(From the introduction of a transcription of the 1861 special Jefferson County census by Billie McNamara.)No official record has been found to explain the enumeration that has been transcribed in this volume. It may have been mandated by the federal or state governments or by the Jefferson County Court. Many historians have surmised the count was taken in an attempt to determine the potential local militia strength. However, some elderly men were also listed. This is an important record because every man who fit the criteria for enumeration, regardless of his financial or social standing, was included.
This book has not been microfilmed. Because of its valuable nature, the original volume is maintained in the Jefferson County Museum & Archives, located in Dandridge, Tennessee. Most of the county's earliest documents are housed there for protection. For the public's use, a photocopy of the book is located in the office of the Jefferson County Clerk.
Dist. 1 #92 Tho. Slaton
2 #357 Floyd Hart
2 #415 Joseph Slaydon
2 #418 Wilcher Slaydon
2 #422 William Slaydon
2 #425 John D. Thomas
2 #426 Tho. Thornhill
2 #427 Reuben Thomas
12 #2164 Edmund Bell
In some ways, the special 1861 census included even less information than did the pre-1850 censuses. But the special 1861 census did include the civil district number (at least for Jefferson County), and the 1861 special census appears to have been enumerated in house number order. So it gives you some sense of where people were living.
Districts 1 and 2 were in Dumplin Valley. District 1 was along the Sevier County line. District 2 was still in Dumplin Valley, but to the northeast of District 1, upstream on Dumplin Creek. The only exception was that there was a small piece of District 2 which gerrymandered its way across the ridge to include Dandridge.
It's not possible to determine for sure whether William Slaydon of District 2 was William Slaydon who married Susannah Flippin, or their son William J. Slaton. Both Williams were in Jefferson County by 1861, so one or the other of them seems not to have been enumerated in the 1861 special census.
William Slaydon and his wife Susannah Flippin were the parents of Thomas Fielden Slaton of District 1, Joseph Flippin Slaton of District 2, and Wilcher C. Slaton of District 2. And as previously stated, William Slaydon and his wife Susannah Flippin were the parents of William J. Slaton who may have been the William Slaydon of District 2.
Based on the house numbers, William Slaydon and his sons Joseph and Wilcher (or William J. Slaton and his brothers Joseph and Wilcher) were apparently living very close to each other in 1861, whereas Thomas was living a bit further away. Thomas moved from North Carolina to Tennessee about 1848, but the rest of family did not move to Tennessee until several years later.
In about 1873, Thomas W. Thornhill of District 2 married Leah Waren Hart, daughter of Floyd Hart and Mary Ann Slaton. Mary Ann Slaton was the daughter of William Slaydon and Susannah Flippin. So Thomas W. Thornhill was living four houses away from his future grandfather-in-law William Slaydon in 1861.