1870 TX Brazos County Federal Census NOTES http://ftp.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/tx/brazos/1870/ ==================== TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: ==================== The 1870 census was transcribed by a team of transcribers who are members of the TEXAS RESEARCH RAMBLERS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, Brazos County, Texas. Team members included: Ellen Horner, Team Leader Barbara Althaus Georgianne Bigam Sue Foy Pat Gunter Charles Horner Joyce Louis Bill Page Jane Thompson Many thanks are expressed to Mary Collie-Cooper, the first transcriber of the 1870 Brazos County Census. Permission was granted by Mary to use her publication to transcribe the data for online use. The following INTRODUCTION and NAMES are quoted from the published BRAZOS COUNTY TEXAS 1870 CENSUS transcribed by Mary Collie-Cooper, (no date, abt. 1987). INTRODUCTION "The Ninth Federal Census was taken in the period just following a very disastrous period of time for the entire nation. Many of our ancestors were making adjustments and may have been making a move. These things make the 1870 census a very valuable one for research. Each Federal Census is individual, giving us some information unique to that schedule. Following is a complete description of the information asked for on the schedule. It is listed by column number. ... Column: 1. Dwellling-houses numbered in order of visitation 2. Families, numbered in order of visitation 3. Names of every person whose place of abode on the first day of June, 1870 was in this family. 4. Age at last birthday. If under 1 year, give months in fractions, thus 3/12. 5. Sex - Males (M), Females (F) 6. Color - White (W), Black (B) Mulatto (M), Chinese (C) Italian (I); only W, B, and M were used in this census. 7. Profession, Occupation, or trade of each person, male or female. (Most were written out--except for 'K House' used for most wives. This means 'Keeps House/Keeping House'). 8. value of Real Estate 9. Value of Personal Estate 10. Place of Birth, naming State or Territory of U.S.; or the country, if of foreign birth 11. Father of foreign birth 12 Mother of foreign birth 13 If born within the year, state month (Jan,Feb,etc) 14. If married within the year, state month (Jan,Feb,etc) 15. Attended school within year 16. Cannot read 17 Cannot write 18. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic 19. Male citizens of U.S. of 21 years of age and upwards 10. Male Citizens of U.S. of 21 years of age and upwards, whose right to vote is denied or abridged on other grounds than rebellion or other crimes. W.B. FOREMAN is listed as the Ass't. Marshall for Brazos County. According to the census itself, there was at least one other census taker--Hugh REED (see HW pg 231) Recording 'Post Office' was begun by the transcriber with the hope it would identify communities; however, the enumerator used 'Bryan' as his base although occasionally he forgot and wrote 'Brazos'. This item is not any help after all; but if it had been omitted, you would have wondered what it said! The date may be of interest, although the enumerator was directed to use 'the first day of June' as reference point for recorded information. The philosophy of this transcriber is to record as accurately as possible--letter by letter. We do not presume to interpret what the enumerator may have intended to record--only what is there. Your transcriber sincerely hopes this 'labor of love' will benefit researchers of Brazos County history. ...M.C.C." ==================================================== COMMENTS BY ELLEN HORNER,TEAM LEADER, AND BILL PAGE: ==================================================== NUMBERING of DWELLING/FAMILY Dwellings and families were not recorded with 'complete' numbers. This is noted in the TRANSCRIBER'S REMARKS on the first 15 pages, and thereafter in the REMARKS of the first line of each page. Some numbers were omitted, possibly because of a vacant house. Others seemed to have been just omitted for no reason. NAMES From BRAZOS COUNTY TEXAS 1870 CENSUS transcribed by Mary Collie-Cooper, 1987: "...names may be recorded phonetically; names may be spelled differently from page to page or within a page. If the reader/researcher has a question, go to the microfilm. Remember that the census takers may have been creative spellers, the transcriber may not read the writing accurately--and the recorder could (??) have a typo! Ls, Ss and Ts are sometimes confused; an H may look like an N; r and n may be misread; and i and e are difficult to discern. An open a may be transcribed as a u and the end of names may be read as er instead of es. Check all possible spellings and then go back and check again. One example: Could CURIN and CURTIS possibly be KURTEN?? If these are yours, check given names to see if they are appropriate. Again, if there are questions, check the microfilm. .....Good hunting!!" NAME PROBLEMS in the 1870 TX Brazos Federal Census The following information is contributed by Bill Page, native Texan, Texas A&M University librarian, and Brazos Valley historian and researcher, who has carefully analyzed the 1870 TX Brazos Federal census and compared it to the 1880 TX Brazos Federal Census. References are cites for individual Surnames. Masters/Demasters The 1870 Brazos County Census, p.34a, lines 12-18 lists: Manning, Matt female 60 washwoman Ga Master, Easter female 25 washwoman Ark " Andy male 5 Tx " Eugene male 3 Tx Hanes, Rachael female 35 seamstress Ky Master, James male 30 laborer Va Hames, Maggie female 16 at home Tex This family name should actually be Demasters (instead of Masters), both according to the 1880 census and see also: Jim and Easter Demasters were members of Lee Chapel. (Brazos County History * Rich Past, Bright Future, p.152) The 1880 Brazos County Census, p.349a, lines 40-47 lists: James DEMASTERS Self M Male B, 46,Laborer, TN, TN, TN Easter DEMASTERS Wife M Female,B,33, Laborer, AR, AR, AR Andrew DEMASTERS Son S Male B, 14, Laborer, TX, TN, AR Ann DEMASTERS Dau S Female, B, 9, TX, TN, AR Nina DEMASTERS Dau S Female, B, 6,TX, TN, AR Maggie DEMASTERS Dau S Female, B,4, TX, TN, AR Mary E. DEMASTERS Dau S Female, B, 3, TX, TN, AR Martha J. DEMASTERS Dau S Female, B, 8M, TX, TN, AR ******************************************************* Tatum The 1870 Brazos County Census, p.30b, lines 2-5 lists: Tantim, Richd 45 laborer 200 " Phillis 35 washerwoman " Chas. 21 laborer " Viney 24 takes in washing This last name should be Tatum. See, for example: The 1880 Brazos County Census, p.349b lists Richard TATUM Self M Male,B,55, Laborer, TN,TN,TN Phillis TATUM Wife M Female,B,50, Keeping House, TN,TN,TN Also see: Sam R. Henderson, agent for R.C. Wood, sold Richard Tatum land north of Bryan; January 1878 (Brazos County Deed Records, Book S, p.18) Brazos County Deed Book U, pp.606-607: Sarah Hall sold Richard Tatum and Phillis Tatum the west ½ of lot 4 in block 2 (this must be one of the big blocks outside Bryan) containing 2 acres and another tract in League No. 9, including where the resident of H.W. Hall once stood; 30 Nov.1880. Brazos County Deed Book X, pp.280-281: Hiram Morrison sold Richard Tatum and his wife Phillis Tatum, lots 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 in block 187 in Bryan; 26 March 1883. Brazos County Deed Book 1, p.551: Guy M. Bryan, Jr. sold Richard Tatum & his wife Phillis Tatum 5 acres of land; 30 Oct. 1885. Richard Tatum registered a brand 8 Feb.1876; Book A, p.51 (Marks and Brands, Brazos County Texas, 1845-1900, p.33) ******************************************************** Whitehead Then there is this problem, where a person ended up in apparently the wrong household: The 1870 Brazos County Census, p.115b,dwelling 1836 lists: Whitehead, Clay 55 m b farmer Miss " Maranda 66 f b keeping house NC " Ann 24 f b wash woman La " Willis 14 m b Tx " Truly V. 33 m b farmer, Miss [he apparently goes w/the household below?] dwelling 1837 Whitehead, Masouri 26 f b keeping house Ga " Tom 4 m b " Rebecca 1 f m Tx See, for example: The 1880 Brazos County Census, p.306a lists: Truly WHITEHEAD Self M Male B 45 Farmer MS MS NC Missouri WHITEHEAD Wife M Female B 32 Keeping House GA GA GA Marinda WHITEHEAD Dau S Female B 8 TX MS GA Delia WHITEHEAD Dau S Female B 7 TX MS GA Julia WHITEHEAD Dau S Female B 4 TX MS GA Thomas WHITEHEAD Son S Male B 13 TX MS GA ********************************************************** REVISED COMMENTS concerning Cooper Transcription submitted by Bill Page to Ellen Horner, January - May 2005 --Printed page 8a, dwelling 115: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Boonville should be Bonneville; see, for example, 1880 Brazos County Census, p.353b. --Printed page 9a, dwelling 129: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Caulter should be Coulter; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.71. --Printed page 10a, dwelling 149: Honetkey should be Horetkzy; other sources indicate the name is actually Horetzky; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.129. --Printed page 11a, dwelling 160: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Eves should be Eaves; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.86 --Printed page 11b, dwelling 169: transcribed correctly; other sources suggest that Wayman perhaps should be Mayman; see, for example, document where Mayer Mayman & Meyer Levy, partners in the firm of Mayman & Levy, gave their powers of attorney to Henry Mayman, dated 18 Sept. 1869, Brazos Co. Deed Book K, p.43. --Printed page 11b/Printed page 11a, dwelling 170: Your guess: Mary Cooper said Zidierbein; one online source has Galierbier; another has Guliesbier; I think it looks like Zalierbein, dwelling 170: --Printed page 12a, dwelling 182: It appears that the entries for Isaac & B. “Khan” may be duplicates of Isaac & B. “Cahn”, listed on printed page 16b, dwelling 261. --Printed page 12b, dwelling 184: Camal should be Carnal; other sources indicate that this name actually should be Cearnal; see, for example, 1880 Brazos County Census, p.337b. --Printed page 13a, dwelling 200: Olla should be Illo --Printed page 14, dwelling 207: Sanphus should perhaps be Amphus or Amphirs (according to HeritageQuest) ... At any rate, I think it is a name that begins Amph, not Sanph ... --Printed page 17, dwelling 75: Cocheman should be Cocheran * This family also appears as Cockram on printed page 21, dwelling 347 --Printed page 18a, dwelling 292: Chad Eikure should be Chas Eikare --Printed page 20, dwelling 324: Garum perhaps should be Varum? --Printed page 21a, dwelling 340: I (Bill Page) was looking for someone else, and by accident spotted an entry for J."McNolan" - I had once looked for the family of Mack Nolan, and couldn't find him, even though he should be listed - so that name rang a bell. The 1870 Brazos County Census, p.21, lists: McNolan, J. 26 male b drayman TN " N.H.30 female m k house SC " V. 10 female b at school Ark " E.5 male B Tex. I am 95% to 99% certain this is actually the Mack Nolan family. We know this family was in Bryan before and after the 1870 census - as per the deeds listed below - but they do not appear under "Nolan" on this census. Brazos County Deed Book T, p.403: Mack Nolan bought lots 1 & 2 in block 55 in Bryan on 11 October 1880, from Guy M. Bryan, Jr., for $250. Lots 15 and 16 in block 6: H.R. Hall sold Mack Nolan "a man of color" land in Hall's Addition in Bryan for $35; dated 1 November 1867; witness: David McIntosh (Brazos County Deed Book I, p.81) Guy M. Bryan, Jr. sold lots 15 & 16 in Freedman Town to Hannah Nolan for $15; dated 1 April 1874. (Brazos County Deed Book P, p.155). Mack Nolan and his wife Hannah Nolan sold land to Guy M. Bryan, Jr. for $75 on 13 October 1874. (Brazos County Deed Book P, p.155) I suspect the "V." is Victoria Noland, aged 15, married William Calhoun, aged 22, on 24 Nov. 1874, by Rev. Willis Van Hook (Brazos County Marriage Records, Book D, p.158). Notice that in the household in 1880 her birthplace is shown as Arkansas. The 1880 Brazos County Census, p.349a: William CALHOUN Self M Male B 29 TX Laborer SC SC Victoria CALHOUN Wife M Female B 19 AR Keeping HousE MA MA Willie CALHOUN Son S Male B 4 TX TX AR Edna CALHOUN Dau S Female B 1 TX TX AR --Printed page 24a, dwelling 403: Tanstal should be Tunstal --Printed page 25a, dwelling 413: Biffo should probably be Riffo --Printed page 25a, dwelling 422: Cardy should be Hardy --Printed page 26a, dwelling 431: Hugant should be Hugart OR Hagart? HeritageQuest says Hagart - I can read the name either with an "a" or "u" --Printed page 26a, dwelling 443: McCurty should be McCarty --Printed page 29a, dwelling 498: transcribed correctly; other sources suggest that Eglehart should probably be Iglehart; see, for example, marriage of Emma J. Iglehart to Nat R. Wilson, 12 January 1871, Brazos Co. Marriage Records, Book C, p.180, --Printed page 30a, dwelling 502: Maim should perhaps be Marn? ... I found this family in 1880 census, with all children *except* this one listed --Printed page 30a, dwelling 505 - actually, this is W.R. - though the "R" looks funny, his tombstone also says "R" --Printed page 32a, dwelling 532: Jhomas should be Thomas --Printed page 32a, dwelling 534: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Chattane should be Chatham; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.63 --Printed page 32b, dwelling 535: transcribed correctly, but other sources suggest the name should actually be Choate; see, for example, Isaac N. Choate (aged 45) to Mary A. King, 28 January 1874, Brazos Co. Marriage Records, Book D, p.88 --Printed page 34a, dwelling 539: see MASTERS/DeMASTERS above --Printed page 35a, dwelling 581: Mc?iece should be McNeise OR Mcheise? ... HeritageQuest says Mcheise - and that's how I would read it - but I have never seen that name, and there were folks named McNeese in the county ... --Printed page 44a, dwelling 700: Higa should be Higgs --Printed page 45a, dwelling 707: Isusel probably should be Isarel --Printed page 45a, dwelling 707: Ausist probably should be August --Printed page 45b, dwelling 715 ... I don't *think* this is a "gg", based on how the letters are written in Maggie in the entry above this one ... But I'm not certain the name is "Fuzzle", either. --Printed page 46b, dwelling 733: Transcribed correctly, but Kade should probably be Cade; see, for example, Galveston Daily News, 6 September 1871, p.4 --Printed page 46b, dwelling 734: Handy should be Hardy --Printed page 47a, dwelling 746: Hiecher should be Hilcher --Printed page 48a, dwelling 760: Lainbright should be Lambright; Thomas should be Frances --Printed page 49a, dwelling 782: Webburn should be Welburn --Printed page 52a, dwelling 830: Peny should be Perry --Printed page 52b, dwelling 833: ... Transcribed correctly: Henrick; but based on other sources, this name should be Herrick; see, for example, Jan.15, 1865, A. Lewis and his wife Susan sold Wm. D. Herrick lot 4 in block 49 in the town of Millican. Brazos Co. Deed Records, Book G, pp.393-394. ... Heirick should be Herrick --Printed page 53a, dwelling 856: Deroil should perhaps be D* (first name unreadable) OR Sewel? I have this reference to a man named Henderson Sewell ... Millican ... Henderson SEWELL, an old colored man living near here, left home late last evening to get his horse out of the field. Not returning last night, search was instituted for him. They were not long in finding his dead body where his horse had been staked out. There was a bruise on his forehead, indicative of a heavy blow, supposed to have been kicked by his horse. The stocks of general merchandise belonging to the estate of C.J. WARD, deceased, at this place and White's Switch were sold here to day at auction. C. CHINSKI purchased the stock here, paying $ 1800, about 60 cents on the dollar. W.D. WARD bought the stock at WHITE's Switch, paying $ 405, the actual amount of invoice. Galveston Daily News, 16 May 1889, p. 1. Of course, I don't have any way of knowing if these were the same people, and whether perhaps the newspaper reversed the order of his name, or the 1870 census taker did so ... or, for that matter, these are two completely different people. --Printed page 57a, dwelling 926: Scw?rg should be Scwory --Printed page 57a, dwelling 931: Crawby should be Crawley --Printed page 60a, dwelling 997: Jonse should probably be Jones or Jonie? --Printed page 63a, dwelling 1051: Perhaps Morrion should be Morison … I am not certain --Printed page 64a, dwelling 1061: Leonaid should be Leonard --Printed pagee 64b, dwelling 1066: Hicksoon should be Hickson. --Printed page 66a, dwelling 1091: Pilham should be Pelham --Printed page 66b, dwelling 1101: Transcribed correctly, but other sources indicate that Ryan should be Royder; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.217 --Printed page 69a, dwelling 1141: Lum should be Lunn --Printed page 71a, dwelling 1172: Roctor should be Rector --Printed page 72b, dwelling 1194: transcribed correctly; other sources suggest that perhaps Mawbray should probably be Mowbray --Printed page 73a, dwelling 1207: Scaevenor perhaps should be Screvenor --Printed page 74a, dwelling 1223: Hany should be Harvy --Printed page 75a, dwelling 1229: McCenly should be McCarty --Printed page 75a, dwelling 1232: Transcribed correctly, but as per name on previous page, Neeham should actually be Needham --Printed page 76a, dwelling 1245: Transcribed correctly, but other sources indicate that Michell should be Mitchell; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.178 (This is the entry for Harvey Mitchell). --Printed page 76a, dwelling 1251: Handy should be Hardy --Printed page 76a, dwelling 1251: Dewitt Hardy (b.ca.1852) is probably the same person as Dewitt Clinton (b.ca.1855), who was the son of Mariah Clinton (See: Brazos County Probate Minutes, Book C, p.351) --Printed page 84b, dwelling 1360: Hebrone should be Hebere; other sources suggest that the name is actually Hebert; see, for example, 1880 Brazos County Census, p.245d. --Printed page 86a, dwelling 1389: transcribed correctly; other sources suggest that Keolsch should be Koelsch; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.147 --Printed page 86a, dwelling 1393: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Claud should be Cloud; see, for example, listing for Elisha Cloud in 1860 Macon County, Georgia Census, p.99. --Printed page 89b, dwelling 1433: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Curtin should be Kurtin; see, for example, The Brazos County Cemeteries, Brazos Genealogical Association, 1997, p.150 --Printed page 90a, dwelling 1450: transcribed correctly; other sources indicate that Serbst should be Zerbst; see, for example, Brazos County History-Rich Past, Bright Future, p.237 --Printed page 93b, dwelling 1484: Tochet * Fochet * I think "T" might be correct; HeritageQuest indexes it as "Tochet," and the 1870 marriage records list an entry for "Dr. Tuchet" --Printed page 94b, dwelling 1507: transcribed correctly, but based on other sources, I believe that Ned Gormand is the same person later known as Ned Newman; see, for example, the 1880 Brazos County Census, p.335c, which lists Ned & Flora Newman. --Printed page 96b, dwelling 1546: Melontree - * HeritageQuest has Meeontree, but I feel Melontree is correct * for example, Mrs. Mariah Mellontree, born ca.1840, was buried in Bryan City Cemetery on February 12, 1900 (as per Mary's published Bryan city cemetery records) --Printed page 99b, dwelling 1596: transcribed correctly, but based on other sources, Albert Wilson later took the name Albert Murphy --Printed page 106a, dwelling 1691 - Farman * Furman * HeritageQuest says "Fannan"; BUT I found this family in the 1880 Cooke County, Texas, Census, p.278a, where their name is "Firman" * and then in the 1900 Cooke County, Texas, Census where their name is "Furman" * so, I believe "Furman" is actually correct for the 1870 census ******************************************************** Following are COMMENTS to Ellen Horner, Team Leader, by Bill Page: "While folks were sometimes missed in census records, often they are really there - just listed in a way where you might never find them. The people working on transcribing the 1870 Brazos County census found several examples of this. For example, the surname Handy might be confused with the surname Hardy. HeritageQuest had one surname as "Fannan," when it actually should be Furman - we think. The last name "Mitchell" is on the census as "Michel." Even Mary Cooper made a few mistakes in transcribing the 1870 census - for example, she listed Haverman as Caverman, and Kirkland as Rinkland. If you have never tried to look at every name in an original census schedule, you just can't imagine how easy it is to misread names. Sometimes without knowing what the name is, you just can't be sure. For example, one entry from 1870 Brazos County: Mary Cooper said Zidierbein; one online source has Galierbier; another has Guliesbier; I think it looks like Zalierbein - take your pick, at least 3 of us have it wrong. And in another example: Mary Cooper said Lansixe; Samix; Lamie; I read it as Lumix And sometimes the names are very oddly off. ROYDER/RYAN For example, the 1870 Brazos County census taker listed the Royder family as having the last name "Ryan." The handwriting is quite clear, and there is no mistaking what he wrote down - and all the family names & ages match just fine - except, the entry has a wrong surname listed. Notice that in these cases you would *not* find the families by checking a census index - in fact, you wouldn't even find them by using the Soundex search feature on Ancestry. The moral of all of this is that before accepting that your family was actually missed in a census, you should read the entire census for that county, line by line. The odds are good that many of the "uncounted" families will turn up - not all, of course, but some. Sometimes you can figure out likely mistakes in the census indexes (my ancestor Jacob Reese is listed in one index as Jacob Ruse, for example), but if you really need the information from that census, it may be worth your time to read through ALL the listings in the county. If you know the names of neighbors in the census records the previous or following censuses, if you can find those neighbors in the year of interest, that may help you focus in on a likely part of the census listing, which may make it easier to read only the most likely portion of the census for that year. That is, if you knew in 1850 that your ancestor lived close to the Holdens, Boones and Whitmires, then if you can find those families in 1860, your family may be listed nearby. And, of course, remember that families moved around a LOT. One of my ancestor's sisters was married to a minister named Holden. No one could find that family in Georgia in the 1870 census, even though they had lived there since the 1830s and were buried there - or, at least that was what descendants said. Well, it turns out they were in Kansas in 1870 - he was preaching to the Indians, as best as I can tell. He died there - and is buried there - and after his death, his widow returned to Georgia. From tax rolls and other records I can show that they were only in Georgia for 4 or 5 years - but long enough to get counted in a census there, rather than in Georgia where everyone "knew" they had to be. So much for the theory that he was buried next to his wife in an unmarked grave."