Family Group Sheet
NameMoses Spence
Birthabt 1800, Kentucky
Death14 Jun 1874, Menifee Co., Kentucky
Marriage16 Jan 1819, Bath Co., Kentucky
SpouseEliza Basford
Birthabt 1804, Kentucky
Children
Birth14 Sep 1831, Bath Co., Kentucky
SpouseJohn Donathan Jr.
Birthabt 1835, Bath Co., Kentucky
Birthabt 1837, Bath Co., Kentucky
Birthabt 1839, Bath Co., Kentucky
SpouseAndrew Reed
Birth16 Aug 1842, Bath Co., Kentucky
Death30 Apr 1922, Bellaire, Antrim Co., Michigan
SpouseJames Donathan
Birthabt 1845, Bath Co., Kentucky
Notes for Moses Spence
Menifee Co., Ky, death records list Moses Spence, age 73, died 14 July 1874 of flux, married, born in South Carolina, father Wm Spence, both parents born in Georgia.
Census
In 1870 he was listed with his daughter Hannah and her husband John Donathan as Moses Spence, 85, collier, born in Kentucky.
Notes for Eliza Basford
Her maiden name is listed as Brafford on published transcriptions of early Bath Co. marriage records, which has made it into many family trees on Ancestry.com, but I strongly suspect it was really Basford, which is a common Bath county name (frequently intermarried with the McCarty, Staton and Donathan families), whereas I have never seen any other mention of a Brafford family in the area. It would be an easy transcription error to make.
Census Notes for Moses & Eliza (Family)
This family was listed twice in 1850, with slight variations, but similar enough to be recognizably the same:
1850 census of Bath Co., Ky, division 2, enumerated 13 Aug, lists as family #428:
Moses Spence, 55, b. N.C.; Eliza Spence, 42, b. Va; Hannah, 18; Elizabeth, 15; Katharine, 12; Sarah, 7; Henrietta, 5; Samuel, 10. All children born in Ky.
Neighbors are Daniel and Mary Lovell at #427, and Squire and Elizabeth Carpenter at #429.
1850 census of Bath Co., Ky, division 2, enumerated 12 Sep, lists as family #698:
Moses Spence, 50; Eliza Spence, 45; Katharine, 10; Sarah J., 8; Henrietta, 3; Samuel, 13; Hannah, 18; Elizabeth A., 1. All listed as born in Ky.
Neighbors are James and Elizabeth Mullins at #697, and William R. and Hannah (Basford) Staton at #699.
Elizabeth may be a daughter of Hannah, considering the order of enumeration in the second reading. Or she may be the same person as the Elizabeth age 15 in the first enumeration, with her age entered incorrectly. (Very often census takers would take unofficial notes on other paper during their visits, and then transfer them to the official forms later. This looks like it is probably one of those cases, because the penmanship is very neat, formal, even, and consistent, which is hard to do if the entries are made at different times. But occasionally they misread their own handwriting from the visitation notes.)
Samuel may also be some relative other than a son, since he was listed after Sarah and Henrietta in both readings. Note that in the first listing he is recorded as two years younger than Katherine, and in the second listing as three years older.
1860 census of Bath Co., Ky, Owingsville P.O., enumerated 11 July, lists on p. 109 as family #788:
Moses Spence, 64, b. S. Carolina; Eliza, 62, b. Va; Virginia, 24; Sarah, 17; Henrietta, 14; John, 4. All except Moses and Eliza born in Ky.
To be consistent with the 1850 census, the age for Eliza should be about 52 to 55, not 62.
1870 census of Menifee Co., Ky, Beaver precinct, Rock House P.O., enumerated 16 July, lists on p. 5 as family #28:
Spence, Eliza, 65, b. Va; Henrietta, 23, b. Ky; Jemima, 3, b. Ky.
Moses did not die until 1874, but I cannot find him in this census year. Perhaps he was traveling.
1850 census of Bath Co., Ky, division 2, enumerated 13 Aug, lists as family #428:
Moses Spence, 55, b. N.C.; Eliza Spence, 42, b. Va; Hannah, 18; Elizabeth, 15; Katharine, 12; Sarah, 7; Henrietta, 5; Samuel, 10. All children born in Ky.
Neighbors are Daniel and Mary Lovell at #427, and Squire and Elizabeth Carpenter at #429.
1850 census of Bath Co., Ky, division 2, enumerated 12 Sep, lists as family #698:
Moses Spence, 50; Eliza Spence, 45; Katharine, 10; Sarah J., 8; Henrietta, 3; Samuel, 13; Hannah, 18; Elizabeth A., 1. All listed as born in Ky.
Neighbors are James and Elizabeth Mullins at #697, and William R. and Hannah (Basford) Staton at #699.
Elizabeth may be a daughter of Hannah, considering the order of enumeration in the second reading. Or she may be the same person as the Elizabeth age 15 in the first enumeration, with her age entered incorrectly. (Very often census takers would take unofficial notes on other paper during their visits, and then transfer them to the official forms later. This looks like it is probably one of those cases, because the penmanship is very neat, formal, even, and consistent, which is hard to do if the entries are made at different times. But occasionally they misread their own handwriting from the visitation notes.)
Samuel may also be some relative other than a son, since he was listed after Sarah and Henrietta in both readings. Note that in the first listing he is recorded as two years younger than Katherine, and in the second listing as three years older.
1860 census of Bath Co., Ky, Owingsville P.O., enumerated 11 July, lists on p. 109 as family #788:
Moses Spence, 64, b. S. Carolina; Eliza, 62, b. Va; Virginia, 24; Sarah, 17; Henrietta, 14; John, 4. All except Moses and Eliza born in Ky.
To be consistent with the 1850 census, the age for Eliza should be about 52 to 55, not 62.
1870 census of Menifee Co., Ky, Beaver precinct, Rock House P.O., enumerated 16 July, lists on p. 5 as family #28:
Spence, Eliza, 65, b. Va; Henrietta, 23, b. Ky; Jemima, 3, b. Ky.
Moses did not die until 1874, but I cannot find him in this census year. Perhaps he was traveling.
