BLEDSOE COUNTY, TN 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: Prepared by Donald Robbins Transcription aid by Betty Hawley Checked by D. K. Robbins August 29, 2008 Census Sheet's Format ------------------------------- Census Sheet Header Information ------------------------------- Each Census Sheet consists of 40 lines. The Header information contains a place for the Date of entry, Post Office, The County Name (Bledsoe) and the name of the recorder of the information. ------------------------------- Census Sheet Detail information ------------------------------- Column 1 - Dwelling - houses numbered in the order of visitation Column 2 - Families, numbered in the order of visitation Column 3 - The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1860 was in this family Column 4 - Age Column 5 - Sex Column 6 - Color, White, Black or Mulatto or Indian Column 7 - Profession, Occupation or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age Column 8 - Value of Real Estate Column 9 - Value of Personal Estate Column 10 - Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country Column 11 - Married within the year Column 12 - Attended School within the year Column 13 - Person over 20 who could not read or write Column 14 - Whether deaf & dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict In the interest of getting the information transcribed to an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, some adjustments were made in the format of the transcription. A new line was created, which contains the Page Number and Line Number that the information was transcribed from. The Surname is in Caps, along with the date of the census page, the census district, the Post Office, and the information from Column 1 and Column 2. The information from Columns 11, 12, 13 was encoded following the Column 10 information, Place of Birth. The encoding is: M, for married within the year, S, for attending school within the year, and I, for illiterate for a check in Column 13 for persons over 20 who could not read or write. The information from Column 14 is added, as is, to the person's line. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The information for the 1860 Census for Bledsoe County consists of 95 pages. ================================ COUNTS ================================ The Dwellings in Bledsoe County are numbered from 1 to 671 There are 665 families in this grouping. Number of White Males 2060 Number of White Females 1903 Number of Black Males 6 Number of Black Females 4 Number of Mulatto Males 30 Number of Mulatto Females 27 Number of Students 797 Number of Illiterates 518 Number of Married 26 in the last year PLACES OF BIRTH Tennessee 3122 North Carolina 229 Virginia 140 Kentucky 48 South Carolina 48 Georgia 48 Conn. 12 Pennsylvania 6 Maryland 6 Mass. 2 Texas 2 Illinois 1 Ireland 1 Vermont 1 Engl. 1 Indiana 1 ================================ OCCUPATIONS ================================ Alphabetically appt GS 2 appt 1 artist 1 boarder 1 Bapt Min 1 Black Smith 14 Brick Mason 1 clergy 1 clerk 2 Cabinent Maker 1 Carpenter 5 Cooper 2 County Registrar 1 Day Laborer 10 Dentist 1 Distiller 2 Doctor 1 Domestic 29 Farm Laborer Convict 1 Farm Laborer 230 Farmer 390 Grocer 2 Gun Smith 2 Hotek Kpr 1 House Keeper 22 Jailor 1 Laborer 34 Lady 2 Lawyer 3 Magistrate 1 Mail Carrier 2 Mananger 1 Merchant 4 Meth Min 5 Miller 7 none 1 overseer 4 Physician 7 Saddler 2 Seamstress 17 Shoe Mkr 1 Stock Driver 1 triplet 3 Tavern Kpr 1 Taylor 1 Tayloress 1 Teacher 11 Trader Stock 1 Wagon Mkr 3 Washer Woman 3 Weaver 15 Wheelwright 1 ================================ OCCUPATIONS ================================ by frequency Farmer 390 Farm Laborer 230 Laborer 34 Domestic 29 House Keeper 22 Seamstress 17 Weaver 15 Black Smith 14 Teacher 11 Day Laborer 10 Miller 7 Physician 7 Carpenter 5 Meth Min 5 Merchant 4 overseer 4 Lawyer 3 triplet 3 Wagon Mkr 3 Washer Woman 3 appt GS 2 clerk 2 Cooper 2 Distiller 2 Grocer 2 Gun Smith 2 Lady 2 Mail Carrier 2 Saddler 2 appt 1 artist 1 boarder 1 Bapt Min 1 Brick Mason 1 clergy 1 Cabinent Maker 1 County Registrar 1 Dentist 1 Doctor 1 Farm Laborer Convict 1 Hotek Kpr 1 Jailor 1 Magistrate 1 Mananger 1 none 1 Shoe Mkr 1 Stock Driver 1 Tavern Kpr 1 Taylor 1 Tayloress 1 Trader Stock 1 Wheelwright 1 ================================ INFIRMITIES ================================ blind 1 idiot 14 pauper 5 ================================ Transcriber's notes: ================================ The census taker in Bledsoe County was: M. A. SMITH ================================ BLEDSOE COUNTY HISTORY ================================ IN THE BEGINNING.... The first settlers moved into the Sequatchie Valley, then Roane County, around 1805, soon after the first treaty was signed with the native people. Some of these early settlers were Wilson, Oxsheer, Tollett, Standefer, Griffith and Anderson. Louise Maxwell Anderson is believed to be the first white child born in Sequatchie Valley in September 1806. The oldest county in Sequatchie Valley, Bledsoe was named for a member of the prominent Bledsoe family of Sumner County. The most likely candidate for this honor is Anthony Bledsoe, a practical surveyor and Revolutionary war patriot. Bledsoe became a county in 1807, during James Sevier's last term as governor. James Standefer and John Tollett were appointed in 1811 to select a place for the county seat. Alexander Coulter donated forty acres to erect the town of Madison. Much of the land acquired by early settlers was a result of laws passed by the Tennessee State Legislature 1806-1809 which allowed a settler to claim the land he was living on as well as other unclaimed lands. Some of these early claimants were John Billingsley, John Hankins and John Narramore. Sometime between 1816 and 1818 the county seat was moved to Pikeville. Bledsoe County was and is comprised of many small communities often bearing the name of a church, store, or post office. These are very often family names. In 1832 Matthew Rhea listed four place names on his map: Pikeville, Big Springs, Madison and Rainey. In 1836, by an act of the Tennessee State Assembly, Bledsoe County was divided into 10 Civil Districts. The gentlemen responsible for the districting were Isaac Stephens, Samuel McReynolds and Samuel L. Story. In 1856 the Northern part of Bledsoe County became part of Cumberland County and in 1858 portions of Southern Bledsoe County were given up to Sequatchie County. BLEDSOE COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR This time period created much confusion and dissension among the citizens. Bledsoe County voted against withdrawal from the Union and while the state itself voted for secession, much of the eastern part of Tennessee remained loyal to the Union. Despite the fact that Bledsoe voted against secession, several Confederate companies were organized. The Tulloss Rangers were organized by John Bridgeman in July 1861 and named to honor James A. Tulloss of Pikeville for his contributions to the company. In August, 1861, Weatherston S. Greer also organized a company with men from Bledsoe, Rhea and Roane Counties. Other Confederate units were organized by William J. Hill, Alexander H. Roberson and Oliver P. Schoolfield. Most of the Bledsoe men who joined the Union forces enlisted in upper east Tennessee, Huntsville, Athens and at Camp Dick Robinson in Kentucky. During the Civil War the men of Bledsoe County were found fighting for both Confederate and Union units. While no complete list of participants exists, a partial list of Civil War soldiers from Bledsoe county is included here. BLEDSOE COUNTY TODAY Located 50 miles north of Chattanooga in the southeast part of Tennessee, Bledsoe is a small rural community of 404 square miles. It is bordered by Cumberland County on the North, Rhea and Hamilton Counties on the East, Sequatchie County on the South and by Vanburen County on the West. Pikeville, the county seat, is located in the central part of the county on the Sequatchie River and has a population of about 2500. CIVIL DISTRICTS In 1836, the Tennessee State Legislature appointed 3 citizens of Bledsoe County to lay off the county into districts for the purpose of electing Justices of the Peace and Constables. Isaac Stephens, Samuel McReynolds and Samuel L. Story divided the county into 10 districts, each with a designated voting place, the northern most being District 1 and the southernmost being District 10. It is important to note that in 1856 Cumberland County was created and took Civil Districts 1, 2, and 3 as part of its territory and in the same year the State Legislature detached the 10th district along with the 1st and 2nd districts of Marion County to become part of Sequatchie County. TOPOGRAPHY AND MIGRATION PATTERNS OF BLEDSOE COUNTY The Land Bledsoe is divided into three distinct areas by nature...the Cumberland Plateau, Walden's Ridge and the Sequatchie Valley. The Cumberland plateau was named for the Duke of Cumberland by Dr. Thomas Walker, a Virginian. Sequatchie/Sequachee is of Cherokee origin and means hog trough or possibly opossum. There are two stories of the naming of Walden's Ridge. One story supposes it is named for a hunter, John Walling who died there; the other suggests it was named for Elisha Walden. Many early settlers were farmers. The rich fertile land around the Sequatchie River provided the perfect environment for the corn crops which were the mainstay of the settlers. Migration Most early settlers in Bledsoe county came from eastern seaboard states (North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina ) or the counties of upper east Tennessee namely, Roane, Grainger, Anderson and Knox. Expansion was rapid in the early days of the county. More than 3000 people immigrated in the 5 year period between 1805 and 1810. BLEDSOE COUNTY HISTORIAN Elizabeth Robnett: Box 234, Route One Pikeville, Tennessee 37367 Ms. Elizabeth Parham Robnett has served as Bledsoe County Historian for more than 25 years. Born and raised in Pikeville, her deep sense of the past, led her not only to become a teacher of history but also to publish the excellent books on the county. I am deeply indebted to Ms. Robnett for much of the historical information presented here. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - ================================ THE STORY TELLERS ================================ We are the chosen. My feelings are, in each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know, and approve. To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors you have a wonderful family you would be proud of us? How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do? It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying I can't let this happen. The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish. How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So we do. With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are them and they are us. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take their place in the long line of family storytellers. That, is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and put flesh on the bones. Author unknown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 1860 Census or Lots of Questions Answered The 1860 Census lists a dwelling number and family number and each sheet lists the county as well as town and post office name. Questions answered on the 1860 census include, name, age and sex of each individual; color, occupation, value of real and personal property; birthplace, whether married within the year (m.y.), whether attended school, can read or write and the date of the enumeration. Also included are boxes to indicate if an individual was a pauper or convict. Here is an article published in 1859 about the upcoming 1860 census: Friday September 23, 1859 Weekly Star THE NEXT CENSUS The year 1860 is the time appointed for taking the eighth census of the United States. From having been originally a simple enumeration's of persons, this Federal census has grown to be a decennial register of the number of inhabitants and their occupation, religious denominations & c, and also a statement of the commerce, manufacturers, arts and industry, and the wealth of the nation. The collection of these statistics has hitherto been attended with immense labor and difficulty. The inquiries of the census takers have not only been baffled by the stupidity and perverseness and ignorance of many to whom they were addressed; but it has been impossible to obtain accurate information upon important subjects because the parties; who alone are presumed capable of imparting it, have never taken the trouble to inform themselves. It often occurs that, in the absence of the head of a family no other member of it is able to give the information required; for instance as to the ages of the different members or it, or the amount of land in cultivation, the number of negroes and their ages, the quantity and value of horses, mules and oxen, etc., or of farming implements or farm products. In town and country similar difficulties are continually met with by the marshals appointed to collect these statistics, and the census is consequently returned incomplete. It is probably that while care will be observed to prevent any frauds or excess in the publication of the next census, it will be ordered by Congress to be taken so as to include all the most important items of information in regard to the progress of our population and our country. In view of this contingency the Nashville News very sensibly suggest that each farmer, this fall , as he gathers his crops, shall keep something like an accurate account of the quality and value of the same; and if he will take the trouble to make out a statement of the names and ages of his family; the number and ages of his servants, the number and value of his horses and mules; the number of bales of cotton, barrels of corn, bushels of wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes, etc., and leave it in some place where any member of thefamily, who may be at home when the deputy marshal shall call, can readily get hold of it, it will save time to all concerned, and very greatly assist to make the census return perfect, complete and satisfactory.