Lincoln Co., Kentucky birth records list David Anderson Singleton, born 20 Oct 1856 in Lincoln Co., father Alexander Singleton, mother’s maiden name Mary Blankenship. (Page 7, line 12 of the 1856 report. The line immediately above is for the birth of Sarah Elizabeth Sanders Singleton to David Singleton and Mary Delaney on 20 May, and the line below is for the birth of Wm Henry Singleton to Joseph Singleton and Mary Baker on Sep 8.)

There is a problem with this record, in that the same birth records list Sarah Allis Singleton, born 27 Mar 1856 to the same parents. It is extremely unlikely that two surviving children would have been born less than 7 months apart to the same mother in the 1850’s. It is more likely that one of the birth records is incorrect. These annual report records from the 1850’s through 1870’s in Kentucky were not registered at the time of birth. They were compiled during the spring of each year with the goal of reporting all births during the preceding year. Doctors and midwives would submit reports of all the births they had attended, and then the county clerk would compile them together. Often the the doctors or midwives did not keep very good records and reported births from the wrong year, other times they had illegible handwriting. Finally, I have noticed several times where Ancestry.com has put an entire page or group of pages into the wrong year, indexing them all wrong, since the pages were loose, not bound. The page containing David’s birth may be such a one. It is in the image set with the 1856 births, but it has no year number anywhere on the page. The next, and last, page in that image set has no year on the birth records, but it is signed at the bottom with the completion/submission date, which is 8 June 1858. This suggests page 8 of the 1856 image set is is almost certainly really 1857 births, and probably page 7 as well. (Page 3 containing the record of Sarah Alice’s birth does contain the year 1856 on the top line for the first recorded birth, with the other lines being month and day only.)

In the 1860 census, David is reported as age 2, and his sister Sarah is reported as Sally A., age 3.

His death certificate records David A. Singleton, age 72 years 2 months 2 days, born 17 Oct 1856 in Kentucky, died 19 Dec 1828 in Lincoln Co., Kentucky, married, farmer, father Alec Singleton, born in Ky, mother’s maiden name blank, cause of death chronic Bright’s Disease, informant W. M. Jackson, Crab Orchard, Ky, burial in Mt. Olive graveyard.

Be careful not to confuse him with David C. Singleton, born 17 Mar 1857 in Pulaski Co., son of Christopher Singleton and Orlena Singleton (her maiden as well as married name.)