When
Kentucky county assessors were given instructions on recording births under the
Sutton Act of 1852, no one told them to add extra information. To be honest,
most assessors did only what was required, if that, but now and then one would
add a note that makes a genealogist send a prayer upwards for the
thoughtfulness of that long-deceased assessor.
If you read
the vital statistics on Ancestry.com, do not be satisfied with just reading their index
as they have neglected to record the information listed in that category called "Remarks." If
you are reading the vital statistics on microfilm,
you will need to scroll over to the far right side. It is there that you find the good stuff - the tidbits of information the assessor didn't have to add, but he did. The following examples come from Henderson Vital Statistics of the 1850s.
That extra
information may be something as simple as identifying a man as the "Slave
of E.G. Sugg of Arkansas." Pretty simple, isn't it? But if you didn't know
E.G. Sugg lived in Arkansas, it becomes pretty important.
Or how about
this one for Minerva, who was born alive on 7 Aug 1852 and was probably a slave of
F.H. Dallam: "Born on the Ohio River in a skiff while moving from
Livingston County to Henderson, Ky." I knew F.H. Dallam had moved his
family from Livingston County between 1850 and 1855, but this gives me a better date for his removal to Henderson.
Here's
another one: John, a black child owned by William S. Holloway, was born 12
Dec 1856 with "Six fingers on each hand." You won't find that on any census.
The one that
tickles me most is the record of the birth of a son born 22 June 1858 to John
Southerland and Lucy Lane. Under "Remarks," it simply states:
"Weighed 40 pounds." Whew! I have no
other comment except to suggest that you read that column called
"Remarks."
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