1880 US Census Snapshot of the Family of Gary S. Collins

Records of the 1880 census in a searchable database at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=census/search_census.asp include listings of members of households, with occupations, marital status, race, age, birthplace, and birthplaces of parents. A search was made for individuals in the ancestry file at http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~garyscottcollins, through which the following information was found. For further information, consult links to individual entries in the ancestry file.

COLLINS AND RELATED FAMILIES IN NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA

John Collins, Port Republic, Atlantic Co., NJ. Elizabeth Clark, wife of John Collins, had died 15 years before the census. John was a farmer aged 73 who headed a household that included two single daughters, Emma Collins, a school teacher aged 35, and Anna Collins, keeping house at age 28. Other unrelated household members were James Sooy, a 55-year-old single farm laborer and nephew, and Louisa Shut, a 10-year-old single servant. John was a son of Levi Collins.

Richard Siner Collins, Port Republic, Atlantic Co., NJ. Richard, age 38, a farmer, and his wife Adalin S., age 37, lived with three young children and two servants. The children were Clarence W., 10, Georgeana, 8 and Mariah T., 4. Servants were Hezekiah Leeds, single, white, age 38, and Lenora Kendal, single, white, age 14. Richard was a son of John Collins.

Steelman T. Collins, Egg Harbor, Atlantic Co., NJ. Steelman, age 33, a farmer, and his wife Isabel, age 30, lived with five young children, Steelman’s father Daniel Lake Collins and a servant. The children were Thomas, 13, Charles T., 9, Henry, 7, Mattie, 9? and Lillie, 5 months. The servant was Sallie Reeves, single, aged 18. Daniel Lake Collins, aged 71 and widowed 13 years earlier, was son of Levi Collins.

Sarah (Allen) Lippincott, Haddonfield, Camden Co., NJ. Charles Lippincott, husband of Sarah (Allen) Lippincott, age 72, had died five years before. Sarah headed a household that included a single son, Jacob Lippincott, a book keeper aged 32, a widowed daughter Elizabeth (Lippincott) Collins, aged 45, and two sons of Elizabeth, Thomas Jefferson Collins, age 17, a clerk in a dry goods store, and D.C. Newman Collins, age 15. Sarah and Elizabeth kept house. Elizabeth was the widowed wife of Daniel Collins, a son of John Collins.

Mary A. (unknown) Rhoades, South Ward, Phoenixville, Chester Co., PA. Mary, age 63, was widowed and kept house for herself and granddaughter Laura M. Rossiter, age 9. Laura’s mother appears to have died previously and her father was away, possibly living in Philadelphia according to a census entry. Around 1892, Laura would become first wife of D.C. Newman Collins and mother of Edith Rhoads Collins and Harold Lippincott Collins.

FURMAN AND COLLINS FAMILIES IN KENTUCKY AND KANSAS

John Dillard Collins, 2^nd Ward, Henderson, Henderson Co., KY. A physician aged 55, John had just married his second wife, Sadie McMillan, aged 35. He was living with his wife and a daughter by his first wife, Rosalie A. Collins, a single school teacher aged 25.

Samuel Kirkwhite Furman, 2^nd Ward, Henderson, Henderson Co.,, KY. A physician aged 60 years, Samuel was married to his third wife, Laura, who was only half his age. Only a few years before, Samuel’s father and mother, Samuel Furman and Eliza Scrimzeour, had passed away. The household was completed by unrelated Caroline Harris, a black single servant 25 years old.

Samuel Miller Furman, 2^nd Ward, Henderson, Henderson Co., KY. A dentist aged 35 years, Samuel lived with his wife Sallie, aged 25, who kept house. They had four young children, Leona, 8, Eugene, 5, Hugh, 3, and Gertrude, 1. Leona was at school. The household was completed by two unrelated mulatto children, Robert Cabbell, age 8, listed for occupation as being a tobacco stemmer, and Mattie Cabbell, age 7, at school. Samuel was son of Samuel Kirkwhite Furman.

Williams Barnard Furman, 2^nd Ward, Henderson, Henderson Co., KY. At age 46, Williams, a physician, was widowed with two young daughters, Lucy and Rosalie Furman. His wife Jessie Collins, daughter of John Dillard Collins, had died about 4 years previously. In the 1880 census, Rosalie, age 5, is listed as living both in this household and in the household of John Donald Gunn; perhaps she had moved during the census. Williams, a son of Samuel Kirkwhite Furman like Samuel above, would only live four more years.

John Donald Gunn, Emporia, Lyon Co., KS. John, aged 40, was a train master living with his wife, Leila (Collins) Gunn, aged 32, who was keeping house, and his son, Glenn Dillard Gunn, aged 5. Staying with them were also Leila’s two nieces by her sister Jessie Collins and Williams Furman, Lucy and Rosalie Collins, aged 11 and 5. They apparently had come to stay in Kansas after Jessie’s death only a few years earlier. The household was rounded out by Bessie Hamilton, a widowed aunt of John Gunn aged 71.

SMITHSON FAMILIES IN WEST VIRGINIA

Joseph Keyser Smithson, Wolf Creek, Monroe Co., WV. A farmer aged 53, Joseph lived with his wife Mary E., aged 54, who kept house. Living with them was an unrelated white servant, Sarah Eads, aged 16. Joseph was father of Thomas Henry Smithson, father of Margaret Rucker Smithson.

Thomas L. Smithson, Wolf Creek, Monroe Co., WV. The 1880 census household record for Thomas L. Smithson is recorded in the gedcom entry for Thomas Henry Smithson. A carpenter aged 55, Thomas lived with his wife Margarett, aged 53, who kept house, and six children: Thomas H. Smithson, 22, a carpenter, and five other children at home: Calvin M., 18, John L., 15, Kay W., 13, Willard H., 10, and Margarett E., 7. Thomas L. Smithson might appear to be father of Thomas Henry Smithson, but this is incorrect.

MILLER AND MYERS FAMILIES NEAR SCRANTON, PA

Frederick Miller (Johann Friederich Mueller), Scranton, Lacawanna Co., PA. Born about 1826 (aged 54) in Prussia, Frederick was a laborer married to Caroline Miller, aged 51, also from Prussia. Living with them was their son John C. Miller, aged 27, also born in Prussia, employed as a clerk in a store, and his wife Elizabeth Miller, aged 25 and born in Pennsylvania of parents from Bavaria. John C. Miller is father of William Charles Miller.

Henry Myers, 5^th Ward, District 1, Scranton, Lacawanna Co., PA. Henry, age 57, was born in Prussia and his wife Hanna, age 60, came from Pennsylvania. He was a laborer. They were living with a daughter, M. Myers, age 26, single and at home, and a grandson H.M. Dickson, age 12. It is speculated that Henry is the father of Elizabeth Meyers (or Myers), who married John Charles Miller and begat William Charles Miller. There is a discrepancy that Elizabeth, living in the household of Frederick Miller as the wife of his son, John C. Miller, is reported to have been born in PA of Bavarian parents.

DICKERSON FAMILY IN KANSAS

Luther Dickerson, Shannon, Atchison Co., KS. Luther, aged 56, was born in Ohio. His wife Margret, aged 55, was born in Kentucky of parents from Ireland. Luther was a farmer and his wife kept house. They were living with six children and one nephew, all single. The children were Joseph B., 22, studying law; Mary, 19, a seamstress; Aerelias, a son aged 17, a wheat binder; Luther, 14, a team driver; John C., 12, a harvester; and Sallie, age 10. The nephew was Luth Dickerson, age 4. Son Joseph B. Dickerson was grandfather of Joseph Dickerson, who married Norma May Miller.

WEBB AND TODD FAMILIES IN DUNDEE, ILLINOIS

James Webb, Dundee, Lane Co., IL. James, aged 42, and his wife Jane, aged 39, were both born in England of English parents. James was a painter and Jane kept house. They lived with six children either at school or at home: Jennie, 19, Thomas, 14, Mariah, 11, George, 7, Arthur, 5, and Flora, 4. Jennie and Thomas were born in England while the younger children were born in Illinois, so that the family of James, Jane, Jennie and Thomas must have emigrated from England to the US between about 1866 and 1869. Son George is almost certainly George Felix Webb, grandfather of the Living Webb daughters.

Robert Todd, Dundee, Kane Co., IL. Robert, aged 59 and wife Grace, aged 53, were both born in Scotland of Scottish parents. Robert was a farmer and Grace kept house. They lived with six children, all born in Illinois after about 1849. Thus, they emigrated from Scotland to the US, either married or separately, between 1827 and 1849. The children, all single, include James, 31, and Robert, 23, who were working on the farm. The four younger children, Nettie, 23, Jane, 19, Daniel, 14 and Sarah, 10, are at home or school. Based on the location of the household in Dundee and the coincidence of names Grace and Todd, it is quite likely that Robert and Grace are grandparents of Grace Belle Todd, who with her husband George Felix Webb are grandparents of the Living Webb daughters.