McMINN COUNTY, TN 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS http://ftp.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/xtn/mcminn/1860/ ========================== TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: ========================== Prepared by Donald Robbins Transcription aid by Betty Hawley Checked by D. K. Robbins Oct 18, 2004 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 (McMinn) 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 of the Microfilm reel (reel Series M653, Roll # 1262) 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 from the microfilm for the 1860 Census for McMinn County consists of 296 pages. COUNTS There were 2093 family units in McMinn county. There were 11,525 free individuals in McMinn County. Number of White Males 5861 Number of White Females 5673 Number of Black Males 20 Number of Black Females 20 Number of Mulatto Males 29 Number of Mulatto Females 27 Number of Indian Males 2 Number of Indian Females 1 Number of Students 2414 Number of Illiterates 808 Number of Married 137 in the last year PLACES OF BIRTH Tennessee 9,427 North Carolina 1037 Virginia 415 Georgia 242 South Carolina 224 Kentucky 81 Alabama 49 Pennsylvania 41 Maryland 16 England 10 Germany 9 Ireland 9 Missouri 8 Maine 4 New Jersey 3 Mississippi 2 New York 2 District of Columbia 2 Conn. 1 Scotland 1 Arkansas 1 California 1 Unknown 21 OCCUPATIONS Alphabetically ? Maker 0002 appt 0002 appt Brick Mason 0001 appt Carpenter 0002 appt Plasterer 0001 appt Saddler 0002 appt Tanner 0002 artist - murderer 0001 at school 0005 Artist 0005 blind 0008 boarder 0001 bound boy 0004 Baggage Master on RR 0001 Bank Pres 0001 Banker 0001 Bapt Min 0007 Black Smith 0055 Blue Dyeing 0001 Book Keeper 0001 Book Seller 0001 Brakeman on RR 0001 Brick Layer 0001 Brick Mason 0012 Bridge Keeper 0001 Butcher 0001 Button Factory 0016 clerk 0012 Cabinent Maker 0003 Carder 0001 Carpenter 0059 Cashier in Bank 0001 Cashier in Bank 0001 Chair Maker 0004 Chanchellor 0001 Ckt Ct Clrk 0001 Clerk in Bank 0001 Cnty Ct Clrk 0001 Cnty Register 0001 Coach Maker 0001 Collecting Offcr 0003 Collier 0002 Constable 0003 Cooper 0008 Copper Smith 0003 Cotton Spinner 0002 Ct Clerk 0001 deaf & dumb 0008 Day Laborer 0196 Dentist 0003 Deputy Sheriff 0001 Distiller 0003 Ditcher 0002 Doctor 0001 Domestic 0024 Druggist 0003 Engineer 0001 Factory Hand 0001 Factory Worker 0001 Farm Laborer 0267 Farm Laborer bound 0001 Farmer 1195 Farmer - murder 0001 Farmer blind 0001 Farmer insane 0001 Fireman on RR 0001 Founder 0001 Founderman 0001 G.P. Min 0001 Gardener 0001 Ginger Bread Baker 0001 Grand Son 0001 Grocer 0002 Gun Smith 0001 Hatter 0001 Hauling for Saw Mill 0001 Hotel Keeper 0003 Joiner 0001 Keeping Boarders 0001 Knitter 0002 Knitting 0001 Laborer 0002 Lawyer 0018 M. D. 0006 Machinist 0002 Marble Works 0001 Mattress Maker 0002 Med Student 0001 Merchant 0045 Meth Min 0011 Midwife 0001 Mill Wright 0011 Miller 0027 Milliner 0001 Moulder 0003 Officer 0001 Overseer 0003 Painter 0002 Pattern Maker 0001 Peddler 0001 Physician 0008 Plasterer 0002 Post Master 0001 Preacher 0001 Pres Min 0001 Printer 0005 Publisher 0001 Renter 0203 Route Agent M. & C. RR 0001 RR agent 0001 RR boss 0001 RR Conductor 0005 RR hand 0006 RR Worker 0002 Saddler 0005 Sawyer 0004 Seamstress 0020 Sewing 0004 Sheriff & Jailor 0001 Shingle Maker 0002 Shoe Maker 0016 Soldier of 1776 0001 Spinster 0003 Stock Clerk 0001 Stock Trader 0002 Stone Mason 0004 Student 0001 Supt of RR 0001 twin 0006 Tailor 0003 Tailoress 0043 Tanner 0002 Teacher 0031 Telegraph Operator 0001 Tinner 0005 Trader 0003 U. S. Army 0001 Waggon Maker 0007 Waggoner 0004 Wagon Maker 0009 Wagoning 0003 Washerwoman 0024 Watch Maker 0001 Weaver 0090 Wood Cutter 0002 Wood Sawyer 0001 Wool Carder 0001 OCCUPATIONS by frequency 0001 appt Brick Mason 0001 appt Plasterer 0001 artist - murderer 0001 boarder 0001 Baggage Master on RR 0001 Bank Pres 0001 Banker 0001 Blue Dyeing 0001 Book Keeper 0001 Book Seller 0001 Brakeman on RR 0001 Brick Layer 0001 Bridge Keeper 0001 Butcher 0001 convict 0001 Carder 0001 Cashier in Bank 0001 Cashier in Bank 0001 Chanchellor 0001 Ckt Ct Clrk 0001 Clerk in Bank 0001 Cnty Ct Clrk 0001 Cnty Register 0001 Coach Maker 0001 Ct Clerk 0001 Day Laborer - burglar 0001 Deputy Sheriff 0001 Doctor 0001 Engineer 0001 Factory Hand 0001 Factory Worker 0001 Farm Laborer bound 0001 Farmer - murder 0001 Farmer blind 0001 Farmer insane 0001 Fireman on RR 0001 Founder 0001 Founderman 0001 G.P. Min 0001 Gardener 0001 Ginger Bread Baker 0001 Grand Son 0001 Gun Smith 0001 Hatter 0001 Hauling for Saw Mill 0001 insane from fall 0001 insane 0001 Joiner 0001 Keeping Boarders 0001 Knitting 0001 Marble Works 0001 Med Student 0001 Midwife 0001 Milliner 0001 Officer 0001 Pattern Maker 0001 Peddler 0001 Post Master 0001 Preacher 0001 Pres Min 0001 Publisher 0001 Route Agent M. & C. RR 0001 RR agent 0001 RR boss 0001 Sheriff & Jailor 0001 Soldier of 1776 0001 Stock Clerk 0001 Student 0001 Supt of RR 0001 Telegraph Operator 0001 U. S. Army 0001 Watch Maker 0001 Wood Sawyer 0001 Wool Carder 0002 ? Maker 0002 appt Carpenter 0002 appt Saddler 0002 appt Tanner 0002 appt 0002 Collier 0002 Cotton Spinner 0002 Ditcher 0002 Grocer 0002 Knitter 0002 Laborer 0002 Machinist 0002 Mattress Maker 0002 Painter 0002 Plasterer 0002 RR Worker 0002 Shingle Maker 0002 Stock Trader 0002 Tanner 0002 Wood Cutter 0003 Cabinent Maker 0003 Collecting Offcr 0003 Constable 0003 Copper Smith 0003 Dentist 0003 Distiller 0003 Druggist 0003 Hotel Keeper 0003 lunatic 0003 Moulder 0003 Overseer 0003 Spinster 0003 Tailor 0003 Trader 0003 Wagoning 0004 bound boy 0004 Chair Maker 0004 Sawyer 0004 Sewing 0004 Stone Mason 0004 Waggoner 0005 at school 0005 Artist 0005 Printer 0005 RR Conductor 0005 Saddler 0005 Tinner 0006 idiotic 0006 M. D. 0006 RR hand 0006 twin 0007 Bapt Min 0007 Waggon Maker 0008 blind 0008 Cooper 0008 deaf & dumb 0008 Physician 0009 Wagon Maker 0011 Meth Min 0011 Mill Wright 0012 Brick Mason 0012 clerk 0016 Button Factory 0016 Shoe Maker 0018 Lawyer 0020 Seamstress 0024 Domestic 0024 Washerwoman 0027 Miller 0031 Teacher 0043 Tailoress 0045 Merchant 0055 Black Smith 0059 Carpenter 0090 Weaver 0196 Day Laborer 0203 Renter 0267 Farm Laborer 1195 Farmer Other convict 0001 Day Laborer - burglar 0001 in prison , 0001 pauper , 0016 Infirmities blind , 0008 deaf & dumb , 0008 idiot 0008 idiotic , 0006 insane , 0002 lunatic , 0003 Transcribers notes: It appears that the county was divided into two (2) parts. One was arbitrarily designated by P and the other by S by us. Frank S. Hall at P115-42 was the enumerator for the McMinn P-series. Thomas Rogers Clemons at S144-19 was the enumerator for the McMinn S-series. There was a centurion in McMinn County. Henry Brock @ P131-05. Person of note: Rowland Ware @S063-14. His age is 101, and the note says Solder of 1776 There were 50 Unoccupied dwellings in McMinn County There are two Surnames, that match their vocation: Farmer - J. W. Farmer @ S012-14 Miller - John Miller @ P083-02 McMINN COUNTY HISTORY MCMINN COUNTY McMinn County, located in southeast Tennessee, was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1819. Named for Governor Joseph McMinn, the county was created from lands ceded by the Cherokees in the Hiwassee Purchase. Calhoun, the first town and county seat, was established in 1820 across the Hiwassee River from the Cherokee Indian Agency. The need for a more centrally located seat of government led to the county seat's removal in 1823 to Athens, fifteen miles north. Athens was chartered in 1822. By 1830 McMinn County had a population of over 14,000, including 1,250 slaves. The Hiwassee Railroad began construction of one of Tennessee's first railroads in McMinn County in 1837. Plans called for a line from Dalton, Georgia, through McMinn County to Knoxville, a distance of ninety-eight miles. Financial problems and a general economic depression statewide halted construction in 1839 after the completion of sixty-six miles of graded roadbed and a bridge at Calhoun. Work was resumed in 1849 by the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad. Athens served as the railroad's headquarters until 1855, when the central office was moved to Knoxville. With the arrival of the railroad came the new towns of Riceville, Sanford, and Mouse Creek (now Niota), which developed along the line. During the Civil War, the railroad gained added significance, serving as a vital link for transporting troops and supplies between the Lower and Upper South. Like most East Tennesseans, McMinn Countians experienced divided loyalties during the Civil War. Although Tennessee joined the Confederacy in 1861, the county furnished troops to both Confederate and Union armies. While no major battles were fought within the county, thousands of troops passed through, and the area suffered severe economic hardships. Following the war, lack of capital hampered growth and development, but by the late nineteenth century, recovery, spurred by the railroad, was well under way. Two new towns, Jellico Junction (later Englewood) and Etowah, were established along railway lines. Etowah came into existence in 1905 as a railroad town, the Atlanta Division headquarters of the Louisville and Nashville (L&N). By the 1920s employment reached over two thousand, and some twenty trains passed through Etowah daily. In 1920 McMinn County's young representative to the Tennessee legislature, Harry T. Burn of Niota, cast the deciding vote approving the Nineteenth Amendment which granted women the right to vote. The Senate had passed the measure, but a tie vote occurred twice in the House. Having previously voted with the opposition, Burn switched his vote, breaking the tie, and making Tennessee the required thirty-sixth state to approve ratification. In 1921 McMinn County became the site of the construction of the first concrete highway in Tennessee, a fourteen-mile stretch of the Lee Highway (U.S. 11) from Athens to Calhoun. A small section of this road is still in use today. McMinn County suffered severe economic hardship during the Great Depression. Etowah was most affected since its economic base was tied to a single industry. When repair shops were closed and the division headquarters of the L&N moved to Knoxville, employment in the county fell to fewer than one hundred. To aid in recovery, the National Youth Administration built a scout lodge in Etowah. While World War II brought a temporary revival, the boom days of the railroad town were over. Perhaps the most notable event in McMinn's history occurred on August 1, 1946, when returning GIs overthrew a corrupt political machine with ties to Ed Boss Crump. A large number of armed deputies took ballot boxes to the county jail to be counted behind barricaded doors, refusing requests for GI observers to witness the counting. After several hours of a raging gunfire battle, those inside the jail were dynamited into surrendering. This Battle of Athens, in which, miraculously, no one was killed, resulted in governmental reform. The county court system of government was replaced by a county council-manager system, the first in Tennessee. Following World War II, McMinn County experienced rapid growth and economic development as existing industries and businesses expanded and several corporations, including Bowaters, the world's largest newsprint producer, established major plants in the area. Educational opportunities increased with the expansion of programs at Tennessee Wesleyan College and the opening of Cleveland State Community College. Also, dairy farming increased during the first three decades following the war. The presence of Mayfield Dairy Farms, one of the largest dairy processors in the Southeast, was a major factor in stimulating the growth in dairying. McMinn County's primary historical attractions are the exhibits at the L&N Depot, Etowah; the Englewood Textile Museum; and the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum, Athens, which interprets the county's history from the days of the Cherokees to the economic transformations of the 1940s through thirty exhibits. Antebellum landmark buildings include the Old College of Tennessee Wesleyan College and the Cleague Building, both in Athens. The county's 2000 population was 49,015. Bill Akins and Genevieve Wiggins, Tennessee Wesleyan College >From The McMinn County Web Site McMinn County is located in Southeastern Tennessee along the I-75 and U.S. 411 corridors. With a population approaching 50,000 people, the 430 square mile county is considered rural. Though considered rural, the county has a significant amount of heavy industry with new industries choosing to locate here at a record pace. Notable industries such as Bowater Newsprint, Johnson Controls, J.M. Huber Corporation, DENSO Manufacturing, the Heil Company, Collins and Aikman, Johns Manville, Thomas and Betts, Texas Hydraulics and Mayfield Dairy Farms call McMinn County home. With a transportation network that includes a major interstate, two U.S. highways, numerous Tennessee state highways, a navigable river, an excellent airport and two major rail lines, it is no surprise these companies have decided to call McMinn County home. McMinn County is a progressive county with one of the lowest tax burdens per capita in the nation. The quality of life continues to improve each year for this county that lies half way between the metropolitan areas of Knoxville and Chattanooga and has the Cherokee National Forest as its eastern border. This web site is just another way McMinn County government is working to make living and working in McMinn County a positive experience. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - 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.