Jackson County, TN 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: Prepared by Donald Robbins Transcription aid by Betty Hawley Checked by D. K. Robbins March 03, 2004 Census Sheet's Format ------------------------------- Census Sheet Header Information ------------------------------- Each Census Sheet consists of 40 lines. The Header information contains a place for the Date of entry, Post Office, The County Name (Jackson) and the name of the recorder of the information. ------------------------------- Census Sheet Detail information ------------------------------- Column 1 - Dwelling - houses numbered in the order of visitation Column 2 - Families, numbered in the order of visitation Column 3 - The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1860 was in this family Column 4 - Age Column 5 - Sex Column 6 - Color, White, Black or Mulatto Column 7 - Profession, Occupation or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age Column 8 - Value of Real Estate Column 9 - Value of Personal Estate Column 10 - Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country Column 11 - Married with in the year Column 12 - Attended School with in the year Column 13 - Person over 20 who could not read or write Column 14 - Whether deaf & dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict In the interest of getting the information transcribed to an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, some adjustments were made in the format of the transcription. A new line was created, which contains the Page Number and Line Number of the Microfilm reel(reel Series M653, Roll # 1258) that the information was transcribed from. The Surname is in Caps, along with the date of the census page, the census district, the Post Office, and the information from Column 1 and Column 2. The information from Columns 11, 12, 13 was encoded following the Column 10 information, Place of Birth. The encoding is: M, for married within the year, S, for attending school within the year, and I, for illiterate for a check in Column 13 for persons over 20 who could not read or write. W, for a widowed person (this is the first county we have seen this entry for) The information from Column 14 is added, as is, to the person's line. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The information from the microfilm for the 1860 Census for Jackson County consists of 319 pages. . There were 1895 family units in Jackson county. There were 1871 dwellings in Jackson County There were 10,444 free individuals in Jackson County. The dollar worth in 1860 is about 20 times our dollar worth today. The final page of the Jackson county census is transcribed below: State of Tennessee Jackson County Personally appeared before me, James McClarin, an acting justice of the peace in and for the County. White Myers assistant Marshall and makes oath in due form of law that the __?___ Schedules were made according to oath of instruction to the best of his knowledge and belief this Aug. 6th 1860. Sworn to and subscribed before me same day and date. White Myers James McClarin, Jr. For J.B. ______________________________________________________________________________ Observations from the Transcribers for Jackson County. 1. It is almost as if there were two counties in Jackson County. In 1/2 of the county, designated with a "P" in the page and line Number, The notation of W, for Widow, or Widower was appended to the Vocation. Also the Vocation was designated as "Farmer". 2. The "P" part is, we believe, mainly south of the Cumberland River (which runs thru the county). The Districts, in order of enumeration are: #6, #7, #15, #12, #11, and #11* #8*, #1*,#16*,#9*,#10* For the other half of the county, designated by us as "Q", the Districts in that part of the county, in order of enumeration, are: #15, #3, #2, #13, #4, #5, #14, #6, #7 2. Some of the districts were identified as "south of the Cumberland River". These have been identified with a "*" in the District Designation 3. The other half of the county was identified with a "Q" in the page and line number. Here the Vocation was listed as "Farming". Also almost without fail, the Female residents of a house hold were designated as "Housetend". This was not the case in the "P" half of the county. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - >From the WEB on Jackson County, Tennessee Jackson County History Jackson County was established in November of 1801, by an act of the Tennessee General Assembly. It is the oldest of the twenty three Jackson counties' in the United States with only the Jackson County in the State of Georgia being older. The original area of Jackson County covered probably twenty of the present Tennessee counties. Temporary county seats were used until about the year 1806, when Williamsburg was named as the County seat of Jackson County. Williamsburg was named for Sampson Williams, an early pioneer in the area. In 1817, Gainesboro was selected as the permanent seat and was incorporated in 1820. The land was donated by David Cox. Gainesborough, as it was then spelled, is the eleventh oldest town in Tennessee and was named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, a friend of Andrew Jackson who fought in the Battle of New Orleans. Gainesboro, is located 80 miles east of Nashville, 127 miles west of Knoxville, 140 miles northwest of Chattanooga, and 20 miles north of Cookeville. Interstate 40 passes 28 miles to the south of Gainesboro with the North-South Appalachian road connecting Gainesboro to the Interstate at Exit 280. The same mountains that give Jackson County its beauty, also made travel difficult in the days before paved roads and steel bridges. Both the Cumberland and Roaring Rivers cross the county. River boats of days gone by, "plied the rivers daily during the navigation season, carrying all kinds of merchandise, livestock and lumber products in addition to passengers." With the flooding of the Cumberland River in 1963 by the Cordell Hull Dam and the opening of a deepwater port in 1981 near Gainesboro, the river once again became very important to Jackson County. Much of the material for a correct and comprehensive history of Gainesboro and Jackson County was destroyed when the courthouse burned on the night of August 14, 1872. All county records perished except those of the Chancery Court. They were saved due to the fact that Captain Robert A. Cox, Clerk and Master, at the time maintained his office in a private building away from the courthouse. By Moldon Jenkins Tayse, former Jackson County Historian. The 1860 Census or Lots of Questions Answered The 1860 Census lists a dwelling number and family number and each sheet lists the county as well as town and post office name. Questions answered on the 1860 census include, name, age and sex of each individual; color, occupation, value of real and personal property; birthplace, whether married within the year (m.y.), whether attended school, can read or write and the date of the enumeration. Also included are boxes to indicate if an individual was a pauper or convict. Here is an article published in 1859 about the upcoming 1860 census: Friday September 23, 1859 Weekly Star THE NEXT CENSUS The year 1860 is the time appointed for taking the eighth census of the United States. From having been originally a simple enumeration's of persons, this Federal census has grown to be a decennial register of the number of inhabitants and their occupation, religious denominations & c, and also a statement of the commerce, manufacturers, arts and industry, and the wealth of the nation. The collection of these statistics has hitherto been attended with immense labor and difficulty. The inquiries of the census takers have not only been baffled by the stupidity and perverseness and ignorance of many to whom they were addressed; but it has been impossible to obtain accurate information upon important subjects because the parties; who alone are presumed capable of imparting it, have never taken the trouble to inform themselves. It often occurs that, in the absence of the head of a family no other member of it is able to give the information required; for instance as to the ages of the different members or it, or the amount of land in cultivation, the number of negroes and their ages, the quantity and value of horses, mules and oxen, &c., or of farming implements or farm products. In town and country similar difficulties are continually met with by the marshals appointed to collect these statistics, and the census is consequently returned incomplete. It is probably that while care will be observed to prevent any frauds or excess in the publication of the next census, it will be ordered by Congress to be taken so as to include all the most important items of information in regard to the progress of our population and our country. In view of this contingency the Nashville News very sensibly suggest that each farmer, this fall , as he gathers his crops, shall keep something like an accurate account of the quality and value of the same; and if he will take the trouble to make out a statement of the names and ages of his family; the number and ages of his servants, the number and value of his horses and mules; the number of bales of cotton, barrels of corn, bushels of wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes, &c., and leave it in some place where any member of thefamily, who may be at home when the deputy marshal shall call, can readily get hold of it, it will save time to all concerned, and very greatly assist to make the census return perfect, complete and satisfactory.