How to record first names of enlaved family identified in Slave Schedule as "Unknown"?
Is it possible to create a stand-alone family tree for a mother, a father, and their five children when all you know are their first names?
A letter from my husband's great-great grandfather, J.L. Walker, gives the name of the enslaved woman ("Aunt" Chaney) who cared for him as a child, plus the names of her five children (his playmates: Emily, Joe, Albert, Mary, and George) and her husband (Tom, the children's father, who spent Saturday afternoons through Sunday evenings with Chaney and the children before returning to the nearby farm owned by his enslaver, Elender Young).
All of them (the Walkers, the Youngs, and the enslaved family) moved from Greene County, Mo. (on the James River) to Christian County, Mo. (on the Findley River), in the mid-1850s.
Chaney and baby Emily are the two "Unknown" people in the 1850 Census (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HRW9-G8T2)
Chaney, Emily, Joe, Albert, Mary, and George are the six "Unknown" people in the 1860 Census (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WKPD-JPPZ)
Tom is the "Unknown" Black man, age 19 in 1850 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVZH-WYD) and age 28 in 1860 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WZY2-GJN2)
According to J.L. Walker's letter, his father emancipated Chaney and her children in 1860, and she remained with them as a paid worker until 1863, when the Union army took over the house. He does not know what happened to her after that. The Walkers fled to northern Missouri, then moved to Waco, Texas, in 1866.
I would like to create a family tree for Chaney, Tom, and their children, so that the "Unknown" entries in those census records can be linked to first names. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any other records for them.
Thanks,
Erin.
Best Answer
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Here is an article from the Help Center that might answer your question about how to enter names. It says, "If the person has no last name, such as for Native Americans, leave the Last Name field blank."
Here is a link to another article that might help you as well.
It says, "You can add individuals who are not connected to your family line. A common reason for adding individuals who are not connected to your family line is to add people who have a probable family relationship that is not verified because the records are inadequate . . . "
You will want to add as much information about this family as possible so they can be distinguished from other records in Family Tree.
Hopefully these articles will adequately answer your questions and help you create a record for this family.
Best Wishes.
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Answers
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Thanks! I didn't know it's possible to add unconnected people to a family line. I can understand why you'd do it for people who might be related (the "common reason" given) but it wouldn't have occurred to me that you could do that for a completely separate family.
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