W.C. Sharp household, 1865 Illinois State Census, Pope Co.

This 1865 enumeration follows a decade after the family appeared in the 1855 Illinois State census. The census only gives the name of the head of household; the other members of the household are counted in several age brackets as shown below. A single census line spanning two pages (assigned a single page number) represents this family [1], and is rendered vertically below ...

[Pages]	58
[Line]	3
Names of Heads of Families.	W.C. Sharp
White persons.
MALES.
10 years and under.	1
10 years and under 20.	2
20 years and under 30.
30 years and under 40.
40 years and under 50.
50 years and under 60.	1
60 years and under 70.
70 years and under 80.
80 years and under 90.
90 years and under 100.
100 years and over.
FEMALES.
10 years and under.	3
10 years and under 20.	1
20 years and under 30.	2
30 years and under 40.
40 years and under 50.	1
50 years and under 60.
60 years and under 70.
70 years and under 80.
80 years and under 90.
90 years and under 100.
100 years and over.
Negroes.
M.
of all ages.
F.
of all ages.
TOTAL.	11
Militia.	1
Manufactories.
Value of products of Manufactories.
Value of products of Coal Mines.
Value of Live Stock.	700
No. of Pounds of Wool.
No. of Colleges.
No. of Common Schools.
Number of Pupils.
Remarks.

Commentary:

This census has been made available through Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. However, at the time these sources were examined (March 2013), neither of them include the first five pages of the Pope County microfilm, which provide information about the appointed census commissioner and summary statistics for the county. For that reason, the copy referenced here came from the Illinois State Archives [1].

In the introductory pages of the county census, the appointment of Henry Freeman, as census commissioner, is recorded as having taken place 5 June 1865 [2]. Later, John Raum, the clerk for the county court, registers the filing of the completed census enumeration from Henry Freeman on 5 October 1865 [3]. By Illinois state law [4], persons were counted who were county residents on the first Monday of July. For this census year that would have been: 3 July 1865.

The 1850 Federal Census taken in Rising Sun, Indiana, the 1870 Federal Census taken in Livingston County, Kentucky, and the 1880 Federal Census also taken in Livingston County, Kentucky, give us earlier and later snapshots of the family to which to compare. The table below matches the counts in each age bracket to the likely family members.

Age/Gender	Count	Identity
50 <= M < 60	1	W.C. Sharp (52y)
10 <= M < 20	2	Perry C.(15y), Charles B.(11y)
0 < M <= 10	1	George A.(9y)
40 <= F < 50	1	Delilah (40y)
20 <= F < 30	2	Sarah (27y); unknown
10 <= F < 20	1	unknown
0 < F <= 10	3	Ida B.(4y), Agnes (2y), Mary(<1y)

The "Militia" column indicates how many "white male persons, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years" are eligible for militia duty [5]. Using this criterion, W. C. Sharp is too old (50 to 60), so it would seem to apply to a male in the 10-20 age bracket of which there are 2. However, if these persons are Perry and Charles, then they are too young.

Of the 31 households enumerated on the same census page, 27 report some "Value of Live Stock" and 9 report some "Number of lbs. of Wool". These 27 live stock valuations range from $50 to $1000. W.C. Sharp's $700 valuation is at the upper end of the range and he does not report any wool production.

Reference Notes:

[1] 1865 Illinois state census, Pope County, Golconda Precinct, p.58, line 3, W.C. Sharp household; Illinois State Archives, Springfield; Record Series 103.010, Microfilm Roll Number 30-2183.

[2] Ibid., p. 1.

[3] Ibid., p. 3.

[4] Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois adopted by the General Assembly of said state, at its regular session, held in the years, A.D., 1844-'5 (Springfield: Walters & Weber, Public Printers, 1845), Chapter XIX, Census, p.90, sec. 9; digital images, Internet Archive (http://archive.org : accessed 5 March 2013).

[5] Ibid., p. 90, sec. 5