What the census says about Nimrod Lewis

I have recently had a couple of tiny breakthroughs on Nimrod Lewis and decided it was time to sit back and look at everything I have on him.  With that in mind, here are his appearances in the U.S. censuses.

1820 - There is a Nimrod Lewis in Edgefield District, SC but probably not my guy.  However, there are some interesting connections so I'm including him.

This household contains 1 male 45 & older, 2 females 26-44, and 1 female 10-15.  My Nimrod would have been at most 35 at the time of this census.  This appears to be an older household with one child.  Perhaps a couple with a daughter and a sister or two daughters.  Or even several siblings with the child of one of them.  They owned 1 male slave age 14-25 and there were 2 people (presumably Nimrod and the slave) engaged in agriculture.  His neighbors were Robert Daniel, Thomas Kates (Cates), John Scott and John Cates on one side, with Huldey Watson, Elisha Dyes, William Green, Mary Cumby and Jemima Kates on the other.  My Nimrod did have connections to the Cates family and through them to the Dyes and Cumby families.

1830.  This is the first census where I can feel confident this is my Nimrod.  He is in Edgefield County, SC.  The household has one male 40-49 (Nimrod, now age about 45), one female 20-29 (probably Feraby, abt 26), a female 15-19, not identified, two males under 5 (Thomas, age 2 and one unidentified boy), and a female age 5-10, (Martha, age 6) .  I wonder if the 10-15 year old girl in 1820 might be the 15-19 year old in this census.  The official enumeration date in 1820 was in August, while 1830 was 1 June.  A girl born in the summer of 1810 would be 10 in the first one and 19 in the second.

The 1830 household also contains 2 slaves, a male age 10-23, just possibly the male slave from 1820, and a female also 10-23.  His neighbor is Turner Cates, future father-in-law to his son Thomas and possibly his brother-in-law.

1840:  Nimrod and his family moved to Crawford County, Georgia in 1835, so that is where he appears in the 1840 census.  The household is as follows:
   1 male 50-60  Nimrod, age 55
   1 female 30-39 Pheraby, age 36
  1  male 5-9 Jeremiah, 5.
  2 males 10-14 Thomas, 12 and unidentified boy
  2 females under 5 - Nancy (4) and Almira (infant)
  1 female 5-9  Feraby (9)

Martha had married the year before and so is not enumerated with this household. 

In this census, Nimrod has  two slaves, a male and a female, both 24-35 so presumably the same two he had in 1830, brought with him to Georgia.  Four members of the household were employed in agriculture.

His neighbors in 1840 include Turner and Thomas Cates, both of whom were previously associated with him in South Carolina, and Mary Dyes who is probably connected to the Cates family.  

1850  Division 20, Crawford county, Georgia, household 447

The Household consists of:
  Nimrod Lewis  63 M Planter   property value $400  born in Georgia
  Pheraby 48 F  born in SC  cannot read or write
  T. T.  21 M born in SC  planter  cannot read or write
  Pheraby 20 F born in SC
  Jeremiah 16 M born in GA  planter
  Nancy 13 F born in GA
  Almyra 11 F born in GA
  Marena 7 F born in GA

The other boy, presumed son, who appears in 1830 and 1840 is not with the family in this census  Since Thomas is 21 and Pheraby 20, the other boy was probably older, fitting nicely between Thomas and Martha.  There is not a Lewis male in Crawford county the right age to be him who is not already accounted for.  He may well have died by this time but he was almost certainly dead in 1868 since he is not listed as one of the heirs.

The 1850 slaves schedule shows him with 2 slaves, a male 56 and a female 37.

1860 census  Castleberry's District, Crawford County Georgia, dwelling 60, family 54

Nimrod Lewis 74, m, farmer, real estate value $600, personal property 1125
Feraby 56, F
Jeremiah, 25, M farm laborer
Almira, 20, F
Massenia, 18 F
Feraby Wilder, 30 F Widow

Everyone in the family is listed as born in Georgia except Feraby Wilder.  She was not actually a widow although her husband may have taken off.  He does appear in later censuses.   Son Thomas was married and living in the next household down with his family.

The slave schedule for this year shows Nimrod having one female slave age 40.

Nimrod also appeared on two agricultural schedules, in 1850 and 1860.

1850:  60 acres improved, 40 unimproved, value of farm $600, value of machinery $60.  He had 3 horses, 1 ass or mule, 2 milch cows, 1 ox, 8 other cattle, 7 sheep and 35 swine for a stock value of $347.   The year just ended he had produced 10 bushels of wheat, no rye, 350 bushels of indian corn, 50 bushels of oats,  no rice, no tobacco, 3 bales of ginned cotton, no wool, 10 bushels of peas and beans, 5 bushels of Irish potatoes and 50 bushels of sweet potatoes.  He did not produce any barley, buckwheat, orchard products, wine or market garden produce.   He did produce 100 pounds of butter, but no cheese, hay, clover, grass seeds, hop, hemp, flax flaxseed, silk coccoons, maple sugar, cane sugar, molasses or beeswax.  He gave no value for "homemade manufactures" but listed the 'value of animals slaughtered' as $88.

1860:  75 acres improved, 25 unimproved.  Cash value of farm - $600, value of machinery $30. He had no horses, 2 mules, 3 milch cows, no oxen, 3 other cattle, no sheep, and 16 swine for a total livestock value of $200.  He had produced 5 bushels of wheat,  250 bushels of Indian corn, 8 bales of ginned cotton, 19 bushels of peas and beans, 70 bushels of sweet potatoes, 25 pounds of butter, and 25 lbs of Honey.  The value of animals slaughtered was given as $30.

Nimrod was getting quite old by this census so it was not unexpected that his agricultural production would go down.  Son Thomas, however, was not picking up the slack.  Thomas is listed separately just below Nimrod and he shows only 8 swine, for a value of $16.