John D. Lewis, Estimating His Birth Date

©  Kathy Duncan, 2020

Knowing when and where an ancestor was born is a considerable aid in locating that ancestor's records and making additional family connections. So, when and where was John D. Lewis born?

John D. Lewis died in McNairy County, Tennessee in 1842 prior to the 1850 census, which would have revealed a possible birthplace for him. So far, no other documents have surfaced to reveal where he was born. Let me repeat that, so far, no other documents have surfaced to reveal where he was born. If you are thinking, but...but...he was born in Albemarle County, Virginia! That will be addressed in another post.

When John D. Lewis was born is a little easier to estimate. The 1830 Jackson county census places him in the 40 to 50 year age category. That would make his birth 1780 at the earliest and 1790 at the latest. Since he had a son born near 1799, I would place his birth as closer to 1780 perhaps 1779 or 1778 at the earliest. That would make him 19 to 20 years old when his son was born. That is a reasonable age for having children.

The complete household for John Lewis was 220001 - 01101

Family:
Two males under n 0 - 4 [born c. 1826 - 1830]: unknown
Two males 5 - 9 [b.c. 1821 -1825]: unknown
One male 40 - 49 [b.c. 1781 - 1790]: John Lewis
One female: 5 - 9 [b.c. 1821 - 1825]: unknown
One female 10 - 14 [b.c. 1816 - 1820]: Susan Lewis (a daughter)?
One female 20 - 29 [b.c. 1801 - 1810]: unknown
Slave:
One male 10 - 24

This census suggests that the unknown female aged 20 - 29 is too young to be the mother of John D. Lewis's known children but old enough to be the mother of the unknown children. She could be a daughter of John Lewis's, but her children's ages do not fit his known grandchildren's ages. It is possible that she is Celia (Lewis) Babb, but only if Celia had three children who died or are unknown. Those three children, however, do not fall within her marriage to William Babb, which took place in Madison County, Alabama in 1824. Of course, William could have been married previously with another set of older children. Alternately, this unknown woman could be a widowed sister or sister-in-law.

The main take away is that the mother of John D. Lewis's first set of children, presumed to be Susan Daniel, is likely to be deceased at this time. If the John Lewis family has been correctly identified in Knox County, Kentucky in 1810, then it reveals a woman with a birth pattern of a baby every two years. At that pace, it is not surprising that she was deceased by 1830.

Also interesting is Nancy Lewis who is living next door. Since this census is not in alphabetical order, she is living near John Lewis. Her age category of 50 to 60 makes her too young to be John Lewis's mother. With a house full of children she is likely to be his widowed sister-in-law although she could be a spinster sister, raising someone else's children. She is worth researching because she may lead to the rest of John Lewis's family. An interesting spin on this is that she could be a very young, widowed step-mother to John Lewis. That seems a little far fetched, but not impossible.

By 1840, John Lewis was in McNairy County, Tennessee. The complete household for John Lewis was 000100001 - 100011 and slaves 01010001.

Family:
One male 15 - 19 [b.c. 1821 - 1825]: unknown
One male 60 - 69 [b.c. 1780 - 1771]: John D. Lewis
One female 0 - 4 [b.c. 1836 - 1840]: Emily Lewis
One female 20 - 29 [b.c. 1811 - 1820]: Susan Lewis (a daughter)?
One female 30 - 39 [b.c. 1801 - 1810]: wife Jane Lewis
Slaves:
One male 10 - 23
One male 36 - 54
One female 10 - 23

John Lewis's age on the McNairy County, Tennessee census is consistent with his age on the 1830 Jackson County, Alabama census. The overlap of those two censuses would make his birth date fall in the vicinity of 1780 perhaps a year or two earlier. That overlap occurs if John Lewis is placed at the high end of the age range on the 1830 census with an age of near 49 and at the low end of the age range on the 1840 census age with an age of near 60. If he was near 50 in 1830, he would be near 60 in 1840.

The unknown male may be one of the males from the 1830 census.

With a birth date of about 1778 to 1780, there are several things we can guess about John Lewis. When he died in 1842 he was close to 60 years old, give or take a year or two. He was too young to serve in the Revolutionary War. This is born out by the fact that he did not receive a Revolutionary War pension, and his widow Jane never applied for one on behalf of herself and their young daughter Emily. Since Jane only drew a child's share from his estate, a Revolutionary War pension, if she qualified for one, would have enhanced the quality of her life.

John Lewis might have participated in the War of 1812. He also might have participated in the Creek War of 1836 although he would have been well into his 50s by then.

There is still a lot to flesh out about John D. Lewis and his children, and being able to place them in the context of a time period opens up the possibilities.