Will administered in 1853, Floyd Co., VA, Will Book #C, p. 57. List of his children in the Floyd Co. chancery records, File #494.

There is a web page on the 8 sons of John Quesenberry and Nancy Hylton who served in the 54th Virginia Infantry, at

http://54th.va.inf.8m.com/quesenberry.html

The page contains some contradictory birthdates. It has a birthdate for James of 16 Dec 1840, which is very inconsistent with the 1850 census listing him as 21, and also in conflict with the fact that he is listed on that web page between Archelaus and John. It says that John Quesenberry was born 10 March 1835, and that Lewis was born 8 April 1832 and that Lewis was “just a little younger than John”. It also says that Nathaniel Quesenberry was born about 1836, and that Frederick Quesenberry was born 5 Mar 1836 and was “a year younger than Nathaniel”.

I am assigning birthdates that preserve the birth order of the sons as listed in the 1860 census. The 1835 birthdate of John is the most inconsistent with the others. By putting it before the birthdate of Lewis, it leaves 1835 open for Nathaniel to be a year older than Frederick. The birth dates for John and Lewis might be off by a year in either direction, though.

Often the ultimate source of such precise and yet conflicting birthdates are inscriptions on gravestones. Birthdates given at death are very often wrong due to the surviving descendants not knowing the correct age of their parent or grandparent.

1850 census of Floyd Co., Virginia, district 15, enumerated 6 Sept, lists on p. 440 as family #871:
John Qusenbury, 52, farmer; Nancy, 47; James, 21; John 17; Lewis, 16; Nathaniel, 14; Frederick, 13; Preston, 11; William, 8; Amos, 5; Catherine, 21; Serena, 6. John and Nancy are listed as born in Virginia, the rest of the family as born in Floyd. (This census taker listed the county if known.)

Serena is probably a daughter of Catherine, not of John and Nancy. It is unclear whether Catherine is a daughter of John and Nancy; if so, she must be a twin to James since they are both listed as 21. But she might be a daughter-in-law instead. This census does not list relationships or marital status.

For now, I am linking Catherine in as a daughter of John and Nancy, and Serena in as her daughter, but that may change if other evidence is found.

The next two households in this census are John and Nancy’s two oldest sons, George and Elijah.