Zeroing in on Parentage Using Census Data

Robert Graham was born 20 August 1818, or so his headstone tell us.  And the census records throughout his life consistently report that he was born in Mississippi.  But, without any actual documentation, can we pin down Robert's birthplace to a specific county in Mississippi?

The first census where we can identify Robert Graham is 1840, in Scott County, Mississippi.  In fact, there are 2 men named Robert Graham listed on that census.  Careful, study of both men through the census records, tells us that 1 of them was probably born in North Carolina sometime between 1816 and 1818.  This Robert is also referred to as Robert Graham Sr. on some of the tax rolls, while Robert Graham born in Mississippi on 20 August 1818 is referred to as Robert Graham Jr.

One of these men's father is Robert Graham b. before 1775 in North Carolina m. Christian Keahey d. 1825 in Hinds County, Mississippi  (at least Hinds County is where his probate records are located). and the other Robert Graham's father is Anthony Graham.

Both the elder Robert and Anthony Graham came from North Carolina to Mississippi on or before 1820.  While we don't know the exact arrival years, we can assume that Robert came before Anthony, as only Robert Graham appears on the 1816 Wayne County, Mississippi Territorial census.  By 1820, both Robert and Anthony are listed on the 1820 Wayne County, Mississippi Territorial census.

Since Robert Graham born in 1818 in Mississippi and both potential fathers were living in Wayne County, MS on or before 1820, it is probable that our Robert was born in Wayne, County, MS.  Even more important this also suggests that our Robert Graham was the son of the elder Robert Graham and Christian Keahey.

Robert Graham and Christian Keahey are known to have had a son named Robert.  In fact, we know from Robert Graham's 1827 probate records and Christian's 1836 deed of gift that Robert was their youngest child. A son born between 1816 and 1818, when they were already living in Mississippi. According to the census records, their next oldest son, George Jackson Graham, was born 12 April 1816. He was also born in Mississippi -- presumably, he too was born Wayne County, Mississippi.

The other Robert Graham, born between 1816 and 1818, was born in North Carolina.  Since Anthony Graham was not listed in Mississippi in 1816, we can assume he left North Carolina after the birth his son Robert Graham.     
 
Again, while not definitive proof, the analysis of the census information suggests that Robert Graham b.  20 Aug. 1818 in Mississippi was the youngest son of Robert Graham and Christian Keahey.

Anthony Graham & Robert & Charlotty Graham

This deed, while not concrete proof, does add another piece of evidence to support the hypothesis that Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington was the son of Anthony Graham.

This particular deed is very nice in that it also lists other Graham family suspected of being children of Anthony and Assenith Graham.  For example; Christian Sigrest was probably a daughter of Anthony; her husband being Thomas Sigrest.  Below is the abstract of the deed. Feel free to contact me for more information on this deed. 

Mississippi, Rankin County, Deed records, 1829-1936; index, 1824-1910. Chancery Clerk, Rankin County.  FHL microfilm, 38 rolls. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rankin County, Mississippi, Deed Book 9:6; FHL microfilm 873,417

 “Anthony Graham & others To James Holmes”

Twenty first day of February A.D. 1860 between Anthony Graham Sr. Robert Graham and M. S. Sigrest of the County of Scott and Lorenzo D. Graham of the County of Newton of the first part. And  James Holmes of the County of Rankin of the Second part…for fifteen hundred dollars.

Tracts of land…in the County of Rankin, Mississippi designated as the N ½  E ½  NE ¼  of Sec No 3 and the W 1/2 NW ¼ & S ½  E 1/2 [illegible] ¼ of Sec No 24 of Township No 6 of Range No 4 East being land entered by Anthony Graham 6^th Feb 1833 also the N 1/2 E ½  SW ¼  of Sect No. 24, and the S ½ E ½ NE ¼ of Sec No 23 T 6 of R 4 East being land entered on the 26^th January 1835 by Robert Graham  also the N ½ W ½ NE ¼ Sec 23 and the  S ½ W ½ NE ¼ Sec 24 Same Township & Range being land entered on the 4 March 1834 by Felix Flowers. Also the W ½ NW ¼ Sec 19 Township 6 Range 5 East being land entered 15^th April 1835 by KM & J. S. Hobson.  Also the S ½  E ½ NE ¼ Sec 24 T6 of R4 East entered by Thomas Sigrest Dec 11 1836 also the W ½ SE ¼ & E ½ SW ¼ Sec 14 and [illegible] ½ SE ¼ & N ½ E ½ NW ¼ Sec 24 Same Township and Range containing in all Seven hundred and Twenty Three 92/100 acres /723 92/100

Signed:

Anthony Graham (seal)
Robert Graham (seal)
M J Sigrest (seal)
Christian X Sigrest (seal)
L D Graham (seal)
Charlotty Graham (seal)
Mary Graham (seal)

Abstracted by:
Norah Glover
30 July 2013

Civic Duty - Newspaper Article

Elephind.com is a new search engine for locating historical news articles.  In just a few minutes, I was able to locate this article, which mentioned my 3rd great-grandfather Robert Graham.   

The Louisiana Democrat. (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, January 16, 1878, Image 2 Col 6 (about 2/3 down page). 

To read original article go to: 

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82003389/1878-01-16/ed-1/seq-2/#words=/

Transcript of highlighted area:

On the motion of Mr. Calhoon,

Resolved, That in accordance with

a resolution passed by the Jury, ap-

pointing Commissioners to apportion

road hands in the respective Wards,

H.B. Nash, Robert Graham and

William Dyer as appointed Com-

missioners for Spring Hill Ward;

[rest of article deleted as it doesn’t apply]

 Transcribed by Norah Glover 23 July 2013

William Dyer was the father of Laura Dyer who married William Jackson Graham, son of Robert Graham.

Two Robert Graham families of Scott County Mississippi

What we know:

Two Robert Grahams are known to have been born about the same time, 1816 - 1818, and both lived in Scott County, Mississippi in 1840: Robert Graham m. Ruth Smith (my direct ancestor) and Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington.  The problem is to determine the parentage of Robert Graham m. Ruth Smith.  Since there are no documents that tell us the names of either of Robert Graham’s parents, we are left to build a case through circumstantial evidence.  

We do know that an elder Robert Graham m. Christiana had a son named Robert.  This evidence comes from three different legal documents.  The first was the March 1827, guardianship order located in the Hinds County, Mississippi Probate Court records.  And on 3 December 1827, Robert is again noted as a minor in the disposition of the elder Robert Graham’s estate. (see previous blogs for more on these documents).

 The third document was the deed of gift registered in Scott County, Mississippi 19 Sept 1836, wherein Christiana Graham (Robert’s widow) gave the slave Aaron to her 2 youngest sons: Jackson and Robert.   Since there are only 2 Robert Grahams living in Scott County in 1840, we can assume with some confidence that one of them was the Robert Graham named in Christany Graham’s gift. 

In this blog I'll discuss Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington.  Many family historians, without explanation, have attributed this Robert Graham as the son of Robert & Christian Graham. While the evidence is not conclusive it does point to a different conclusion.

Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington

Robert Graham b. about 1816 – 1818, most likely in North Carolina (1860 and 1880 federal census).  Only the 1850 census lists his birth as South Carolina. 

Robert married Charlotte Pennington 24 Sept 1836 in Rankin County, Mississippi (FamilySearch, "Mississippi, Marriages, 1800-1911, [index]," database, FamilySearch.org , accessed 4 Feb 2013).

 Photo taken at the Rankin County Courthouse by Marty Cassidy 2013

Rankin County was one of the parent counties of Scott County formed in 1833.

Possible children of Robert and Charlotte Graham were:

1.  Unknown male  b. between 1837 and 1840 (possible son as Robert and Charlotte married in Sep 1836), or he may have been another related or unrelated male.
2.  Lafayette Graham b. 1838 Mississippi
3.  Frank Graham b. 1843 Mississippi
4.  Anthony Graham b. 1844 Mississippi 
5.  William Graham b. 1846 Mississippi

1840 Census

Robert Graham first appeared in the 1840 federal census for Scott County, Mississippi, with 2 males under 5 – these would have been the unknown male if he was born before or in 1840, and Lafayette b. 1838.  2 males between 10 and 29 – Robert fits this category.  The other male is unknown.  1 female between 10 and 29 was consistent with Charlotte’s age. 

Both Robert Graham were enumerated on the 1840 Scott County, Mississippi census. I have discussed the other Robert Graham’s 1840 census records previously.  

1841 Scott County Tax Rolls

Robert Graham Sr. and Robert Graham Jr. appeared on this year’s tax roll.  The sr. and jr. only designated  older and younger, not a father-son relationship.  

1845 Scott County, Mississippi State Census

Neither Robert Graham appeared on this census. 

1845 Newton County Tax Rolls

This was the first year that Robert Graham appeared in Newton County.  This would have been the Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington, as we will see them again on the 1850 and 1860 censuses for Newton County, MS.  

1850 Census

On the 1850 federal census Robert and Charlotte Graham were enumerated as family # 2 living in Newton County Mississippi, which was adjacent and to the east of Scott County Mississippi.  Family #3 appearing on the next line in the census was Anthony Graham b. 1770 in North Carolina.

Living with Anthony Graham were possibly his children:

·          

• Benjamin Graham b. 1830 in Mississippi
• Asenath Graham (f) b. 1833 in Mississippi (named for her mother Assenith?)

1860 Census

The family in 1860, was still living in Newton County, Mississippi. On this census Anthony Graham age 90 was now living with Robert and Charity Graham.   Perhaps Charlotte also went by the name of Charity, or the enumerator made an error.

 

Children living with Robert and Charity were:

• Benjamin Graham, b. 1840 in Mississippi (named for his uncle?)
•  Antony Graham, b. 1842 in Mississippi  (named for his grandfather?)
•  William Graham, b. 1845 in Mississippi

1870 Census

By 12 July 1870, Robert and Charlotte Graham were back in Scott County, Mississippi. None of their children were living with them.  

1880 Census

By 1880, Robert and Charlotte Graham had moved to Vernon Parish, Louisiana, and they were living with Robert’s brother Benjamin Graham.   He was indicated as the brother on this census.

Discussion:

Both Robert Grahams were residing in Scott County, Mississippi in 1840 (Federal Census).

Anthony Graham appeared next to Robert and Charlotte Graham on the 1850 Newton County, MS. Federal census.  And, more telling was that by 1860, the aging Anthony Graham had moved into the same household as Robert and Charlotte.  This certainly lends credibility to the hypothesis that this Robert Graham was the son of Anthony Graham, as both Anthony and Robert move from Scott County to nearby Newton County sometime before 1845. 

The Newton County Tax rolls list Anthony Graham starting in 1838, apparently he had already moved at least by that date, and Anthony Graham, age 70, did not appear on the Scott County, MS census. Of note is the fact that a Benjamin Graham living with Anthony Graham in 1850, was probably a son.   The fact that Robert is designated as Benjamin’s brother on the 1880 census lends weight to the evidence that Anthony Graham b. 1770 in North Carolina was also the father of Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington. 

It seems that Anthony Graham, age 90, probably died sometime between 1860 - 1870.  A search for Anthony Graham's grave on the Internet was negative. No search for Anthony Graham's probate records was conducted as the Newton County probate records only extend back to 1876.   

Still to be analyzed are land records of Anthony Graham. These may hold additional evidence for family relationships.   

What's in a Name?

Another way of looking at determining parentage, when there is no definitive document providing the information, is to look at naming patterns.   While not conclusive evidence of family relationship, names can provide clues that may help unravel family relations.

In a recent blog, I offered  names for Robert and Christian Graham’s children, as obtained from Robert’s probate records.  Those children were (*indicate named as minor heirs in probate records): 

1.       Margaret

2.       John

3.       Charles

4.       Anthony

5.       Reuben *

6.       Sarah *

7.       Christian *

8.       Archibald *

9.       George Jackson *

10.   Robert *

For example we know that the 2 Robert Grahams, living in Scott County, Mississippi were born about the same time 1816 – 1818, one in Mississippi and one in North Carolina, they had different wives (Ruth and Charlotte), and named their children differently.   

Children of Robert Graham m. Ruth Smith

1. Sarah C.
2.  Christiana Elizabeth
3.  William Jackson
4.  Julia Ann
5.  Emily
6.  Lorenzo Dow
7.  Demerius  or Demarius
8.  Ruth M.
9. Mary Ann
10.  Annie

A quick review, shows that Robert and Ruth Graham’s children had some similar names to the elder Robert & Christian Graham: 

 Sarah

 Christian(a)

 Jackson. 

According to Farmer in The History of the Graham Family for the Graham Family Reunion 1979, the elder Robert Graham’s wife Christian was Christian Keahey.  Her mother’s maiden name was Jackson, and Christian was also her maternal grandmother.  She also had a brother George Jackson Keahey who died in 1808.   These facts all still need to be researched and documented.   But, they are tantalizing clues.  

And, now a quick look at the known children (determined from census records) of Robert Graham m. Charlotte Pennington

1. Lafayette
2. Benjamin 
3. Frank
4.  Anthony 
5.  William

The only name match here is Anthony.  This will become important as I continue to look at other options for Robert Graham’s father.  

In the future, I’ll take a look at all of Robert Graham m. Christian Keahey grandchildren’s names to see if there are any further matches that might be clues to family relationships .