Work Backwards! Identifying the "Tick Marks" in Pre-1850 Census

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"The past is a foreign country" -- opening phrase of The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley, 1953. I have long avoided researching my ancestors pre-1850 because I didn't want to battle with the records in this foreign land. My excuse was the *lack* of records, but really there are lots of records, but they are *different* records; not what I'm used to searching, and not with which I'm comfortable. Now that I'm digging into the family of my third great-grandfather, born about 1799, there is no avoiding this foreign country, beginning with tick marks and tax lists. 

Clinch-Powell rivers basin, Tennessee portion : Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, and Union counties, Tennessee [1]


Putting Names to the Tick Marks

In my work on my third-great-grandparents George Henry McBee and Martha Willis McBee, it is necessary to find each member of the family in every census to explore the history of this family. Anything less is not complete basic research, much less exhaustive research, which is what the GPS requires.

Israel, W. M, and George McBee in 1840 Grainger TN (FamilySearch)

But how can I identify members of the family when the 1790 through 1840 US Census are just spreadsheets of tick marks, for the most part? Each of these early records asked different questions, were enumerated as of a different date, and counted households in varying age ranges. Each of these features can help narrow the possible range of the birth year of each person, and sometimes help to figure out other events in the family history. 

What I have learned so far, is work backwards if possible! If you have a family in the 1850 US Census, or state census around that time, the work is much easier because you will know more than just the name of the head of household and a better idea of who each tick mark might be. Working from the known to the unknown is the best way to have success.

If you are working back from one person in the 1850 census and want to identify parents and possible siblings, you might want to watch this two-part series by Diana Elder on Youtube: "Problem Solve with the Pre-1850 Census: Investigate the Tick Marks," Part 1 and Part 2. 

If you want to dig deeper, this Legacy Family Tree webinar is very hands-on: "They Had Names: Identifying Children Represented by Tick Marks in Pre-1850 Censuses" by Denise E. Cross, MSLIS, CG. Cross shows how to narrow down the birth years by correlated the date ranges over the decades. I think it's important for each of us to learn and practice this skill. I saw it quite awhile ago and have been eager to learn how to put this skill to use.

Try this search to find more on Youtube.

If you do not yet have a research question that requires using these records, you might have only a casual interest in them. If so, maybe this series of videos will be more to your taste: How Does Analysis of Pre-1850 Census Fit Into Our Genealogical Research? To view these Ancestry Academy videos, you must create a login to this microsite. This video is the most hands-on - https://www.ancestryacademy.com/who-is-that-tick-mark-using-early-census-records/videos/what-did-i-hope-to-find-in-the-early-census-schedules. 

I did not find the form to which Mark Lowe refers on Ancestry, but a quick web search found the handout here. I created my own version including 1790 which you are free to copy and use. I will be adding tabs he didn't use in his form for the Free People of Color and enslaved men and women as I use the tool more. 


Add Tax Records for a Fuller Picture

I felt the need to search and capture tax records which are often available for pre-1850 counties on Ancestry, FamilySearch and state archives. I don't need the tax data for everyone in the county, but the names, even if they are mostly just men over 21, land owners, and heads of families. 

Right now I'm gathering the data from Grainger County. Tennessee, and I have already found my second great-grandmother Louisa Smith's family there, which is evidence that she met and married George and Martha Willis McBee's son William McBee (the mystery great-grandfather) there in Tennessee. These same Smith relatives later lived next to her in 1860 Missouri and fostered her son Samuel, my great-grandfather, in 1870 Decatur County, Iowa. So it just makes sense for them to be in Grainger TN in the 1836 tax list and the 1840 census. 

If you are searching in Grainger County, Tennessee ask for copy access to my nearly-completed spreadsheet, and fill in the tax data for your own people.

Tax lists can fill in between census years, indicate who are neighbors, show wealth, and slave-holding status. For instance, here are George H, his son Israel, and perhaps another son or nephew Robert McBee in 1836, below.

Israel McBee, Robert McBee, George H McBee 1836 Grainger TN (Ancestry)

It seems that Robert was too young to own taxable property. If I understand it correctly, if he was elderly, he would have not been listed at all; so tax lists can yield a rough age estimate. I have not looked up the laws governing Tennessee taxation at this point so am not speculating further. 

You can see that it would be important to consult all such records to get every bit of information out of each source. Ancestry has a database Tennessee, U.S., Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895, which includes Grainger County for 1797, 1799, 1805, 1810, 1826, 1836. The FamilySearch Wiki has lots of links to tax lists, but this is a burned county and many records have been lost, including some early censuses. 

In any case, both the census clues and the tax lists working together can lead to finding land records such as ownership maps, deeds, probate records, and the all-important FAN club members. 

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1. United States Soil Conservation Service & National Cartographic Center, U. S. (1992) Clinch-Powell rivers basin, Tennessee portion: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, and Union counties, Tennessee. [Ft. Worth, TX.: USDA-SCS-National Cartographic Center ; Nashville: State Conservationist, distributor] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/92684973/.

Valorie Cowan Zimmerman

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