James Polk Forrester, the second son of Coleman Forrester and Anna Carnes, was born 16 Aug 1844 in Georgia.¹

1900 Fannin County Census - Forresters

I first encountered him in the census in 1900, where he appeared as James P. Foster, 55-years old and head of household. He lived in Fannin County, Georgia.²  His mother, Anie Foster, appeared three households away³and his sister Mary Ward (my 2nd great-grandmother) appeared four households away⁴; moreover, his birth date was reported as Aug 1844, which corresponds to the birth date found in the Forrester Family Bible records, so I was confident that he was the right person. He and his wife Martha A. (age 33) had been married 11 years, putting their marriage date at approximately 1889. They had four children living at home: Magnola (6), Claud C. (4), Cattie V. (2), and George W. (1 month).

1880 Fannin County Census - James P. Forrester

My next sighting of James was on the 1880 census in Fannin County, where he appeared as James P. Forester, head of household. This time, his wife was named Elizabeth and she was 36 years old. There is a 12-year-old son named William and a 7-year-old daughter named Ida J.⁵  This is clearly not the same family, but could it be the same James? He was 35, which is the right age for someone born August of 1844. A search of all variations of the Forrester surname yielded no others named James or Polk in Fannin County. A few James Forresters were found in neighboring counties, but the ages aren’t close. This is when I started to suspect that Martha from the 1900 census was James’ second wife (although in retrospect, the difference in their ages should have been a clue). Two things made me unsure about this being the right James. His father’s birthplace was reported as Georgia, whereas all other known records show South Carolina; however I think parents’ birthplaces is one of the least reliable pieces of information on the census, so I consider that a minor negative. The other thing that gave me pause was how far away he lived from his parents. Although they lived in the same district, James appeared in dwelling #4, while his parents were five pages away in dwelling #79.

Forister-Vanzant Marriage License

Next, while searching for Forrester marriage records in Fannin County, I came across a marriage license for James P. Forister and Mary L. Vanzant, who were married 6 Dec 1866.⁶  The date seems right for the James and Elizabeth found in the 1880 census, as their first child was born about 1868; however, the name Mary L. is puzzling. There was one other record in the county for a James Forrester, who married Alice Mathis on 1 Dec 1899. The second marriage license could be for the Martha found in the 1900 census. Her middle initial was A. and they were likely married in 1899. I put a pin in both these records until I could find more information.

Forresters & Vanzants 1870

The last census record found that shows James as an adult was for 1870 in Fannin County. He appeared as Polk Forister, age 25. Also in the household were Mary, age 25, and William, age 2.⁷  This is shaping up. William was 12 in 1880, so 2 in 1870 is a perfect match. Elizabeth in 1880 was 36, which is close enough to match Mary’s age in 1870. The real clincher was the next door neighbors – their surname was Vanzant, their ages were right to be the parents of Mary/Elizabeth, and the oldest female in the house was named Elizabeth. There were no other James or Polk Forresters in the right age range enumerated in Fannin County in 1870. It’s really starting to look like the James P. Forister who married Mary L. Vanzant is the same person that appeared in the household with Mary in 1870 and married to Elizabeth in 1880. Furthermore, since his age so consistently matches the James Polk Forrester who was the son of Coleman and Anna, and there are no others with that name in the right age range, it is reasonable to believe that they are the same person.

My last step was to look at the Vanzant household in other years to make sure they did fit into this scenario. I looked again at the 1880 census – the one where I was concerned because James lived so far away from his parents. There I found the Vanzants, three households away from James.⁸  Then, I looked at 1860 to see if a Mary/Elizabeth was living at home and indeed there was – Elizabeth, age 16, which puts her birth year consistently at 1844 or 1845 on the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses. This looks like a match. There was no one enumerated as Mary in the Vanzant household in any of those years, so I believe James’ first wife must have been named Mary Elizabeth Vanzant and was the daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth Vanzant.

The fifth lesson in the NGS Home Study Course is about census records.  I use census records all the time and didn’t learn anything new; however, as with most of the lessons so far, doing the assignments brought out holes in my research.

The first assignment in this lesson is to create a census research checklist based on the 4-generation pedigree chart one is working on throughout the course.  The task is to identify each federal census taken during the individuals’ lifetimes and to indicate where you would look (county and state) for the census records.

Census Research Checklist-JEH

As you can see, I’ve already located most of the census records, but there are several that I haven’t located yet.  A few individuals are missing most census records, most notably the McEntires and Alexanders, so those are big holes that need to be filled.

Census abstract¹:

1. James B. Butler, Head, rented home for $20, did not live on a farm, male, white, age 49, married for the first time at age 25, did not attend school during the year, literate, b. GA, father b. G, mother b. NC, occupied as Sheriff of Murray County where he worked for wages, not a veteran.
2. Maude, wife and homemaker, female, white, age 45, married for the first time at age 20, did not attend school during the year, literate, b. GA, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
3. J. B., son, male, white, age 19, single, attended school during the year, literate, b. TX, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
4. George, son, male, white, age 17, single, attended school during the year, literate, b. TX, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
5. Ednah J, daughter, female, white, age 16, single, attended school during the year, literate, b. TX, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
6. Luke, son, male, white, age 13, single, attended school during the year, literate, b. TX, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
7. John, son, male, white, age 11, single, attended school during the year, literate, b. GA, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
8. [Living], daughter, female, white, age 9, single, attended school during the year, b. GA, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
9. [Living], daughter, female, white, age 4, single, did not attend school during the year, b. GA, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
10. [Living], daughter, female, white, age 1 7/12, single, did not attend school during the year, b. GA, father b. GA, mother b. GA, no occupation.
11. Frank E. Johnson, lodger, male, white, age 34, single, did not attend school during the year, literate, b. GA, father b. SC, mother b. NC, occupation “In Jail.”

The family lived on Fort Street in Chatsworth, Murray County, Georgia.

Analysis of the data:

• The implied birth dates for all family members are consistent with data from other sources, allowing for small differences in rounding.
  

  Old Murray County Jail

• The family moved back from Texas sometime between the births of Luke and John.  To narrow that further, Luke was born in 23 Apr 1916² and John was born on 19 Aug 1918.³
• Jim’s and Maude’s reported ages at first marriage imply that they were married in 1905 or 1906.  In fact, they were married 8 Feb 1906 in Murray County, Georgia.⁴
• The last member of the household was Frank Johnson.  Prisoner was written in under relationship to head, then marked out and replaced with lodger; furthermore his occupation is reported as being “In Jail.”  My grandmother has told me that her family lived in the jail while her father was sheriff, so this entry offers evidence to support that knowledge. (See image of the Old Murray County Jail.)
• Jim’s entry states that he was not a veteran.  In fact, he served during the Philippine Insurrection.⁵  This makes me think that neither Jim nor Maude answered the enumerator’s questions.

The Neighbors

Extracting the neighbors was an interesting experience; my other great-grandparents were farmers in 1930 and lived in rural areas, where most of their neighbors were also farmers.  Jim and Maudie lived in town.  The households were smaller and the people were older.  Their neighbors had a wide variety of occupations.  Women were much more likely to work for wages and many worked outside the home.

Surnames include:  Adams, Anderson, Bagley, Bates, Best, Blalock, Bradley, Bramblett, Caley, Campbell, Cantrell, Carlock, Chastain, Cosley, Dickie, Dillard, Dudley, Edwards, Gordon, Goswick, Hampton, Harris, Heartsill, Hix, Howell, Ingle, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Kelly, Kitchen, Larison, Leonard, Long, Lunsford, McCune, Moreland, Morris, Nichols, Parks, Quarles, Reagan, Roberts, Rogers, Shelton, Smith, Springfield, Swanson, Trammell, Wafford, Walker, Wattenbarger, Wells, West, and Woods.

In the 52 households extracted, there were 216 residents, meaning that the average household size was 4.15 people.  Almost all homemakers were the wife.  The neighborhood was almost evenly divided between owners and renters.  Twelve households had radio sets; this is a significant difference from the other neighborhoods I’ve surveyed, which only had one or two radios.  Only two families lived on farms.  Only nine individuals were Negro; the rest were white.  The average age of residents was 30.  One person was divorced, 98 were married, 107 were single, and 10 were widowed.  Females tended to be about 23 when first married and males about 24.  Without taking into account age, 19% of females and 21% of males had attended school during the year.  Only three residents over the age of 10 were illiterate.  Most individuals were born in Georgia, with a smattering born in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas.  Forty different occupations were represented, including laborer, manager, seamstress, laundress, teacher, and many more.

Other Butlers and Whiteners in Murray County

The only other Butler household in the county contained Jim’s parents, Dave and Malinda, and his brothers Frank and Olen.

There were four households with Whiteners.  Maud’s half-brothers William A.⁶ and Avery P.⁷ headed two of the households; her father lived with William.  The other two households consisted of two Negro families.

While transcribing 1930 census records for the 50 households surrounding James A. Hemphill, I found two households headed by his relatives.  I wasn’t surprised to find them, because I knew where their houses were in relation to my great-grandparents, but it was nice how the census work came together and saved me from searching specifically for these two families.

J. A. Hemphill, my great-grandfather, and his wife and three youngest sons appeared in Murray County in the Ball Ground district on page 1 A¹.  Two pages and seventeen households away lived Mattie Hemphill, J. A.’s sister-in-law, the wife of his half-brother, Thomas M. Hemphill².  In Mattie’s household was her daughter, Beatrice, whom I’ve always heard called “Aunt Bat.”  Next door was Mattie’s son, Ed and his family³.

Census Abstract:

1. James A. Hemphill, Head, rented home, lived on a farm, male, white, age 51, married, age at first marriage was 19, did not attend school during the year, literate, b. GA, father b. NC, mother b. GA, English speaker, farmer on a farm, worked on his own account, employed, not a veteran, farm schedule #2.
2. Nancy A., wife and homemaker, female, white, age 53, married, age at first marriage was 21, did not attend school during the year, literate, she and both parents born in GA, English speaker, no occupation.
3. William E., son, male, white, age 20, single, did not attend school during the year, literate, he and both parents born in GA, English speaker, laborer on a farm, unpaid family worker, employed, not a veteran.
4. John E., son, male, white, age 14, single, attended school during the year, literate, he and both parents born in GA, English speaker, laborer on a farm, unpaid family worker, employed, veteran status blank [census enumerators were instructed to leave this field blank for males under the age of 21].
5. Robt M, son, male, white, age 12, single, attended school during the year, literate, he and both parents born in GA, English speaker, laborer on a farm, unpaid family worker, employed, veteran status blank.

The family lived on Federal Road in Ball Ground, Militia District 925 of Murray County, Georgia.

Analysis of the data:

1. According to this census, James A. Hemphill was born approximately 1879.  His World War I draft registration card and headstone both state April 19, 1879.  The 1880, 1900, and 1910 censuses all imply an 1879 birth date; only the 1920 census implies an 1880 birth date, which is not a significant difference.  All the other information related to J. A. (marriage information, birthplaces for him and his parents, literacy, occupation, veteran status, etc.) is consistent with all other sources.
2. Nancy A. (known as Alice), was born approximately 1877.  Her death certificate and headstone both state January9, 1877.  The 1880, 1900, and 1910 censuses all imply an 1877 birth date, with the 1920 census implying 1878; again, this is an insignificant difference.  The only inconsistency in Alice’s information is the birthplace of her father.  The 1880 and 1900 censuses both state that he was born in Tennessee; since she lived with her parents at the time of both those enumerations, Tennessee is the more probable birthplace for him.  One can assume that whomever spoke with the census enumerator in 1930 did not know where Alice’s father was born.
3. J. A.’s and Alice’s reported ages at first marriage imply that they were married in 1898.  In fact, they were married December 25, 1897 in Murray County, Georgia (not a significant difference).
4. William E. (known as Elmer) was born approximately 1910 according to this census.  He was born July 5, 1910 according to both his military discharge and a newspaper article about a birthday dinner for him and his brother.  The 1920 census implies a birth year of 1911 (insignificant difference).  I do not know the date of his first marriage, but his first son was born in 1934, so there is no reason to disbelieve the statement that he is single.  All other information about Elmer is consistent with other sources.
5. John E. was born approximately 1916 according to this census.  He was, in fact, born on January 28, 1916, which can be proved through his World War II Army enlistment record and death certificate.  There are no inconsistencies regarding in this census for my grandfather.
6. Robt M (Robert) was born approximately 1918 according to this census.  He was aged 1 on 1920 census, but his death certificate and headstone both state a birthdate of November 24, 1918.  All other information is consistent with other sources.

The Neighbors

J. A. lived in the 2nd household enumerated in his district.  I had a hard time deciding how to handle extracting 25 households in each direction, since I wasn’t sure what other district to choose.  I ended up staying in the Ball Ground district and just extracting until I reached 51 households total.

Surnames include:  Baggett, Barton, Bates, Beacham, Bedwell, Betton, Black, Blackwell, Bowers, Brown, Burch, Calhoun, Campbell, Carrol, Chambers, Charles, Corn, Davis, Dean, Green, Griffin, Hemphill, Hensley, Ingram, Jackson, King, Kisselburg, Manis, Messer, Moone, Moore, Nalan, Nolan, Osborne, Parker, Pritchett, Quarles, Silvers, Smith, Taylor, and Tippen.

In the 51 households, there were 282 residents, meaning that the average household was comprised of 5.3 people. As expected, almost all homemakers were the wife of the head of household; only four were either the head of household or a daughter. The majority were renters; only 3 owned their own homes.. Only 1 household had a radio set (Dr. Bates).  Everyone lived on a farm.  230 of the neighbors were white, while 52 were Negro.  Their average age was 23.  97 people were married, 176 were single, 8 were widowed (one was illegible). Females usually married for the first time at age 20, while males waited until they were 24. Without taking into account age, 12% of the females had attended school during the year, compared to 15% of the males. Seventy percent of residents over the age of 10 were literate.  All but three residents were born in Georgia, with the exceptions being from Tennessee, North Carolina, and Texas. Furthermore, their parents were mostly born in Georgia also, with a few other states represented. Almost everyone was engaged in farming, but there was one physician and two teachers.

Some family members were also neighbors.  J. A. and Nancy’s eldest son, James Y. appeared four households down, with his wife and baby daughter.  J. A.’s sister-in-law, Mattie, appeared seventeen households away, with her daughter; Mattie’s son and family lived next door.

Other Hemphills and Roberts’ in Murray County

There was one additional Hemphill household in the county, headed by John (the son of Mattie from the previous paragraph).

The county contains 30 Roberts’ in six households. The Roberts’ households are headed by “Rosevelyn” (Alice’s mother), William L. (Alice’s brother), Jud (Alice’s first cousin), Arthur Q. (Alice’s first cousin), Lester (unknown relationship), Charles (unknown relationship), and Glenn E. (probably unrelated, as he was born in Kentucky).

Census abstract¹:

1. Frances T. Kendrick, Head, rented home, lives on a farm, male, white, age 53, married, age at first marriage was 25, did not attend school during the year, literate, b. GA, father b. TN, mother b. GA, English speaker, farmer on a farm, worked on his own account, employed, not a veteran, farm schedule #81.
2. Lizzie W., wife and homemaker, female, white, age 43, married, age at first marriage 31, did not attend school, literate, b. GA, father b. SC, mother b. TN, English speaker, no occupation.
3. Daisy M., daughter, female, white, age 16, single, did not attend school, literate, she and both parents born in GA, English speaker, no occupation.
4. Roy E., son, male, white, age 11, single, attended school, literate, he and both parents b. GA, English speaker, no occupation.
5. F. Lucile, daughter, female, white, age 10, single, attended school, literate, she and both parents b. GA, English speaker, no occupation.
6. Ruby V., daughter, female, white, age 8, single, attended school, literate [yes marked out, but written in again], she and both parents b. GA, English speaker left blank [census enumerators were instructed to leave this field blank for those under the age of 10], no occupation.
7. [Living]

The family lived on Caylor Settlement Road, in the Tenth District of Murray County, Georgia.

Analysis of the data:

1. According to this census, Francis T. Kendrick was born approximately 1877. His death certificate and World War I registration card both state 13 Jan 1876.^{2 3} All other census records imply birth years of 1876 or 1877; this is not a significant difference and the census data support the birth date of 13 Jan 1876.

2. Based on the ages at first marriage, France had a prior marriage that occurred about 1902. In fact, marriage records show that he married Cora Lee Fouts on 18 Aug 1902.⁴

3. Although 31 is old for a first marriage, especially for a female, the implied marriage year for France and Lizzie of 1918 is supported by their marriage record, which states a marriage date of 20 October 1917.⁵ Moreover, a search of Murray County marriage records shows no prior marriage for her and she had no children prior to this marriage.

4. France and Lizzie had been married 12 years, which means the oldest child in the household, Daisy M. (age 16) was from France’s prior marriage. Daisy (aka Mae) was not in her father’s household in 1920; she may appear with a relative of her mother’s.

5. The birthdates for Roy, Lucille, and Ruby are about 1919, 1920, and 1922, respectively, but more information is needed.

The Neighbors

Elizabeth Shown Mills says we should look at 25 households on each side of our ancestor⁶.  For the Francis T. Kendrick household, this takes us from Halls Chapel Settlement Road, through Caylor Settlement Road to Beaverdale Road.

I’m not convinced that the people on these roads would be considered “neighbors,” but this is the path taken by the census enumerator, so we’ll go with it, since all are in the same enumeration district.  Surnames include Baxter, Beavers, Brock, Bryant, Callahan, Carr, Caylor, Cookerly, Crider, Croy, Curd, Davis, Deal, Dixon, Douthett, Dunn,  Hagler, Hampton, Henry, Hicks, Higgings, James, Langford, Langston, Lankford, Mantooth, McEntire, Patterson, Petty, Plemons, Pritchett, Richards, Shields, Slaughter, Sluder, Stroud, Wattenbarger, Whittle, and Wilson.

Since I transcribed records for all these households, I thought it would interesting to look at some summary information on the neighborhood.  In the 51 households, there were 238 residents, meaning that the average household was comprised of 4.7 people.  As expected, most homemakers were the wife of the head of household; however 22% were another person, either the head, or a sister, daughter, etc.  57% owned their home, while 43 % were renters.  Only 2 of the 51 households had a radio set.  Almost all lived on a farm.  All were white and their average age was 25.   One person was divorced, 81 were married, 137 were single, and 19 were widowed.  Females usually married for the first time at age 21, while males waited until they were 24.  Without taking into account age, 19% of the females had attended school during the year, compared to 22% of the males.  Almost everyone was literate; only six of the residents over the age of 10 could not read and write.  88% of the residents were born in Georgia, with most of the rest from Tennessee and a smattering of people from Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oklahoma.  Furthermore, their parents were mostly from either Georgia or Tennessee, with a few other states represented.  Almost everyone was engaged in farming, but there was one bookkeeper, one road-worker, and one traveling salesman.⁷

Other Kendricks and Wests in Murray County

There were three other Kendrick households in the immediate vicinity, headed by D. Ernest, Franca M., and Mary L.  I do not know who these people are yet, but I assume they were related to France.  There were no Wests in the 50 surrounding households.

The county as a whole contained 60 Kendricks in 11 households.  These households are headed by Francis M. (Francis T.’s father), Jasper N. (Francis T.’s brother), Samuel H. (Francis T.’s brother), Thomas J. (unknown relationship), William W. (probably Francis T.’s nephew), James A. (possibly Francis T.’s brother), and Dolph (Francis T.’s brother).

The county contains 41 Wests in seven households.  The West households are headed by William A. (unknown relationship), James (Lizzie’s brother), W. Marion (Lizzie’s brother), Joe (unknown relationship), Macon L. (unknown relationship), Charles E. (unknown relationship), and Robert (Lizzie’s brother),

William H. “Buddy” Ward was my third great-grandfather.  His is the penultimate name I have in the Ward line, so while he is not a brick-wall ancestor, both of his parents are.  His death certificate has been a valuable document, confirming some data, providing new information and leading to new documents.

Confirmations

• He was a farmer.
• His father’s name was Harvey Ward.
• He was born September 1864 (based on an age of 68 years, 7 months).

New Information

• He died in Newport.  I knew he died in Fannin County, but now I have a city.
• His middle name was Harvey.
• He was born in Roy, Georgia.  I’m not aware of a town called “Roy,” but there is a Roy Road in Fannin County.  All I had before was Georgia, so this is a huge find.
• His mother’s name was Mary Tucker.  I had previous, unsourced information that her name was Ann or Jane Tucker.
• William’s wife, Mary, was the informant on the death certificate and her residence was Newport.
• I had previous information from a couple of census records that Mary could read and write; however, she made her mark on the death certificate.
• William was buried in Dial.  I still don’t know the cemetery, but this is very helpful.  Mary’s parents are buried at Dial Church of Christ Cemetery and I know there are some Wards there as well, so that is a possibility.
• He died of chronic myocarditis and intestinal nephritis, complicated by high blood pressure.

New Documents

• Learning that Williams’ mother’s name was Mary quickly led me to the 1870 census record for this family. This is the first census record I have for Harvey and Mary; it provided two siblings for William as well as approximate birth years and states for Harvey and Mary. I can feel the brick wall crumbling!

Research To-Dos

• Look up William on Find-a-Grave to try to locate the cemetery where he is buried.
• Follow-up on new census record and go from there.

• Great #genealogy resource! Gordon County GA obituaries online. http://ow.ly/2i2Jb #
• RT @JireneGen: “Write as you have never written before.” The Coming Genealogical Dark Ages. Good #genealogy article. http://su.pr/9MB3yo #
• RT @vrc84: Doing in #genealogy in GA or surrounding states? Follow the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Sun. column http://tinyurl.com/254zdyv #
• RT @GenealoGee: A Review of Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder – Part I: Since late 2007, several “direct-to… http://goo.gl/fb/lgSl7 #
• Blog post: On this date. . .the 30th of July. http://ow.ly/2j5HI #genealogy #
• RT @iwisenet: Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.-T.Edison #quote #
• Blog post: #Genealogy To-Dos – July Wrap Up http://ow.ly/2jiCC #
• Blog post: On this date. . .the 31st of July http://ow.ly/2jiDi #genealogy #
• RT @maineroots: Social Explorer: http://www.socialexplorer.com Demographic info from US censuses 1790-present—some free content. #genealogy #
• RT @maineroots: Historical Census Browser (Univ. Virginia Library): http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/index.html Data, maps, etc. #genealogy #
• RT @fairangels: Organizing lots of cool #genealogy bookmarks at http://delicious.com/rootsguy #
• RT @Cherpal: Heritage Happens ~ I did my 10! http://bit.ly/bknN4o #genealogy #
• Blog post: August #Genealogy To-Dos http://ow.ly/2jyIf #
• Blog post: On this date. . .the 1st of August http://ow.ly/2jyIW #genealogy #
• Madness Monday: The Mystery of Grandma Haney. http://ow.ly/2k0o3 #genealogy #
• RT @JireneGen: I loved this #genealogy Tampa Sicilian midwife’s records. You never know what is available on FHC films! http://su.pr/6svtTv #
• On this date. . .the 2nd of August http://ow.ly/2k0pN #genealogy #
• RT @DebbieKennett: Family Tree DNA ready to launch “Population Finder”: admixture %’s using SNP scan results http://tinyurl.com/3xgp39z #
• Tombstone Tuesday: Benjamin Forrester http://ow.ly/2kBt3 #genealogy #
• RT @FranEllsworth: Good tips for those helping on Find a Grave: Taking Cemetery Pictures http://bit.ly/ct3lgt #
• On this date. . .the 3rd of August http://ow.ly/2kBvv #genealogy #

Andrew Hemphill was born 08 Nov 1782 and died 22 Nov 1858.¹  He married Catherine McDonald, who immigrated from Enniskillen, Ireland.²

Andrew was probably born in Old Fort, North Carolina; his father is enumerated in Burke County on 1790 census (Old Fort was part of Burke County at that time).³  He was the son of Captain Thomas Hemphill and Mary Ann Mackie.⁴

Andrew and Catherine had nine children:  Thomas, Mary M., Dwight McDonald, James, Samuel McKey, Archibald McEntire, William McDonald, John R. and Benjamin C.⁵  In 1824, he was named as one of two executors of his father’s will.⁶

He is buried at Old Siloam (aka Old Ebenezer) Cemetery in Old Fort.⁷

I cannot find my great-grandfather’s household on the 1910 census.  His name is James Benjamin Butler.  He appears on other censuses as follows:

• 1900:  James, in his father’s household in the Ball Ground District, Murray County, Georgia.
• 1920:  “J. B. Butter” in the Ball Ground District, Murray County, Georgia.
• 1930:  “James B. Butler” in Chatsworth, Murray County, Georgia.

He should be found in Texas in 1910.  His first five children were born in Quanah, Hardeman County, Texas between 1907 and 1916.  Moreover, his second son was born in Quanah on February 14, 1910.  So, 1910 in Hardeman County seems like a no-brainer.  The only problem is I can’t find him.

I’ve searched every permutation of his name that I can think of in both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch (not just in Texas – the whole country).  James, J. B., Jim, Butler, Butter.   I’ve searched all Butlers born in Georgia in 1880, then again as a wild card search with the last name as But?er.  I’ve also searched for his wife, Maud Angeline, and his two oldest sons, Floyd David and James Benjamin, Jr, again with any name combination I could come up with.

I found his sister, Mattie (Butler) Sampler and her husband in Quanah.  His younger brother, William, lived with Mattie.  I would have thought that Jim’s family lived somewhere nearby, but I’ve browsed through every page of the census images for Hardeman County and they are nowhere to be found.

If anyone know where to find this family on the 1910 census, please leave a comment.  Also, please comment if you can think of any other ways to search.  I’m out of ideas.