Person:Elizabeth Owen (6)

Did Elizabeth die before or after 1840?

Elizabeth and her husband Jesse maintained farms in 2 counties (Bedford and Campbell) from at least 1820 to 1830. They may have been estranged or even divorced. If they divorced before Jesse remarried in May 1840, then Elizabeth may be the female living with her son Milton in the 1840 census.

If Jesse and Elizabeth were not divorced, then she presumably died before May 1840, probably before 1837, when Elizabeth Frances Jones's marriage record identified her as the daughter of Jesse (marriages of 5 of Elizabeth's daughters from 1816 to 1826 identified them as daughters of Elizabeth).

The number of Jesse's daughters with the name Elizabeth or Eliza (Elizabeth, Eliza Emily, Ann Eliza, Elizabeth Frances) is unusual. A possible explanation is that the 2 oldest were Elizabeth's children, while the 2 youngest were either Jesse's children or step-children by an unknown second wife.

1.   Bedford, Virginia, in United States. 1810 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M252).

   Jesse Jones
   1 male and 1 female aged 26-44 [born c.1766-1784]
   2 females aged 10-15 [born c.1795-1800]
   1 male and 3 females aged under 10 [born c.1801-1810]

2.   Southern District, Bedford, Virginia, in United States. 1820 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M33).

   Elizabeth Jones
   1 female aged 26-44 [born c.1776-1794]
   1 female aged 16-25 [born c.1795-1804]
   1 male and 2 females aged 10-15 [born c.1805-1810]
   5 slaves

3. ↑ Bedford, Virginia, in United States. 1830 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M19).

   Elizabeth Jones
   1 female aged 50-59 [born c.1771-1780]
   1 male aged 20-29 [born c.1801-1810]
   8 slaves

4. ↑ Southern District, Bedford, Virginia, in United States. 1840 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M704).

   Milton J Jones
   1 male aged 30-39 [born c.1801-1810]
   1 female aged 50-59 [born c. 1781-1790]
   9 slaves
   
   It doesn't appear that Milton ever married, and this appears to be the same place that was listed under Elizabeth's name in the 1820 and 1830 censuses. However, it is not certain that the female was Elizabeth (Milton's mother). She may have been a housekeeper.