Harris & Lydick Census Fun

You never know where you'll find someone when you search census records.  For instance, last night I ran across a family in which two grandchildren were listed as living with the grandparents ... and the grandchildren were from different parents.

Here is the household from the 1880 federal census:

Harris, Benjim, age 75 - head
-------, Nancy, age 70 - wife
-------, David, age 27 - son
-------, Bell, age 20 - wife
-------, Joseph, age 1 - son
Lidyck, Florence, age 10 - grandchild

A census is supposed to show everyone's relationship to the head of household, but this enumerator didn't quite follow the rules!

Of course, Benjim should read Benjamin - but if you're writing too fast it's easy to leave out a few letters here & there.  Either that or the census taker was practicing to become a doctor!  But I digress ...

It looks like Benjamin had two wives - but there's no polygamy in the Harris family (at least not that I know about).  Bell is the former Rosa Belle Rulong; she married David Harris who really is Benjamin's son.  So that solves that issue.

How likely is it that a couple aged 75 and 70 have a one-year-old son?  Not very.  Since Bell is shown with her relationship to David rather than Benjamin, it seems much more likely that Joseph is David and Bell's son.  That would make him grandchild no. 1 in this household.

Of course grandchild no. 2 is actually shown as such - although I believe her surname is misspelled and should be Lydick, the spelling used by most of those families in Marshall County.  It's a name that has been spelled different ways down through history, including Leidig, Lidick, etc.

Who is this Florence?  I believe she is the daughter of Oliver Perry and Mahala Lydick - the very next family on that census sheet.  Interestingly, the enumerator spelled their last name correctly as Lydick ... go figure!  This is Mahala Harris, the oldest daughter of Benjamin and Nancy Harris - so there's the connection.  Perry (as he was commonly known) and Mahala lived next to her parents; so while Florence was living with her grandparents, she was still close to her parents.

As I said at the beginning, you never know what you'll find in a census record!

Ohio Valley Cost of Freedom Tribute

Wednesday, August 22 ... the American Veterans Traveling Tribute was escorted into Moundsville, West Virginia, by 837 motorcycles.

It was a day of pride - after all, Marshall County residents have always been very proud of the men and women who have served their country.  And this pride was exhibited by the large number of folks who turned out to line the route - one of the largest numbers the Patriot Guard has witnessed according to one of their members.

The next day, that pride was mixed with a lot of emotions as family and friends visited the replica of the Vietnam Memorial to honor the fallen veterans - many laying roses at the base of The Wall, taking photos and making rubbings of the names of their loved ones.

Lyle G. Aston,
11th Armed Cavalry Regiment
"The Blackhorse Regiment"

R.I.P. cousin Lyle ... you may be gone, but you'll NEVER be forgotten.

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Additional info about Lyle's service

Anderson Photos

I've been looking for military photos for my sister to display in her store during the Ohio Valley Cost of Freedom Tribute in Moundsville this week.  One that I'm taking is of David Anderson in his Civil War uniform.

Remember my Jesse Anderson post from a few days ago?  I mentioned having photos of three Andersons:  Rachel (Anderson) Aston, Maggie (Anderson) Allen and Dave Anderson - and I'd like to confirm whether or not they are siblings.  I won't repeat all the details, but thought it might be nice to add the photos here.

Here is Dave ... research leads me to believe that he is holding a cavalry sword in addition to the two pistols/revolvers he has tucked into his belt.

 

Here is the photo with both Maggie and Rachel.  They have their arms around each other, which seems indicative of a close relationship.

They certainly all three have rather square jaws.  Do you see a resemblance?

David Harris

David Harris was born 20 October 1815 in Virginia (now West Virginia) to John and Nancy (Binnegar) Harris.  He married Melissa Jane Bartlett, whose parents migrated to (West) Virginia from Maine. 

Just as many of my Harris ancestors remained in or near Marshall County, (West) Virginia ... others, including David and Melissa, headed west as so many folks did in the 1800s.  Six of their children were born in (West) Virginia; two more were born in Illinois. 

The photo above is courtesy of Rosann Brown - a distant cousin and direct descendent of David and Melissa who I met online and eventually in person when she came "back east" a few years ago.  I consider this photo a wonderful treasure as it's not everyday I get an image of someone from that generation.  I don't know the exact date the photo was taken, but the year was 1885, meaning David would have been around 70 years old.  I wonder if his birthday might have been the occasion - he was looking quite dapper!

David died on 20 February 1897 at the age of 81; Melissa lived another 17 years.  Both are buried in the Dallas City Cemetery, Dallas City, Illinois.  You can find a photo of their gravestone and additional details about their family on my website - search for either David Harris or Melissa Jane Bartlett.

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Reviewing David has been part of my ongoing cleanup as I work through my database.  His ID no. is 253 ... the highest one is currently 2638 ... time to get back to it!