52.5: In the Census

This post is part of a project called "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" created by Amy Johnson Crow.

The prompt for this week is "In the Census."  I know in my decades of doing genealogy, there must have been many "aha" moments while squinting at census records on the microfilm readers.  For the life of me, I can't bring any one to mind.

However, I recalled this census record had a lot to offer:

1870 Federal Census Orange County, Indiana
Jackson Township, p. 15
Found on Ancestry.com

I was trying to find my 2nd great-grandmother, Martha Ann Tillery (born 1853) before her marriage to William Braddock Moore. Here she is! Great. But who are all the people with her, and why should I care?

The 1870 census does not state how members of a household are related, so don't make any assumptions.  People with four different surnames with ages spanning several decades are all living together (I'll also note, there is a James A. Dishon age 6 on the following page included as part of this household.)

This record actually represents a family matriarch, Rebecca Hobson, with several of her children and grandchildren living together on the same farm. She was born Rebecca Turner Kearby in 1815 in Kentucky. She married her first husband John Tillery (1810-1854) on March 30, 1833 in Dubois County, Indiana. Living with her in 1870 are three children from this marriage: Martha, Alfred, and Nancy Dishon. Alfred and his wife Catherine have two children at this time. Nancy Dishon was widowed and had four children living there. As of this time, I do not know who the two Lutrel children are.

The widowed Rebecca Kearby Tillery married her second husband, Mark Hobson, on April 24, 1858 in Orange County, Indiana. He died ten years later, leaving her a widow once again. They had one children together, the girl Rachel seen in this census.

So what at first glance looks like a boarding house is actually a pretty solid family unit. But what else can be learned? Don't just look at your family. Check out who is on the page with them, and the pages before and after.

1870 Federal Census Orange County, Indiana
Jackson Township, p. 15
Found on Ancestry.com

You might just find a husband.

The orphaned William Braddock Moore is living right next door, working on the farm of his cousin James A. Moore. I guess this is how he met Martha Ann Tillery; they were married later that year on October 30, 1870 in Orange County, Indiana.

When searching the census records, figure out who everyone in the household is. Check out the families living nearby. A little detective work can uncover a previous generation to investigate.

The Extinction of the Moores

It hit me on my afternoon commute. My Moore line is nearly extinct. I could think of only one living male Moore, and couldn't wait to get home to make sure I was right.

Grave of Edward Windsor Moore in Orleans, Indiana

I blogged earlier about my 4th great-grandparents, Edward Windsor and Susannah Bryant Moore, and their struggle to get a Civil War pension. You can start reading about that here if you like.

The Facts

Edward Windsor Moore was born 17 October 1802 in North Carolina. He married Susannah Bryant (born 25 July 1804 in Lincoln County, Kentucky) on 24 September 1823, in Orange County, Indiana. They lived nearly all their lives in rural Orange County except for a short stint in Kansas which did not agree with them. This couple had thirteen children. You would expect a large number of Moores to come down from them, right?

Well, you would be wrong.

Their children

Edward and Susannah Moore had seven sons. John and Joseph died in early childhood. Bartlett Coffin, their youngest, died tragically at the age of 16 serving as a bugler in the Civil War.

Sons Columbus and David only produced daughters that survived to adulthood.

This leaves only William Bryant Moore (my ancestor), and Edward Windsor Moore II. Both of these men had sons that survived adulthood.

Their grandchildren

Let me address Edward Windsor Moore II first. He died in battle during the Civil War. He has my only "loose end." He had two sons, Nelson and Edward Windsor III. Edward Windsor III is the only one listed as an heir to his grandfather's estate in 1890, meaning Nelson Moore died before this time leaving no heirs. I can find no other records for him beyond this date. If he produced any heirs I haven't yet located them.

Now on to my ancestor, William Bryant Moore. He died at the age of 20, on 10 January 1851. Fortunately he left behind one tiny baby, William Braddock Moore, my great-great grandfather.

Their great-grandchildren

William Braddock Moore was orphaned at the age of 12 when both his mother and stepfather passed away that year.  He married Martha Ann Tillery in 1870, and they reared a large family that included four boys.  Two of them, William and Charley, died in childhood.

Moore Family Portrait about 1900
Back row: Minnie, Nannie, Fred, and Ella
Front row: Ed, William Braddock, Nellie, Martha, and Opal

This left Edward Bryant Moore, who only had daughters, and my great-grandfather Frederick Thomas Moore.

Their great-great grandchildren

Fred Moore married Della Mariah Moore (a great confusion but completely separate line of Moores) in 1899. They had three sons: Lee, Ed, and Robert. Robert died just after his first birthday.

My great-uncle Ed married and helped raise his stepchildren, but never had children of his own. That just leaves my grandfather Lee, who passed away several decades ago.

Their great-great-great grandchild

Lee Moore married Lillian Wilson in in 1936, and had one son, my uncle Bill. In the 215 years since the birth of Edward Windsor Moore, it has come down to this. One man that still carries the Moore yDNA.

My uncle Bill, the last of the Moores

That's what hit me in traffic the other day. Bill is 80 now and has no children.  I immediately asked my mom to talk to him about taking a yDNA test for me, and he graciously agreed. I'm ordering the kit today, and hope that this will help solve some mysteries for me. Moore is a fairly common surname and I'm stuck at Edward Windsor Moore's grandfather William, who died in North Carolina in 1781. I can't figure out where he came from. Perhaps in a few months I'll get some more clues.

My Family in the Civil War, Part Sixteen: Aftermath

This is the sixteenth in a series on my Civil War ancestors

In these last few posts, I've looked at what effect the Civil War had on just one couple in my family tree. Edward Windsor Moore and Susannah Bryant Moore sent four sons to war. Two died in service, one of disease contracted while serving, and the fourth continued on in the military and moved hundreds of miles away.  The death of their youngest son, Bartlett Cofin Moore, whom they depended on to care for them as they aged, affected the course of the rest of their lives.

Graves of Edward and Susannah Moore from findagrave.com

The Moores had seven sons in total. Two died as children. Bartlett died in the war before having a family of his own. My ancestor, William Bryant Moore, died at age 20 having fathered only one child. This line of Moores comes down to one surviving male, my uncle Bill, who has no children.

Of the other Moore boys, I can trace down to only one other male line. Edward Windsor Moore Jr., who died at the battle of Vicksburg, had a son by the same name. The last record I can find of him is when he received his inheritance from his grandfather Edward Moore's estate in 1890. I have been able to trace no further and do not know if he married and had children.  If he didn't, the Moore line coming down from Edward and Susannah is extinct.

Of course, Edward and Susannah's daughters and granddaughters married and produced many descendants. But the war took its toll on them as well. Six sons-in-law served in the Civil War; one, William Smith Hawhee, died after being wounded at Stone River.  The other five survived: Isaac Newton Breeden, Richard A. Spaulding, Enoch E. Inman, Leonidas Ross Grigsby, and Trusten B. Wilson.

Edward and Susannah lost one grandson that I know of in the war, Edward Windsor Breeden. He contracted measles and died after his return from fighting.

I also traced several nephews of Edward and Susannah Moore affected by the war. Four men died: John A. Moore, Joseph H. Moore, Thomas Tillery, and Thomas Coulter Moore. Two others fought and returned home: Solomon Moore and William Davis Moore.

I'm sure there is more to be uncovered about this family, but I'll end my report on them here. It is reported on the Civil War Trust website that 620,000 men died in the Civil War. Until the Vietnam War, that was more than the number of men lost in all other wars combined. Even now, the total of all other wars stands at about 644,000.  If your family lived in America during the Civil War, it most certainly affected them in some way. Find out how and tell their stories.