If you were an eagle-eyed reader of my last post, on how researching the potential siblings of my 2x great-grandfather (James) Steven Evans helped me to make stronger connections between him and the people I believe to be his parents, Daniel Evans and Jennette (aka Anna Jane) Welch, you may have noticed two things.
- First, in the snippet of the 1900 Census I shared, showing
the household of Daniel and Jennette, there are two numbers on the far right of
the image: 3 and 3. Though it’s not visible in the snippet, these numbers are
written into the columns headed “Mother of how many children” and “Number of
those children living.”
- Second, in the snippet of the 1910 Census I shared, illustrating Jennette (as Annah Evans) living with her daughter Sarah and son Nelson, there are again two numbers in the far right columns: 14 and 5. As before, these numbers represent the number of children she has given birth to and the number who are currently living.
Now, you might recall that I listed out 5 siblings of (James) Steven Evans: Nelson, William, Alfred, Sarah, and Rachel. So, there are 6 kids of whom I am aware. Based on federal census and other records, all seem to have been born between 1870 and 1890. I have confirmed dates of death for five of the six, and the earliest is for William, in 1928.
So, what’s with these numbers of children born and children living in 1900 and 1910? I don’t have definite answers, but here are some thoughts.
- First, for 1900’s three and three, Daniel and Jennette had three of their children living with them when they were visited by the census enumerator that year: Sarah, Rachel, and William. Perhaps the numbers in the how many children and how many children living columns were reflections of a simple misunderstanding of the questions, or a desire to get quickly through the questioning/reporting process, or even a desire for obfuscation. Who knows?
- Second, for 1910’s fourteen children born, five living: Daniel and Jennette married in December 1866. Their first child that I can document, Nelson, was born about 1871. I would actually be surprised that their first child wasn’t born in 1867, if not for two things:
- 1) Jennette seems to have been born about 1853. If that’s the correct year, she was 13 years old when they married, while he (having been born about 1844) was around 22. Perhaps he just didn’t cross certain boundaries with her until she was older. Nelson was born when Jennette was about 18.
- But, also, 2) there’s nothing to say that she didn’t
actually give birth to a child in 1867 or otherwise before 1871. While there
are no children living with them in the 1870 U.S. Census, it is possible that
she gave birth to children who didn’t live long
enough to be counted in the census. Child loss was tragic but frequent in this era, as in many before. But the 1870 Census didn’t ask how many
children women had given birth to or how many children they had still living.
Neither did the 1880. So there's no easy way to know.
- And it’s possible she gave birth to other children who didn’t survive between 1880 and 1910. The 1890 Census can’t provide us with info, because most of it was destroyed due to a fire. What remains doesn’t cover the area where Daniel and Jennette lived. So we've got the 1900 and 1910 censuses. Alabama counties generally began registering deaths in 1881. But, per FamilySearch.org, "most counties were slow to comply, not all deaths were recorded. In addition, many records from this time period are missing or were destroyed." Compliance improved with a new state law in 1908, but it was still not universal. And you can imagine any number of reasons why the child of a Black family in a rural Alabama county in the early 1900s might not have had his or her death reported, either by the family or authorities. If no death certificates were filed, or registers kept and updated, or records preserved, there may be no documented evidence of these children. Or I simply may not have found evidence of them yet.
- Third, re: 1910’s five living children, I mentioned that I am aware of six siblings, but only know when five of them – Nelson, William, (James) Steven, Sarah, and Rachel - passed away. But, when did Alfred pass away? My only evidence of him at the moment is his presence in the 1880 U.S. Census. Perhaps he passed away before 1910, leaving his mother Jennette with the five living children who are included in the count of “Number now living.” That suggests I should focus my efforts in on finding a death record for him between 1880 and 1910. (Basic efforts here have been unsuccessful, but I’m going to keep trying.)
- Fourth, way back when I was writing about the marriage of (James) Steven Evans and Laura Ann Scruggs, I mentioned that the granddaughter of one of (James) Steven’s sisters had told me that he and Laura Ann had had 14 children. I’ve only been able to document 8, possibly 9, maybe 10 of them. (For one thing, I don’t know if two daughters listed in different censuses – Jenette and Anna Jane - are the same person or two different children. That’s probably worthy of its own Mystery Monday post.) The 1910 Census, which is the only one in which I have (James) Steven and Laura Ann as a family, only shows her as the mother of 5 children, all of whom are living. (This, by the way, would make sense if Jenette and Anna Jane were the same person.)
Anyway, the point is: I don’t have other evidence that Laura Ann was the mother of 14 children, besides the oral history. But I do have evidence (though I wouldn’t call it proof) that her mother-in-law, Jennette (Welch) Evans, did have 14 children. Makes me wonder about the oral history that was passed down to my cousin (and then me) – was it off by a generation? And hey, if it wasn’t, how amazing would it be that both women had 14 children?
All of this to say, I may not know who all of (James) Steven Evans’ siblings were. And, isn’t it interesting what we are and are not able to know in pursuit of our family history and stories? There will always be unknowns!
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Do you have a piece to this puzzle? Or just a thought to share? I’d love to hear – drop a comment below!
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