Thomas W. Free, Edgefield Co., SC
I'm looking for the family of Thomas W. Free, I would like to find out if he had a son named William b. 1829.Below is the information I have and the reasoning I've made but would like anyone that can help straighten this out to please let me know.
Information given to me was that William was from Edgefield Co., SC.Wm.'s tombstone, the 1870 census, the 1880 census and his civil war pension application gives his birth as 1829.In the 1860 census his age is given as 30 making him born about 1830 and in the 1900 census his birth is given as May 1832.I have to go with the 4 first documents listed here and believe that Wm. was born in 1829.Looking at the 1830 census in Edgefield Co., SC there are four Free families listed: James, Jacob, George and Thomas W.In the home of Jacob there is also a man aged 20-30 with female also aged 20-30, possibly a son (Isaac?) and dau.-in-law of Jacob.However of these families there are only 2 who have sons under the age of 5 -- James and Thomas.
In the 1840 census both of these men are missing.I believe Thomas was just missed on the census but James perhaps is the James Free that moved to Cocke Co., TN.Now appears only George and Isaac Free in the Edgefield Co., SC census, only Isaac having a son in the 10-15 year old range.This would lead me to suspect that Isaac may have been Wm.'s father but in the 1850 census Isaac's son Wm. is only aged 17 making him born about 1833.In a nearby page in 1850 there are two men named Dennis Free ages 21 and 23, either of them could have been the son aged 10-15 in Isaac's household in 1840.
In the 1850 census Isaac and his wife Nancy (both aged 40) have son Wm. age 17, Elizabeth age 15, James age 14, and John age 11.I rule this family out as being the parents of Wm. B. Free because of the son in their household already named Wm. age 17.
In 1850 George (age 45) and his wife Nancy (age 44) have dau. Elizabeth age 19, Susan age 17, John age 15, Lucinda age 13, Lewis age 10, Sarah age 10 and George W. age 5.I rule this family out as possible parents of Wm. B Free because they do not have a son in their household age 10-15 in 1840 or a son under age 5 in 1830 and the 2 sons that are listed in the 1840 census are accounted for as Lewis and John in 1850.
In 1850 Thomas W. reappears in the Edgefield Co., SC census aged 53 with wife Elizabeth age 38, Caroline age 17, Nancy age 20, John age 14, Cecilia age 12, Eliza age 10, Margaret age 9, and Minerva age 3.I cannot rule out Thomas as a possible father for Wm. B. Free.Even though he is missing in the 1840 census (I believe he was just missed) the 1830 census shows that his first son was under age 5 in 1830 and that fits with Wm. B. Free's age.But, remember there were 2 Dennis Free's in 1850 aged 23 and 21, one could possibly have been Isaac's son in 1840 aged 10-15, could the other have been Thomas' son age under 5 in 1830?
Let's look at the names in these families and compare them to the names Wm. B. gave his own children.Wm. named his first son Benjamin B., he was probably named after his maternal grandfather Benjamin B. Fox.Wm. named his first daughter Martha, none of the wives or children in the families of the 1850 censuses had the name Martha.However, I believe that Thomas' wife Elizabeth was a second wife.Could Thomas' first wife had been named Martha?Or could she have been named after Eliabeth Frances (Fox) Free's (Wm. B. Free's wife) own mother, her name is unknown but Elizabeth did have a sister named Martha.The third child and second son of Wm. was named William Thomas.Could he have been named after his grandfather Thomas W. Free?The fourth child and third son was named Isaac W.I've been thinking that Thomas, Isaac and George were probably all brothers.Was Isaac named after his uncle?I have already ruled out Isaac as a father for Wm.The fifth child and second daughter was Nancy.There were a few Nancy's listed in 1850: the wife of Isaac, a dau. of Thomas, and George's wife.Perhaps if Wm. named his first dau. after her maternal grandmother maybe his second wife was named after his own mother, Thomas' first wife?The last child and dau. was named Elizabeth.Probably named after her own mother and Wm.'s wife Elizabeth Frances Fox.
Thanks for any help you may be able to supply.
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Re: Thomas W. Free, Edgefield Co., SC
Jill Goodwin 6/23/05