I have completed my first grand in transcribing people from the 1850 Lawrence County, Mississippi census. This occured on the 24th page, 34th Line of the Lawrence County Census, household #177. Looking at it in numerical perspective that puts the average household size in Lawrence County as 5.67 people. This number may be somewhat off kilter, considering that one of the “households” transcribed was a hotel.
The 1000’th person enumerated in Lawrence County was David Davis. In 1850, the Davis household consisted of 5 people. By the age of the eldest child, 21, it is likely that this is a child of David, making him a widow. I know from early marriage records that David was married 23 Dec 1828, in Lawrence County, MS to a Mary Oglesby. By the 1850 census, it appears that David was widowed and left raising 4 children. The youngest child being 10 in 1850, provides some insight that Mary died 1840-1850.
Of interest to me, considering my fascination with uncommon baby names is the eldest child’s name: Cansada. Cansada in Spanish means “tired, weary” and while I can find no further reference to this used as a name, it is plausible that David and Mary called their first child by that name. Both the Ancestry transcription, and my own, have come up with the same interpretation for the handwriting.
The full family of David Davis in 1850 is:
David Davis, age 43, male, white, farmer, $300 in real/property value, b. in Georgia.
Cansada Davis, age 21, female, white, b. in Mississippi.
Nathan Davis, age 11, male, white, b. in Mississippi.
Ann Davis, age 10, female, white, b. in Mississippi.
Adaline Davis, age 16, female, white, b. in Mississippi.