Sponsored By GenealogyBank

09 August 2014

Only For a Few Years

A couple of interest were first living as a married couple in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in the 1820 census. The wife's family is difficult to trace and no one of that surname is listed in the 1820 census in the location.

It is very possible that the bride's family lived in the county for a few years and then moved on, only staying in the area long enough for their daughter to meet and marry a local boy.

5 comments:

  1. Much can happen in a ten year time span. Tax rolls can help in locating families. Even if the family didn't own property, the man may be shown paying poll tax.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Try to find out if the bride's father served in the War of 1812, and if so whether he used his Land Bounty Warrant. He and his wife might show up in records from a Military District. It's also possible he gave or sold his Warrant to one of his sons, a brother to the bride, and lived with or near the son in their old age.

    Also, track the building of significant or National roads from the area where the young woman married. It's possible her parents moved on from there along such a route. It's also possible they simply went back to where they'd come from, if that area is know to you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The War of 1812 warrant is a good idea. I'd been focused on tax lists and local records, but federal records should be a part of this search as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kentucky Law required a marriage bond be issued in the county the BRIDE resided in. Law didn't give a hoot where the groom lived. Do you have a marriage bond? Does it have a parent or guardian consent. Kentucky had and still has, some of the strictest marriage laws in the US. ie bride's age, consents, no previous marriage still in force, waiting periods & so on. Ky., couples often ran to Tenn. or Ind. where "quckie" marriages were available.

      What is the surname you are searching?

      Have you searched other nearby counties?

      Delete
    2. The specific people in question are Enoch Tinsley and Nancy Dunaway--probably married around 1815 in (or near) Bourbon County, Kentucky.

      Delete