her sons materially aided us in our great struggle for liberty, and have ever since been fighting in every clime for the same great blessing.

   Resolved, That it is the duty of the benevolent and charitable of every country to furnish whatever aid they can to alleviate the sufferings of that famished country.

   Resolved, That the following named persons are appointed to obtain and receive money, stacked corn, or barreled flour for the purpose of sending the same to Robert M. Boyers, who will forward the same to our kind hearted Consul, Gen. Robert Armstrong, at Liverpool, to be distributed to him at his own discretion - the Corn or Flour to be delivered at the Gallatin landing as early as possible.

[The article then lists the 19 districts naming the men in charge of each district.]

   Resolved, That the foregoing proceedings be published in the Nashville papers, and in the Gallatin Union, Gallatin, Sumner County.           -J. L. McKOIN, Ch'm.
   G. S. Gray, Sec'y.

Source: Ireland (Resolution), The Tennessean, Nashville, Tennessee, 12 March 1847, page 2, column 4, digital image, newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 September 2016).

Do we share common ancestors? Are you related to Robert M. Boyers or John M. Boyers? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net 

"Unchristened" 13-year-old

As I was working on my Boyers family, I came across a curious entry on a 1850 census record. One of the children in the household is listed as "Unchristened Boyers." After finding this record, I searched Ancestry for all census records for an individual with the "first name" listed as "unchristened." There were 84 results. Some of these were actually listed without a first name, but a researcher has added "unchristened" to the name field. All of the other 83 children are babies who appear to be less than 12 months old.

1850 U.S. census, Cocke County, Tennessee, population schedule, District 11,  p.397 [printed], dwelling 761, family 761, Isaac Boyres household; image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 August 2016), citing National Archives microfilm M432, roll 874.

But, this "Unchristened" Boyers was listed as 13 years old! The family appears to have listed the children by age, so the age appears correct. And, this male is listed as attending school that year, which again dispels the possibility that he is actually an infant. I have no idea why a 13 year old would be listed as unchristened. Any ideas?

Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 August 2016); Record, David Boyer (1837-1891), Memorial No. 37564026, Records of Sarah Ottinger Cemetery, Cocke County, Tennessee. Photo by Marie & Dale V. Used with permission. [Thank you!]

From what other researchers have done, it appears this "unchristened" boy was actually David Boyer who was born on June 3rd, 1837 and died on November 15th, 1891. He is buried at Sarah Ottinger Cemetery in Cocke County, Tennessee.

If anyone has additional information, the person I am really interested in on this census record is the last one: James Boyers [highlighted yellow] who is 21 years old. As you can see, he is not listed in age order as the other "children" are and I don't believe he is one of Isaac and Elizabeth's sons.  If anyone has more information about James, I'd love to talk!

My email address: drleeds@sbcglobal.net.

Success! Finding Wrongly Transcribed Names on Census Records, Part 2

A few months ago, I shared how I had some success finding wrongly transcribed names in census records by searching for neighbors instead of the people I was actually researching. I am also having success finding people by using "exact" searches without a last name. Here's an example:

The family of John M. and Matilda Boyers was located in Sumner County, Tennessee in 1830. In 1840 and 1850, they were found in Tishomingo County, Mississippi. The 1850 household included the parents, who were listed as ages 49 and 44, and eight of their younger children with ages ranging from 3 to 17.  Although it is possible the parents died before 1860, it is unlikely all of the children had also passed away. So, why couldn't I find them after 1850?

1850 U.S. Census, Tishomingo County, Mississippi, Southern Division, population schedule, page 93B & 94A, dwelling #117, family #117, John Boyres [sic] household; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 July 2016), citing National Archives microfilm M432, roll 382.

Here's how I ran the search for an 1860 census record without using a last name:

• On Ancestry, click "SEARCH" then "Census and Voters Lists"
• In the right column, click on "1800s censuses"
• In the right column, click on "U.S. Federal Census Collection"
• Near the bottom of the page, click on "1860 United States Federal Census"
• Then, fill in the search terms

I first tried one of the daughters, Lucinda, since her name is fairly uncommon:

• First name: Lucinda and set to "exact"
• Last name: [leave blank]
• Birth Year: 1840 then click on "exact" and change to "+/- 5 years"
• Birth Location: Mississippi, USA and set to "exact" for "this place"
• Lived In: Tishomingo County, Mississippi, USA and set to "exact to this place"

Screen shot of Ancestry and the information I filled in

After clicking "SEARCH," only 11 results showed up. The 10th hit was for a "Lucinda Rogers," who was, in fact, my Lucinda Boyers!

1860 U.S. Census, Tishomingo County, Mississippi, Corinth Township, population schedule, page 469 & 470, dwelling #3168, family #3168, John N [sic] Rogers [sic] household; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 July 2016), citing National Archives microfilm M654, roll 593.

The same steps worked using her brother, "David E," with changing the birth year to 1844. Even using the mothers name, Matilda, and choosing "lived in Mississippi" (not Tishomingo County) only got 8 hits and one of those was for Matilda Boyers/Rogers!

It really helps if you have rather unusual first names. And, though searching for the son, David, resulted in over 400 results when searching for "lived in Mississippi," by changing it to "David E" as it appears on the 1850 census, you decrease the number of hits to only 8.

Let me know if you try this technique and it helps you find one of your missing families!