William Wallace Haws 1850-1840 Census

When you search for William Wallace Haws in the 1850 census, it's important to remember that he will not be with his wife and children. Because we know that he was born in 1835, he should have been around the age of 15 in the 1850 census. It is very likely that he lived in the household with his parents and siblings. This is exactly what you will find in the 1850 census:

 [1]

The 1850 census recorded a 16-year old William Haws in the household of Gilberth and Hannah Hawes in Utah. If we did not know who his parents were before looking at this census, there are clues that give evidence that this is most likely the William Haws we are looking for. First, this family lived in Utah in 1850. This matches William Wallace Haws's location in the 1860 census. This census also gives his place of birth: Illinois. That information also matches up with our records. If you look through the other William Hawses in this census, you will find that none match up with our records as well as this one.

The 1840 United States census is quite a bit trickier. This census only recorded the name of the head of household in each family. The rest of the family are represented by little tick marks, showing how many people were living in the household and their approximate ages. Lucky for us, William Wallace Haws's father had a fairly uncommon name. When you search for "Gilbert Haws" in the 1840 United States census, only one likely possibility shows. In 1840, Gilbreth Haws lived in Wayne county, Illinois. There were two boys in the household under the age of five and three were between the ages of five and six. William Wallace was most likely one of these boys. It does make sense for Gilbert and Hannah Haws to have lived in Illinois in 1840, because that was where the majority of their children were born, including William.

 [2]

[1] Gilberth and Hannah Hawes Household, Utah county, Utah, 1850 United States Census, Roll M432_919, pages 129B-130A, Online Image, Ancestry.com, accessed 11 October 2014.

[2] Gilbreth Haws Household, Wayne county, Illinois, 1840 United States Census, Roll 72, page 250, Online Image, Ancestry.com, accessed 11 October 2014.