A transcribed page from a Phelps Family Bible recorded that
James Phelps, a native of Virginia, was Henry Clay Phelps’ father and his
mother was Nancy Smith, also from Virginia. As of the writing of this blog
post, the only document that has been found that clearly records this family is
an 1860 U.S. Census.[1]
Let’s identify and talk about all the pieces of information from this one
record.
·
James Phelps was living in the Civil District
No. 12, Huntingdon, Carroll County, Tennessee. The census was enumerated on the
11 October 1860 by J. H. Boyd.
What questions can be asked with this
information?
Where
is Carroll County located?
What
is the location of Civil District No. 12?
What
was the city of Huntingdon like in 1860? Large? Small village?
Huntingdon is the county seat for Carroll
County, Tennessee. It is located in western Tennessee, about twenty miles west
of the Tennessee River. When the 1860 census was taken, James Phelps was living
in Civil District No. 12. The following map indicates that Huntingdon was a hub
for many roads. District No. 12 was South of the main city of Huntingdon, most
likely in an agricultural area.
The most common crop grown in the area was cotton,
indicated that farms needed a great deal of help in order to harvest the crops.
Livestock was also a vital source of income. Here lies a major indicator for the division of the
county and the division of families during the Civil War. “Livestock farmers did not
have slaves and were for remaining in the Union. Cotton growers, etc. had
slaves and wanted to secede from the Union. In their meeting at the Huntingdon
Court House those wanting to remain in the Union left by the North door and the
ones wanting secession left by the South door.”[1]
If Union soldiers left for the North and the ones wanting secession left by the South door, it may be possible to identify children of James Phelps who served as Union soldiers.
If Union soldiers left for the North and the ones wanting secession left by the South door, it may be possible to identify children of James Phelps who served as Union soldiers.
Following the location of James Phelps and his family will be vital in learning his true ancestry.
To be continued...
[1] Goodspeed,
“General History of Tennessee” Carroll County excerpt as quoted from Town of
Huntingdon Tennessee (http://www.huntingdontn.com/our-town/historical-huntingdon/)
[1] Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7667). Page 215.
Image 3 of 11.
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