1850 Census, Lafayette County, Missouri

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 146a

I can only guess who this Sarah Peters was. I suspect that she was the grandmother of Permelia A. Small age 25. That would suggest that Sarah's maiden name was not Peters and that she married a man named Peters. Thus far, that has not been enough information to identify how Sarah age 79 fits into the Britt family or the Peters family or the Small family or the Britt family.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 151a

This family was enumerated a second time, dwelling number 1432 family number 1432 on 10 Dec 1850, listed on page 248b.

Caroline Hicks age 23 married Isaac Peters on 7 May 1844 in Clay County, Missouri. They had two children together, William H. Peters age 5 and Thomas A. Peters age 2. Isaac died before the 1850 census. Isaac was the father of a number of other Peters family members who were enumerated in the 1850 census in Lafayette County. His other children were with his first wife Mary Eckle.

James William Peters age 14 was the son of Isaac Peters and Mary Eckle. As such he was the sibling of several other Peters family members in Lafayette County in 1850. Both of his parents had died prior to 1850 and it appears that James was apprenticed out to Jacob R. Eckle age 36 as a blacksmith. Jacob was his mothers's brother and Jacob was a blacksmith. In addition, John W. Liler age 15 was an apprentice blacksmith. I don't know why James was not enumerated as an apprentice, but it seems clear that he was. For example, we know that James worked as a blacksmith for the rest of his life. James later moved to Butte County, California. He died on 12 April 1914, 7 miles from the town of Chico and Butte Creek.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 155a

For a very long time I suspected that this Arminta Dorma Peters age 17 was the daughter of my fourth great grandparents Thomas Peters and Sarah (Sallie) England. However, subsequent research has determined that Arminta was the daughter of William Elijah Peters and Mary Eckle. There is some question as to whether her father was William or Elijah or whether one man had both names. There is also some question as to whether the correct spelling of her mother's surname was Eckle or Eckles.

In any case, Arminta's family was originally from Staunton, Virginia. The family apparently lived in Tennessee briefly before moving permanently to Missouri because Arminta was born in Tennessee.

Sarah Ann Peters age 19 was Arminta's sister. Things are more confusing because the only marriage record between a Peters woman and a Hays man in this time frame in Lafayette County was for James Hays and Margaret Peters on 26 Apr 1849.

Arminta Dorma Peters herself returned to Tennessee sometime after the 1850 census where she married George Thomas Love (Thomas) Seaton on 19 May 1853 in Knox County. They lived in the Ebenezer community, which is actually closer to my Peters family in the Scarbrough community in Anderson County than it is to downtown Knoxville in Knox County.

It is not known if Arminta's Peters family was related to my Peters family of Anderson County, Tennessee. It certainly seems possible because my Peters family was living in what is now Rockingham County in the 1700's before the moved to Greenbrier County, Virginia and then on to Anderson County, Tennessee. Staunton is an independent city in Augusta County which is adjacent to Rockingham County. And in fact, Rockingham County was created from Augusta County.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 211a

Contrary to what this census entry says, Finley E. Barnett age 32 was male. His wife was Esculania Rankin age 28, daughter of Robert F. Rankin.

William Artimus Barnett age 4 later married Mirey Margaret (Maggie) Cobb, daughter of James Madison Cobb and Mary (Polly) Peters. Mary (Polly) Peters was the daughter of Tobias Peters Sr. and Elizabeth Rachel Scarborough of Anderson County, Tennessee.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 224b

I do not know who this Lebbeus Cobb was, nor whether he was related to James Madison Cobb who married Polly Peters. Margaret L. Simpson age 41 married Lebbeus Cobb 20 Sep 1830 in Sumner County, Tennessee. Lucy Ann Riley was Margaret's mother, and Margaret's father was Larkin Hogan Simpson.

It's believable that most of the children were born in Tennessee before the family moved to Missouri. However, I do wonder about the one month old, whether the family really made a move from Tennessee to Missouri with a child that young in the party.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 226a

Alfred F. Cobb was the brother of James Madison Cobb who married Polly Peters (see dwelling number 1158 next door). He married Louisa Hoskins 7 Mar 1842 in Anderson County, Tennessee. Given that their son John was born in Missouri, they must have moved to Missouri shortly after they were married.

Mary (Polly) Peters was the daughter of Tobias Peters Sr. and Elizabeth Rachel Scarborough of Anderson County, Tennessee. She was married to James Madison Cobb. The children were Jasper Newton Cobb, Emoline Louisa Cobb, Lucinda Carolina Cobb, Polly Ann Cobb (b.1839, d. 1841), Robert F. Cobb, Thomas Morris Cobb, William Benson Cobb, Tobias Peters Cobb, James Madison Cobb Jr., and Elizabeth Rebecca Cobb.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, page 248b

This family was enumerated two times in the 1850 census. The first time was dwelling number 78 family number 78 on 9 Sep 1850, listed on page 151a. They apparently moved between the first enumeration and the second enumeration.

1850, Lafayette County, Missouri, pages 264a and 264b

I do not know who this Elizabeth Cobb age 55 was. She certainly seems to have been the mother of Eliza J. age 23, except that Eliza's maiden name was Humphries.