Person:Unknown Hall (137)

The 1820 census reveals a female child in Claiborne HALL’s household of 10 and under 16 years of age. This girl is likely the eldest child of Claiborne and Elizabeth HEROD HALL. The 1830 census reveals Claiborne HALL with 4 females of 15 years of age but under 20. Three of these are identified as Sally, Emmaline, and Mary Ann. The fourth could be this eldest daughter. The difference in ages from 1820 to 1830 can possibly be explained by the difference in the dates of enumeration. The 1820 date of enumeration was the 1st Monday in August (or 7 August 1820) and the 1830 date of enumeration was 1 June 1830. This would place this unnamed daughter’s date of birth between 1 June 1810 and 7 August 1810, making her age 10 at the 1820 enumeration date and age 19 at the 1830 enumeration date. The 1810 census of Smith County, which would have provided us with greater detail on this situation, does not survive.

In any event, this daughter is not mentioned in the estate records of Claiborne HALL. If married, she appears to have left no descendants who were living at the time of Claiborne’s death in 1874. It is probable that she died unmarried or that she married and died at an early age, leaving no issue. It is extremely difficult to trace women in the early 1800s, especially those who died young. Prior to the 1850 census, all members of a household were not listed by name in the record.