JDLail <JDLail@yahoo.com> wrote in news:198d97ae-d859-44a5-9b85-e10ac512bb13@m77g2000hsc.googlegroup s.com: > I have a case where one of my family (Confederate) from > Georgia was captured in the Civil War, taken to > Fort Columbus (NY City area), took the oath of allegiance, and > was released in Sept 1863. He never came > home. His four children were scattered between the paternal > grandparents and the mother. > > However a man with his name shows up in Northern New Jersey > within months of his 1863 release . He > married and remained in Morris Co. NJ until his death in 1926. > So its reasonable to suspect that these > are the same guy. The surname here (Lail) was exceedingly rare > at that point in time and the given name > (James) had never been used before in the family, > > This James appeared in 5 New Jersey census records from > 1870-1920. In all cases he lists his birthplace > as Georgia. In all cases but one he lists his fathers > birthplace as Georgia as well. The exception being > 1920 when he gave it as North Carolina. And finally In all > cases but one he gives a birth year ca. 1846-7. > The exception being 1880 when he gave 1836-7 for his birth. > > The James missing from my family was born 1834-7 in Tennessee > but was raised in Georgia. The family > moved there ca. 1842. His father was born in NC. So do I have > enough proof ? Thanks. Census data can never be *proof*; not only do they not require documentation, you have no way of knowing who provided the information. Was this person REALLY James Lail, or someone pretending to be him? The census taker wouldn't know; they may not even have ever talked to him. Neighbors often provide the information, and they don't always know. While I think this is probably your guy, you need corroborating evidence to have "proof." What you have now is only evidence. But knowing where he was living, you know where to concentrate you efforts for more evidence. -- }:-) Christopher Jahn {:-( http://soflatheatre.blogspot.com/ Fleas on my catma!

On Jan 8, 8:47 am, Christopher Jahn <xj...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Census data can never be *proof*; not only do they not require > documentation, you have no way of knowing who provided the > information.  Was this person REALLY James Lail, or someone > pretending to be him? You learn something new every day. Today I learned that identity theft was rampant in 1865-70.