1840 Wilmot Twp Census Transcription
Information
The 1840 Census of Wilmot Township was a singular survey (not county-wide) and listed only the heads of household, along with counts of the persons living there. The attached copy was transcribed by a Laurie Strome, and was accessed at http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/~lestrome/wilmot1840.html on 19 Feb 2015.
The original link to this document was at the Waterloo OGS website on the same date, at http://www.waterlooogs.ca/census.htm.
Contact has been attempted [19 Feb 2015] to see about viewing an original copy, such that a little bias might help with spellings.
On this census transcript, we find unusual names and many misspellings. It should be noted that the makeup of Wilmot County was mainly of immigrants, comprised of Scots-Irish and Germans, mostly of the latter. Therefore, when reading written accounts of this area from the early days, it is advisable to bear in mind that the speaker (head of household) would be of one ethnicity, and the recorder (census man) might be of another.
Most applicably for the Rutledge family, we are mindful that while Thomas and William were born in New York, they were born and raised by a Scots-Irish father and community. Moreover, the census man himself might have been of that background, or even German, which could affect spelling.
In this case, note on Page 2 where there are two records side by side: "William Bathlich" and "Thomas Ruthlich". Given the pronunciations, it is not a stretch to be confident that these are the two brothers, living just across the road from each other (as is shown by maps). Further evidence is given by the family count as well.
William:
M<16 = 0 : This states zero, but should include Jacob b.1838.
M>16 = 1 : Himself, the father.
F<16 = 2 : Alice 1834, Elizabeth 1835.
F>16 = 1 : Sarah, his wife.
I cannot account for Jacob, unless his birth year is incorrect, but otherwise this matches William's family. I have tagged him on this document simply to show the anomaly rather than as proof.
Thomas:
M<16 = 3 : Robert P 1834, Foster 1835, John 1838.
M>16 = 1 : Himself, the father.
F<16 = 1 : Frances 1837
F>16 = 1 : Elizabeth, his wife.
Taking into account Mary who died before the census, and that William and Margaret were not born yet, this record matches Thomas' family perfectly.
In sum, I believe this "dodgy" census from 1840 to accurately describe our two Rutledge families in the area.
Notably, we do NOT find a Robert Rutledge. Previous accounts, or "lore", said that he moved from New York to Wilmot around 1820 to buy 200 acres there to farm. That much is certainly untrue, as we know he went to Toronto around 1820 for at least five years before getting land north in Mulmur County in 1825. However, we cannot yet prove he ever lived on the land he had there, in Mulmur County, or whether he lived with his two sons here in Waterloo County. Since he bought his land in Illinois in 1841, it seems he should either be on this census (if living with sons), or he did indeed work the land in Mulmur County until his move to Illinois in '41. Of course, it is possible he lived with his sons but left Canada sometime prior to 1840 when the census was taken.
The original link to this document was at the Waterloo OGS website on the same date, at http://www.waterlooogs.ca/census.htm.
Contact has been attempted [19 Feb 2015] to see about viewing an original copy, such that a little bias might help with spellings.
On this census transcript, we find unusual names and many misspellings. It should be noted that the makeup of Wilmot County was mainly of immigrants, comprised of Scots-Irish and Germans, mostly of the latter. Therefore, when reading written accounts of this area from the early days, it is advisable to bear in mind that the speaker (head of household) would be of one ethnicity, and the recorder (census man) might be of another.
Most applicably for the Rutledge family, we are mindful that while Thomas and William were born in New York, they were born and raised by a Scots-Irish father and community. Moreover, the census man himself might have been of that background, or even German, which could affect spelling.
In this case, note on Page 2 where there are two records side by side: "William Bathlich" and "Thomas Ruthlich". Given the pronunciations, it is not a stretch to be confident that these are the two brothers, living just across the road from each other (as is shown by maps). Further evidence is given by the family count as well.
William:
M<16 = 0 : This states zero, but should include Jacob b.1838.
M>16 = 1 : Himself, the father.
F<16 = 2 : Alice 1834, Elizabeth 1835.
F>16 = 1 : Sarah, his wife.
I cannot account for Jacob, unless his birth year is incorrect, but otherwise this matches William's family. I have tagged him on this document simply to show the anomaly rather than as proof.
Thomas:
M<16 = 3 : Robert P 1834, Foster 1835, John 1838.
M>16 = 1 : Himself, the father.
F<16 = 1 : Frances 1837
F>16 = 1 : Elizabeth, his wife.
Taking into account Mary who died before the census, and that William and Margaret were not born yet, this record matches Thomas' family perfectly.
In sum, I believe this "dodgy" census from 1840 to accurately describe our two Rutledge families in the area.
Notably, we do NOT find a Robert Rutledge. Previous accounts, or "lore", said that he moved from New York to Wilmot around 1820 to buy 200 acres there to farm. That much is certainly untrue, as we know he went to Toronto around 1820 for at least five years before getting land north in Mulmur County in 1825. However, we cannot yet prove he ever lived on the land he had there, in Mulmur County, or whether he lived with his two sons here in Waterloo County. Since he bought his land in Illinois in 1841, it seems he should either be on this census (if living with sons), or he did indeed work the land in Mulmur County until his move to Illinois in '41. Of course, it is possible he lived with his sons but left Canada sometime prior to 1840 when the census was taken.
Date of Origin
abt. 1840
Associated People
Foster Rutledge
Thomas Paterson Rutledge
Elizabeth Foster
Robert Peter Rutledge
Frances R. "Fanny" Rutledge
John R. Rutledge
William J. Rutledge
Jacob Lurvey Rutledge
Sarah A. Calhoun
Allice Rutledge
Elizabeth Rutledge