SCOTT COUNTY, TN 1860 FEDERAL CENSUS TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: Prepared by Donald Robbins Transcription aid by Betty Hawley Checked by D. K. Robbins June 30, 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 (Scott) 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 or Indian 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 within the year Column 12 - Attended School within 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 # 1271) 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. The information from Column 14 is added, as is, to the person's line. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The information from the microfilm for the 1860 Census for Scott County consists of 91 pages. COUNTS There were 571 family units in Scott county. There were 3453 free individuals in Scott County. There were 54 vacant houses in Scott County Number of White Males 1693 Number of White Females 1745 Number of Black Males 1 Number of Mulatto Males 5 Number of Mulatto Females 9 Number of Students 763 Number of Illiterates 712 Number of Married 28 in the last year PLACES OF BIRTH Tennessee 2873 Kentucky 344 North Carolina 137 Virginia 77 Georgia 12 South Carolina 8 Missouri 5 Germany 4 Wales 4 Mississippi 2 Alabama 1 Texas 1 Ireland 1 Swiss 1 Arkansas 1 Unknown 2 OCCUPATIONS Occupations in Scott County in 1860 Farmer 483 Farm Laborer 113 Black Smith 8 Merchant 8 Teacher 7 Carpenter 5 Clergy 4 Grocer 2 Waggoner 1 clerk 1 Tailoress 1 Taylor 1 Wheel Wright 1 Other pauper 4 Infirmities deaf 3 idiot 3 fits 3 Transcribers notes: D. H. Creekmore at P080-23 was the enumerator. He believed "Henry" was spelled "Henery", and that occurs through out the county. Also the same for "Sarah". He spelled that "Sarrah" consistently. Scott County appears to be largely rural, with few trades and crafts people. SCOTT COUNTY Scott County was established in 1849 from portions of Fentress, Morgan, and Campbell Counties. It was named in honor of General Winfield Scott, a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, who served as the Chief of Staff for the Army and as an advisor to the President. The earliest known settlers came to Scott County in 1786 and settled along the New River and its tributaries. The mild climate, abundant rainfall, and prime agricultural land attracted settlers to stay. Scott County is located in northeastern Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau in the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in a rugged and scenic region. The eastern portion of Scott County contains the Appalachian Mountains and the western part contains the Big South Fork Cumberland River Gorge. Scott County is approximately 65 miles northwest of Knoxville, approximately 175 miles northeast of Nashville, and approximately 120 miles south of Lexington, KY. Scott County consists of 348,160 acres of land. It is bordered on the north by Kentucky, to the east by Campbell County, to the east southeast by Anderson County, to the south by Morgan County, and to the west by Fentress County. Scott County consists of approximately 536 square miles. In 1997 Scott County had an estimated population of 19,788. Thirty-nine percent of the Scott County population is under the age of 25, while 12 percent is 65 years old or older. Scott County consists of five formal government jurisdictions-- the county and four incorporated municipalities. Helenwood is located along U.S. Highway 27, in the geographic center of Scott County. This town is Scott County's newest town, having been incorporated in August, 1998. Huntsville, the county seat, is located along Tennessee Highway 63 in the geographic center of the county. Huntsville was incorporated in 1965 being primarily a residential community. Huntsville contains the county's administrative offices and a limited number of retail establishments. Oneida is situated along U.S. Highway 27, about five miles south of the Tennessee-Kentucky border. It is the largest town in Scott County and was incorporated in 1913. Oneida serves as the residential, commercial, and industrial center of the county. The town's population grew from 2,602 in 1970 to 3,502 in 1990. Winfield is located along U.S. Highway 27 in the extreme northern part of Scott County and was incorporated in 1983. Winfield possesses a rural character and a small town atmosphere. Limited commercial and industrial development exist in Winfield with a 1990 population of 564. Most residents reside along the main roads of intersection U.S. Highway 27. Rail service is provided by Norfolk Southern Railway. The rail line runs in a north-south direction. Norfolk Southern provides direct and indirect service to many major industrial cities in the eastern United States. The closest interstate, Interstate 75, is approximately 20 miles east of Scott County. The primary highway serving Scott County is Highway 27 being a north-south highway from Lexington, Kentucky to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Scott County Airport has a 5,500 foot paved runway. Scheduled air service is available at the Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport approximately 90 miles south of Scott County. The Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the nation's largest electric power systems, provides electrical power to Plateau Electric Cooperative who locally provides electricity to Scott County. Citizens Gas Utility District provides natural gas to the area. Highland Telephone Cooperative offers telephone, internet service, and long distance. The Scott County School System and the Oneida Independent School System provides primary and secondary education to Scott County students. Also, Landmark Christian School offers non-public primary and secondary education. Roane State Community College provides the opportunity for adults of all ages to continue their education. Tennessee Technological University offers upper level courses. Vocation training is available at the Tennessee Technology Center. The University of Tennessee is located approximately 70 miles east of Scott County in Knoxville. Scott County is blessed with an abundance of natural resources including timber, coal, oil, and natural gas. Timber has traditionally been a major economic activity in Scott County because of its abundant mixture of hardwood and softwood forests. Of Scott County's approximately 338,000 acres, 300,300 acres, or 88.9 percent, are in forests. Although coal production decreased dramatically during the 1980's, the area still has large coal reserves. Scott County is thought to have a large reserve of oil and natural gas. In recent years, Scott County has produced an annual average of over 500,000 barrels of oil and two million cubic feet of natural gas. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - THE STORY TELLERS We are the chosen. My feelings are, in each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know, and approve. To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors you have a wonderful family you would be proud of us? How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do? It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying I can't let this happen. The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish. How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So we do. With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are them and they are us. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take their place in the long line of family storytellers. That, is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and put flesh on the bones. Author unknown 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, etc., 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, etc., 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.