The Search for Jeremiah Evans’ Parents

After finding Jeremiah Evans’ wife’s correct name and ancestry (as I posted yesterday), I decided to take another look for his ancestry.

Jeremiah was married in 1833 in Orange Co., NC, so I looked in the first census after that, 1840, to see if I could find him and other relatives in Orange Co.

Jeremiah-Samuel-1840

I found Jeremiah, and immediately above him was Samuel Evans. The 1840 census only lists heads of households, along with the numbers of males and females in various age groupings. In Jeremiah’s household, there were 2 males age 0-4, 1 male age 30-39, 1 female age 0-4, 1 female age 5-9, and 1 female age 30-39. That was obviously Jeremiah, Martha, and 5 children.

In Samuel’s household, there was 1 male age 10-14, 1 male age 20-29, 1 male age 50-59, and 1 female age 50-59. That would obviously be Samuel, his wife, and probably 2 sons.

The next step was to research Samuel Evans and try to see what the family connection was, since they were next-door neighbors in the census.

I found an estate file for Samuel Evans from 1840 in Orange Co. One of the papers was signed by his wife, Frances, on November 23, 1840, so Samuel most likely died earlier in 1840, but after the census date. The paper Frances signed stated that Samuel had just 3 children, Jesse, Henderson, and Jeremy. Jesse and Henderson would be the two sons in the census, and Jeremy would be my ancestor, Jeremiah.

I found Henderson Evans in the 1850 census for Orange Co., NC. He was 39 years old with a wife and children. He would have been 29 in 1840, which matches the 1 male child age 20-29 in Samuel’s household. Also, next door to Henderson was Frances Evans, age 60. She was his mother.

Since I now had Frances’ approximate birth year, 1790, I wanted to know Samuel’s. He was listed in the age category 50-59, corresponding to a birth year anywhere from about 1781 to about 1790. I went back to the 1830 census for Orange Co. and found Samuel’s listing. In that census, he was also listed in the age category 50-59, corresponding to a birth year from about 1771 to about 1780. So Samuel was actually born about 1780 or 1781.

So now I know Jeremiah Evans was the son of Samuel and Frances Evans.