Week #5
[Don't believe everything you see] In the Census
Through the years I have noticed several online family trees have given my great grandparents, Belle Tisdale and Samuel Booksh, an extra child. I know from church records, from other family members and from the family bible that she and Great Grandfather Sam had only four children: Samuel Walker Jr., Charles Leonard, Wilton Tisdale, and Arabella or Belle, also known as Vera. But other trees insist on adding Mary Eliza, born about 1877. I finally figured out why.
The 1880 U. S. Census lists the Booksh family in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, as:
Booksh, Charles, age 72
Elisa Elizabeth, age 60
Elisa Mary, age 22, Grand Daughter
Sam'l W., age 26, Son
Bell M., age 25, Daughter-in-Law
Chas. E., age 19, Grand Son
Mary Eliza, age 3, Grand Daughter
David, S. B., age 4, Grand Son
Charles and Elisa Elizabeth are my great great grandparents. Elisa Mary is the daughter of their oldest son, Charles Edouard Booksh. Samuel and Belle are my great grandparents who were married 23 April 1878. Charles E. is Charles Everett, son of Charles Edouard Booksh and brother of Elisa Mary. Mary Eliza, always called Maimie, age 3, is the daughter of Charles and Elisa's daughter, Mary Eliza Booksh and her husband Joseph J. David. The census taker made a mistake and did not enter her last name.The S. B. David that follows is her brother and Mary Eliza and Joseph's son, Seth Booksh David. Mary Eliza died 31 March 1878 and her children are living with their grandparents.
Evidently some researchers assumed Mary Eliza was the daughter of Sam and Belle and incorrect trees are being replicated. Let this be a warning. Don't accept online trees as fact. Verify the information with real research in historic records before you include it in your family tree.
For more about the Tisdale-Booksh family please see my other blog, Belle's Letters, which is a compilation of papers, letters and photos passed down in the family.
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