Friday, January 28, 2011

Lexington (IL) History: A Merrill Carte de Visite & the 1860 Census

This is the first carte de visite in my collection that actually comes from Lexington (IL) during the Civil War period.

The young lady’s picture appears from ca1865. (It is possible that I am a couple years off, but the picture is not before 1864.) Her hair is parted in the middle and made into sausage curls. Over her bodice and long sleeves is a v-necked short-sleeved jacket of ruching or smocking. On her skirt are additional ruching designs. She wears a crinoline hoop under her skirt, as can be seen by the two stays. There appears to be a slight train to the dress which would be closer to 1865. It looks to be an expensive dress.

The young lady’s arm rests on a book, often used to suggest the educated student. Perhaps she is posing for her high school graduation picture. She appears to be about 17 which would mean that she was 11 or 12 in 1860, having been born about 1848.

Her carte de visite was taken by Stephen Merrill, photographer, in Lexington, Illinois, my hometown. Stephen Merrill, born 1830 in Maryland, who moved to Lexington in the fall of 1864, when he began his business. (Wm Le Baron, Jr & Co. 857)

Obviously the sitter in the picture could be from out of town, but the dress seems a very “in-town” upscale dress which leads me to believe it was someone who lived in town, not a farmer’s daughter who would be wearing something less tailored or fancy. Also, sausage roll curls take a lot of time and preparation. If one were helping with one’s family, would there be time to prepare such an elaborate hair style? A doting mother or servant would have been needed forming the curls.

Looking at the picture opens lots of questions. Did she know various members of my family. The Harnesses and Vandolahs lived on the south-west edge of town on the main road. Several of the Harness daughters were contemporaries of the girl in picture (who being about 17 would have been born ca1848). Was she a town girl and therefore considered more sophisticated? Did they attend the same school? Did she shop at Harness & Kennedy? Would she have known Caroline (Harness) Kennedy (then 23, with one child) if they had passed each other on the wooden sidewalks of town, avoiding the ducks and chickens? Did she go to dances and would she have danced with Ike’s younger son (then 21)? Would she have discussed out-going president James Buchanan’s rejection of the Southern states sucession and the claims that many of the farmers in the area were Copperheads? Would her parents have disapproved of slaves, although there were no blacks (free or otherwise) listed in the township? Might she have met President-elect Lincoln as a girl when he came to stay with the Spawrs while riding the circuit? If I knew her name, would I know her as someone I would recognize on the 1860 census?


The 1860 Census for Lexington Township (IL)


The Lexington Township 1860 census (taken 9-11 September 1860) counted 1,246 people living in 153 dwellings (401 men, 790 women), of whom 55 were foreign born. The census takers counted 2 apprentices, a baker, 2 barbers, 7 blacksmiths, a broom maker, 1 butcher, 7 cabinetmakers, 8 carpenters, a carriage maker, 2 clergymen (both Methodist Evangelical.), 7 clerks, a clothing merchant, 2 constables, a corn thrasher, a daguerian artist, 30 day laborers, a dentist, 3 domestic servants, a druggist, editor, 2 engineers, 7 farm laborers, 50 farmers, 1 grain buyers, 2 grain merchants, 5 grocers, a gunsmith, hardware merchant, 7 harness makers, a hotel keeper, a jeweler, 2 justice of the peace, 3 lawyers, 2 livery keepers, a lumber merchant, 7 master carpenters, 1 mechanic, 8 merchants, 2 millers, a milliner, a post office clerk, 2 painters, 4 physicians, 2 plasterers, a printer, a rail road foreman, 10 rail road laborers, a rail road watchman, 2 rail road station agents, a saddle maker, 4 school teachers, 4 shoemakers, a speculator, 2 tailors, a teacher of chirography, 3 teachers high school, 4 teamsters, a telegraph operator, 4 tinners, a town marshall, 2 wagon makers and a washerwoman.

Occupations in the town of Lexington, Illinois, 1860 [by name and age]

Occupation, Name Age
  1. Apprentice, Bisbee, James 15
  2. Apprentice, Tubs, James A. 18
  3. Baker, Baker, Jacob 38
  4. Barber, Cassida, Hugh 28
  5. Barber, Valentine, Frank 28
  6. Blacksmith, Blake, Louis C. 42
  7. Blacksmith, Davis, Hiram F. 31
  8. Blacksmith, Free, Nicholas 23
  9. Blacksmith, Gilsbins, William 37
  10. Blacksmith, Givler, Henry 43
  11. Blacksmith, Magill, Malcom 38
  12. Blacksmith, Woodard, Augustus G. 26
  13. Broom maker, Bode, William 27
  14. Butcher, Bosley, A. 35
  15. Cabinet maker, Bider, Anthony 27
  16. Cabinet maker, Deal, John 43
  17. Cabinet maker, Gray, Grafton E. 29
  18. Cabinet maker,  Hann, H.W. 35
  19. Cabinet maker, Sprague, J.G. 44
  20. Cabinet maker, Valentine, William 29
  21. Cabinet maker, Zinn, John 32
  22. Carpenter, Bush, Charles 22
  23. Carpenter, Curtis, Daniel ??
  24. Carpenter, Hardman, Samuel C. 28
  25. Carpenter, Hurst, Henry 48
  26. Carpenter, Kittsmiller, Theodore 26
  27. Carpenter, Ragan, John 16
  28. Carpenter, Shade, Samuel 27
  29. Carpenter, Skelly, William 26
  30. Carriage maker, Stevenson, Richard 31
  31. Clergyman Meth E., Christ, P.A. 25
  32. Clergyman Meth E., Kent, Lyman 30
  33. Clerk, Ambrose, Joseph B. 31
  34. Clerk, Dement, R.L. 16
  35. Clerk, Dunkle, George 23
  36. Clerk, Goddard, Edward M. 24
  37. Clerk, McGurdy, Horace 23
  38. Clerk, Okeson, J.B. 29
  39. Clerk Thomas, Isaac 35
  40. Clothing merchant, Kennedy, W.H. 28
  41. Constable, Best, Jacob 30
  42. Constable Hand, Jackson 33
  43. Corn Thrasher, Wassel, Peter 27
  44. Daguearian Artist, Beem, Reason 24
  45. Day laborer, Benjamin 40
  46. Day laborer, Bisbee, Almon 54
  47. Day laborer, Carlin, Bryan 27
  48. Day laborer, Elliot, Reuben 34
  49. Day laborer, Flanley, John 38
  50. Day laborer, Hemke, Charles 41
  51. Day laborer, Hiltbruneer, A.J. 26
  52. Day laborer, Kent, Elisha 52
  53. Day laborer, Kent, George W. 27
  54. Day laborer, Kent, Ransaleer E. 21
  55. Day laborer, Lee, Abram 39
  56. Day laborer, Lovel, Coleman 38
  57. Day laborer, Loving, James 20
  58. Day laborer, Marty, John 30
  59. Day laborer, Mason, Simon 48
  60. Day laborer, Myers, John 29
  61. Day laborer, Noel, Linsly 37
  62. Day laborer, Reple, Lenard 40
  63. Day laborer, Richards, Evan 37
  64. Day laborer, Rogers, John 45
  65. Day laborer, Schlepick, Henry 28
  66. Day laborer, Smith, Philip 52
  67. Day laborer, Smith, Philip 18
  68. Day laborer, Snyder, Anthony 30
  69. Day laborer, Stumpff, Peter 40
  70. Day laborer, Tucker, John 31
  71. Day laborer, Turpin, William 40
  72. Day laborer, Valentine, Andrew 30
  73. Dentist, Gray, Charles T. 38
  74. Domestic, Cobum, Sarah (f) 20
  75. Domestic, Fany, Margaret 32
  76. Domestic, Hemke, Mary (f) 16
  77. Druggist, Reynolds, William 41
  78. Editor, Craig, William 25
  79. Engineer, Cutler, William 37
  80. Engineer, Hanson, U.R. 37
  81. Farm laborer, Lovel, Richard 22
  82. Farm laborer, Hand, Wayne 22
  83. Farm laborer, Murphy, Nicholas 35
  84. Farm laborer, Wood, George 22
  85. Farm laborer, Wood, James 30
  86. Farm laborer, Wood, John 26
  87. Farm laborer, Wood, Absalem 20
  88. Farmer, Adams, Thomas 38
  89. Farmer, Brooks, Robert 34
  90. Farmer, Brothuton, Samuel 26
  91. Farmer, Brothuton, Robert 21
  92. Farmer, Crume, W.W. 30
  93. Farmer, Dawson, Crogan 35
  94. Farmer Dawson, Samuel 37
  95. Farmer, Dunkle, William A. 18
  96. Farmer, Fisk, James 45
  97. Farmer, Fitzgerald, David 77
  98. Farmer, Fulwiler, David 21
  99. Farmer, Gray, Joseph 25
  100. Farmer Hand, Paris 28
  101. Farmer, Harness, Isaac 51
  102. Farmer, Harness, Milton 16
  103. Farmer, King, J.W. 37
  104. Farmer, Jackson, John 50
  105. Farmer, Leanght, James 23
  106. Farmer, Long, C.W. 45
  107. Farmer, Lovel, George 24
  108. Farmer, Lovel, Samuel 19
  109. Farmer, Lovel, Thomas 28
  110. Farmer, Mahan, A.W. 23
  111. Farmer, Mahan, John 22
  112. Farmer, Mahan, W.J. 18
  113. Farmer, Peak, Henderson 38
  114. Farmer, Popejoy, Allen 21
  115. Farmer, Popejoy, Comadore 18
  116. Farmer, Popejoy, George 24
  117. Farmer, Popejoy, Harrison 22
  118. Farmer, Popejoy, William 67
  119. Farmer, Richmond, Braddock 81
  120. Farmer, Spawr, Jacob 57
  121. Farmer, Strawther, George 51
  122. Farmer, Strayer, Isaac 18
  123. Farmer, Strayer, John 20
  124. Farmer, Scrogin, Levin P. 37
  125. Farmer, Strode, John 27
  126. Farmer, Stumpff, Henry 44
  127. Farmer, Valentine, Joseph 35
  128. Farmer, Waters. George 35
  129. Farmer, Waybright, Miles 36
  130. Farmer, Wood, Amos 58
  131. Farmer, Weakley, Joseph M. 19
  132. Farmer, Weakley, John A. 26
  133. Farmer, Weakley, Thornton 64
  134. Farmer, Wood, Isaac 27
  135. Farmer, Wood, James 62
  136. Farmer, Wood, Robert 20
  137. Farmer, Wood, Noah 19
  138. Grain buyer, Brown, William 38
  139. Grain merchant, Heath, F.C. 41
  140. Grain merchant, Rogers, Milton 35
  141. Grocer, Heath, Alfred 44
  142. Grocer, Marshall, David 23
  143. Grocer, Preble, Charles H. 28
  144. Grocer, Smith, J.W. 59
  145. Grocer, Van Doren, Garrit 34
  146. Gunsmith, Snyder, W.H. 60
  147. Hardware merchant, Marshall, James 26
  148. Harness maker, Brotherton, James 22
  149. Harness maker, Denham, William 25
  150. Harness maker, Dingman, James 32
  151. Harness maker, Empie, Benjamin 36
  152. Harness maker, Fish, Edward 21
  153. Harness maker, Garrison, Benj. 25
  154. Harness maker, Stevens, Dorus 31
  155. Head of household (no occupation), Arbogast, Benjamin 31
  156. Head of household (no occupation), Benedict, Mary (f) 39
  157. Head of household (no occupation), Bowers, Nancy A. 34
  158. Head of household (no occupation), Champlin, Abigal 58
  159. Head of household (no occupation), Clagget, Frank 23
  160. Head of household (no occupation), Cobum, G.A. (m) 37
  161. Head of household (no occupation), Dawson, Elizabeth 60
  162. Head of household (no occupation), Fell, Matilda C. (f) 40
  163. Head of household (no occupation) Mahan, Mary C. 58
  164. Head of household (no occupation), Lovel, Elizabeth 63
  165. Head of household (no occupation), Strayer, Esther 46
  166. Head of household (no occupation), Tucker, Mary 50
  167. Hotel keeper Kerr, Hannah (f) 38
  168. Jeweler, Luccock, Thomas E. 27
  169. Justice of the Peace, Dunkle, C.B. 49
  170. Justice of the Peace, Mahan, J.S. 28
  171. Laborer, Gear, Allen 20
  172. Laborer, Millard, Ebineezer 18
  173. Lawyer, Barnd, A.F. 48
  174. Lawyer, Strayer, Marinus W. 25
  175. Lawyer, Tipton, Thomas F. 27
  176. Livery Keeper, Vandolah, D. 21
  177. Livery Keeper, Vandolah, George 30
  178. Lumber merchant, Hunt, D.H. 28
  179. Master carpenter, Bold, Hiram T. 27
  180. Master carpenter, Fell, Thomas 54
  181. Master carpenter, Kenedy, John H. 34
  182. Master carpenter, Lindsey, William 39
  183. Master carpenter, Ragan, Fielding 57
  184. Master carpenter, Ralston, Jonathan L. 33
  185. Master carpenter, Roberts, Timothy 34
  186. Mechanic, Mahon, John W 33
  187. Merchant, Claggett, S.R. 35
  188. Merchant, Dement, G.L. 45
  189. Merchant, Franklin, G.H. 27
  190. Merchant, Fulwiler, John 50
  191. Merchant, Hefner, Henry 33
  192. Merchant, Knotts, G.W. 46
  193. Merchant, Mahan, Jacob 34
  194. Merchant, Smith, William M. 34
  195. Miller, Goddard, Fletcher 45
  196. Miller, Kidd, Richard 25
  197. Milliner, Nixon, Mary (f) 54
  198. No occupation listed, Richmond, Samuel 35
  199. Post office clerk, Watkins, Emery 21
  200. Painter, Robinson, John 33
  201. Painter, Watkins, David 52
  202. Physician, Fell, Jonas 44
  203. Physician, Mahan, Alexander 51
  204. Physician, Martin, E. 64
  205. Physician, McAferty, Ethan 42
  206. Plasterer, Fitzgerald, William 36
  207. Plasterer, Guthire, Peter 30
  208. Printer, Goddard, E.M. 22
  209. R.R. foreman, Enos, J 30
  210. R.R. laborer, Cassady, John 30
  211. R.R. laborer, Dempsy, Mark 35
  212. R.R. laborer, Dublin, Edward 20
  213. R.R. laborer, Finton, John 29
  214. R.R. laborer, Lyons, John 30
  215. R.R. laborer, McCrackin, William 28
  216. R.R. laborer, McGuire, James 25
  217. R.R. laborer, Shine, Daniel 38
  218. R.R. laborer, Smith, Michael 19
  219. R.R. laborer, Sound, Peter 28
  220. R.R. station agent, Dexter, Smith H. 36
  221. R.R. watchman, Killian, William 28
  222. Saddle & harness maker, Stevens, L.A. 30
  223. School teacher, Dexter, Mary 20
  224. School teacher, Luce, Sarah 20
  225. School teacher, Mahan, Helena S.G. (f) 17
  226. School teacher, Sprague, Chloe A. 18
  227. Shoemaker, Beal, John M. 40
  228. Shoemaker, McCay, Richard 26
  229. Shoemaker, McKinney, B.L. 27
  230. Shoemaker, Roberts, Davis 35
  231. Speculator, Marshall, R.F. 32
  232. Station Agent, Edick, A.J. 28
  233. Student, Kitchen, Charles 21
  234. Student, Kitchen, Joseph 17
  235. Tailor, Barrett, Jonathan 36
  236. Tailor, Kitchen, John 51
  237. Teacher Chirography, Boler, John 36
  238. Teacher high school, Anderson, A.J. 27
  239. Teacher high school, Cook, E.M. (f) 35
  240. Teacher high school, Goodrich, Permelia C. (f) 27
  241. Teamster, Bartens, James 24
  242. Teamster, Champlin, Percival 32
  243. Teamster, Michell, Henry 50
  244. Teamster, Reynolds, Pinkney 24
  245. Telegraph operator, Lewis, William L. 16
  246. Tinner, Heller, Jacob 27
  247. Tinner, Powley, John W. 21
  248. Tinner, Powley, Joseph 25
  249. Tinner, Powley, William 45
  250. Town marshall, Kawouse, U. 51
  251. Wagon maker, Doughty, Daniel 28
  252. Wagon maker, Stevenson, William 28
  253. Washerwoman, Snyder, Mary (f) 28