Differentiating Emily and Eliza
September 24th, 2016 | 
Author: 
My ancestor Daniel Sherman (abt. 1800-bef. 1870), a blacksmith who lived in central Kentucky, had several children. Among his daughters enumerated on the 1850 census we find two girls named Emily E. and Eliza J.
Later that decade, we find Daniel giving consent for his daughters to marry. This time, their names appear as Elizabeth (E. E.) and Louisa Jane. Same girls? If so, how do we reconcile these differences in their names?
I do not feel I have yet sorted this out, but so far I have assembled this evidence for the daughters:
Emily E. Elizabeth (E. E.) Eliza J. Louisa Jane
b. abt. 1836 (1850 census) b. abt. 1836 (marriage) b. abt. 1838 (1850 census)
b. Kentucky (1850 census) b. Scioto Co., OH (marriage) b. Ohio (1850 census)
b. 1836 KY (1880 census)
m. John H. Glover (marriage) b. KY (1860-70 census) m. Stephen Dykes (marriage)
John H. Glover has not been found on the 1860 or 1870 census records. His wife Elizabeth, born in Kentucky, is named on the 1880 census, the last record of her.
Stephen Dyke appears on the census in 1860 and 1870 with his wife Eliza and Eliza Jane. By 1880 he was a widower. His wife’s birthplace was reported as Kentucky in both instances.
I find it so tempting to conclude that the Emily E. of the 1850 census is the E. E. or Elizabeth who married John Glover. It’s also tantalizingly easy to assume that Eliza J. and Louisa Jane are the same girl because the names are phonetically close. Yet the evidence does not quite match up. Was one of the daughters born in Ohio? If so, which one? Why would the marriage record and permission slip of one daughter clearly say her name was Louisa Jane if her name was really Eliza, as it always appears on the census records? Did Daniel Sherman have more than two daughter born during this time frame? If so, where were they when the 1850 census was taken?
As is always the case on these family puzzles, I need some more evidence.
Posted in