Family:Jacob Varner and Louisiana Bracken (1)

Family

Jacob Varner came with his family to Shelby County, Indiana in about 1850 when he was around 11. Louisiana Bracken was born in Indiana. Jacob served in the Union Army, but was wounded and came home in 1863. Jacob and Louisiana were married 12 Nov 1863 in Shelby County.S1, S3 They had six children, three of which died as infants or children.S2 William was 6 years old in the 1870 census, but does not appear in the 1880 census. He could have been working and on his own at 16, but pension records indicate that he died.S2 Jacob died while the family was living in Saline City in Sugar Ridge Township, Clay County. The family evidently lived there or somewhere near Vigo County when applying for pension benefits in 1900. After Jacob's death, Louisiana married John S. Robertson on 3 Oct 1888.^[7] In 1903 when Louisiana died, she was living with her daughter, Mrs. Duffy, in Terre Haute. This was evidently Alice's married name in 1903.

Census

1870

1870 Federal Census, Shelby County, IndianaS5
36 160 160 Varner Jacob, 36 , M, W, Laborer, b. North Carolina
37 160 160 Varner Louiza, 28, F, W, Keeping House, b. Indiana
38 160 160 Varner William, 6, M, W, At Home, b. Indiana
39 160 160 Varner Alice, 4, F, W, At Home, b. Indiana
40 160 160 Varner Charles, 1, M, W, At Home, b. Indiana

1870 Census

Notes on 1870 Census

Previous census records for Jacob, as well pension records saying he was 25 in 1865, indicate that Jacob was born in 1839 or 1840. He would have been about 31 in 1870, not 36.

1880

1880 Federal Census, Clay County, IndianaS6
Jacob Warner, b. North Carolina, 44, Farming, Married, White, head of household, father b. NC, mother b. NC
Louisiana Warner, b. Indiana, 32, Keeping House, Married, White, wife, father b. KY, mother b. NC
Docia Warner, b. Indiana, 13, At Home, Single, White, daughter, father b. NC, mother b. IN
Charles E. Warner, b. Indiana, 11, At Home, Single, White, son, father b. NC, mother b. IN
Albert Warner, b. Indiana, 6, Single, White, son, father b. NC, mother b. IN

Notes on 1880 Census

The transcript has Warner rather than Varner. Again, Jacob's age seems off. He should have been about 41, not 44. In addition, Louisiana was 28 in the previous census, and only 32 here, a four year difference for a ten year period. Alice is listed as Docia here, which matches a pension record giving her name as Docia A.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Marriage Index record, in WPA Index, Shelby County, Marriages 1856-1920
   Book 8, p. 203.
2.   Widow's claim for Jacob's pension, in Jacob Varner Widows Claim For Pension 1882
   20 Jun 1882.
3. ↑ Marriage license report, in Jacob Varner Marriage License and Report for Pension 1882
   20 Jun 1882.

   Marriage date was 12 Nov 1863.

4.   Affidavit of Eunice Varner, in Jacob Varner Minor Pension Affidavit Eunice No2
   2 May 1900.

   Affidavit by Eunice Varner, Jacob's mother about the births of Alice and Charles, Jacob's children.

5.   Marion Township, Shelby County residents, in Shelby, Indiana, United States. 1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration Publication M593)
   page 21, 19 Sep 1870.
6.   Sugar Ridge Township, Clay County residents, in Clay, Indiana, United States. 1880 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration Publication T9)
   1880.
7. ↑ No census or burial information has been found as yet on Louisiana Bracken or her children after 1880. They were probably living in Clay or Vigo counties in 1900. Louisiana's obituary says she was buried in Ashboro, Indiana.