The Elijah Edens Brick Wall
Each family tree has a brick wall, and most of the time it is on one of the main paternal or maternal lines. For my family research that brick wall is Elijah Edens, born about 1810, probably in Virginia.
In the more than 20 years I have been researching Elijah relatively little is known about him, save for his place of residence in 1830, 1850, 1860, and 1880, as well as his spouse and children.
Elijah Edens first appears in the 1830 U.S. Federal Census in Hawkins County, Tennessee[1]. This record shows that in his house there was one free white male between 15-20 years of age, and one free white female between 15-20 years of age.
Now rumour / family history states that Elijah Edens married Nancy Fields in 1828 in Hawkins County, Tennessee, but due to a fire at the courthouse in 1863 those marriage records have been destroyed so there is no document supporting this story.
What is Known
What is known is that Elijah Edens shows up again in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census in Lee County, Virginia, enumerated on 26 September 1850[2]. This Census listed the following people in Elijah’s house:
- Elijah Edens, 40 year old male, farming, born in Virginia
- Nancy, 40 year old female, born in Virginia,
- William, 20 year old male, farming, born in Tennessee,
- Hiram, 18 year old male, farming, born in Tennessee,
- Elijah, 16 year old male, born in Tennessee,
- Elizabeth, 12 year old female, born in Kentucky,
- John, 10 year old male, born in Virginia,
- Eliza, 6 year old female, born in Virginia, and
- Margaret, 3 year old female, born in Virginia
Elijah and Nancy are found again in the 1860 and the 1880 U.S. Federal Census in Hancock County[3], [4].
Other than a tax record from Hawkins County, Tennessee, in 1836[5] and 1837[6], there is no other record of Elijah Edens, and all his residences, according to the various Census records, kept him within a 50-75 mile area of Lee County, Virginia, Hawkins County, Tennessee, and Hancock County, Tennessee.
So where was Elijah in 1840 and in 1870? Are there other records that have not been discovered or is there simply no other evidence of his life?
In an attempt to solve this riddle I reviewed the records that are known.
The Research
The records, in and of themselves, do not give any indication of movement other than his current location in 1830, 1850, 1860, and 1880, but what they do provide is the suggestion of misspelled names.
In the 1830 Census he is listed as Elija Edens[7], in 1850 his name is listed Elijah Edens[8], in 1860 he is listed as Elisa Edans (and a female)[9], in 1880 he is listed as Elygha Edens[10]. The 1836 tax record lists him as Elijah Eadons[11] while the 1837 tax record lists him as Elijah Edens[12].
It is not unusual to find variations on name spellings in genealogical research, but there seemed to be a greater instance of this happening with Elijah Edens. With this in mind the search began anew with renewed vigor.
Looking in the 1840 Census index I was not able to find Elijah, with any spelling, in the counties he had previously and subsequently lived in. In an expanded search I found an Elijah Eidens in Cabell County, Virginia[13]. This census lists one male under five years old, 2 males five to nine years old, one male 30-39 years old, one female under five years old, and one female 20-29 years old.
Comparing these ages to the people listed in the 1850 Census provides evidence that this is indeed the missing Elijah Edens. No other Edens have been located in that county in 1840. This does bring up the question why Elijah would move his family over 200 miles north between 1837 and 1840, but that is a question for another time.
So the solution of where he was in 1840 has been solved so we now look to the 1870 Census. We know he moved his family from Hawkins County, Tennessee to Cabell County, Virginia sometime between 1837 and 1840, and by 1850 he was back south in Lee County, Virginia. Between 1850 and 1860 he moved his family to Hancock County, Tennessee and was still there in 1880.
All the searches of various spellings of Edens was performed for the 1870 Census in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina, but Elijah and his family was nowhere to be found.
While looking through an 1870 Census index book at the Montgomery County Library Genealogy Department, again with no success, the idea came to me to look under the “I”s in the index, I mean, what the hell, nothing else has worked.
There on page 378 was a listing for “Idings, Elijah 60, CL-245.”[14] Could this be him?
Pulling up the 1870 Census for Claiborne County, Tennessee, revealed:
- Elijah Idings, 60 year old male born in Virginia[15]
- Nancy, 60 year old female born in Kentucky
- Eliza, 26 year old female born in Virginia
- Margaret, 23 year old female born in Tennessee
- George, 19 year old male born in Tennessee
- Jane, 17 year old female born in Virginia
The names and ages, when compared to the 1860 and 1880 Census, give evidence that this is the missing Elijah Edens.
The 1860 Census has Elijah Edens living in the Four Mile area of Hancock County, Tennessee[16] while the 1870 Census he is living in the Tazwell area of Claiborne County, Tennessee[17], which is only about 10 miles apart from each other and just over the county line. Of course, in 1880 he was back in Hancock County, Tennessee.
So after many years and dozens of researchers looking for him in 1840 and 1870, Elijah Edens and his family have finally been found. The next problem is to work on who his parents and possible siblings are, but that is a project for another time and more headaches.
[1] 1830 U.S. Census, Hawkins County, Tennessee, town not stated, p.73, line 3, Elija Edens; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-25141-4783-18?cc=1803958 : accessed 10 May 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Lee County, Virginia, District 31, p.389, line 33, dwelling 1177, family 1207, Elijah Edens; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DC-4SL : accessed 10 May 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
[3] 1860 U.S. Census, Hancock County, Tennessee, Four Mile District, p.166 (penned), line 31, dwelling 1155, family 11091, Elisa Edans; database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 May 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
[4] 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Hancock County, Tennessee, pop. sch., enumeration district (ED) 093, p. 20 (penned), p. 333C (stamped), line 14, dwelling 21, family 21, Elygha Edens family; database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Apr 2016); citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C..
[5] Hawkins County, Tennessee, 1836 Tax Record, District No 4, p 442 (stamped), line 11, for Elijah Eadons; consulted as “Tennessee, Early Tax Records, 1783-1895,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 May 2016); citing Early Tax Lists of Tennessee. Microfilm, 12 rolls. The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
[6] Hawkins County, Tennessee, 1837 Tax Records, District No 3, p 425 (stamped), line 29, for Elijah Edens; consulted as “Tennessee, Early Tax Records, 1783-1895,” Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 May 2016); citing Early Tax Lists of Tennessee. Microfilm, 12 rolls. The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
[7] 1830 U.S. Census, Hawkins County, Tennessee, town not stated.
[8] 1850 U.S. Census, Lee County, Virginia, District 31.
[9] 1860 U.S. Census, Hancock County, Tennessee, Four Mile
[10] 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Hancock County, Tennessee.
[11] Hawkins County, Tennessee, 1836 Tax Record, District No 4, p 442 (stamped), line 11, for Elijah Eadons
[12] Hawkins County, Tennessee, 1837 Tax Records, District No 3, p 425 (stamped), line 29, for Elijah Edens
[13] 1840 U.S. Census, Cabell County, Virginia, p. 56 (stamped), line 17, Elijah Eidens; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBM-FGM : accessed 10 May 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 555; FHL microfilm 29,685.
[14] “1870 Census-Tennessee, Vol. 1, A-Lev,” page 378, listing for Iddings, Elijah 60, CL-245, Byron Sistler & Associates, 1985, Nashville, Tennessee.
[15] 1870 U.S. Census, Claiborne County, Tennessee, Tazwell Post office, p. 12 (penned), line 20, dwelling 87, family 86, Elijah Idings family; database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD8K-LWY : accessed 10 May 2016); citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,017.
[16] 1860 U.S. Census, Hancock County, Tennessee, Four Mile District
[17] 1870 U.S. Census, Claiborne County, Tennessee, Tazwell Post office