1850 Census--John Beckner Family This message is going to both Roanoke-L and Botetourt-L because the John Beckner family appears in the 1850 census for both counties! The names for the members of the family are identical except a Catharine Ronk (age 70) appears as a household member for Roanoke County but not for Botetourt County. The ages for most of the members of the family are off by two or three years, the Roanoke ages being generally higher than the Botetourt ages. The neighboring households in the two counties are completely different. According to one published study, the John Beckner family moved from Fincastle in Botetourt to the Salem area of Roanoke in 1747-48, suggesting that the inclusion in the 1850 Roanoke Census was correct. Also, three of John Beckner's older children had married three of the children of Henry Brubaker of Roanoke County during the late 1840s. These married children appeared in the 1850 Census for Roanoke County. Can anyone explain why the Beckners were counted twice? Does anyone know anything about this family, especially about when it moved from Fincastle to Salem, and why a Catharine Ronk (age 70) would appear as a family member in Roanoke but not in Botetourt? Dwayne Wrightsman Lee, NH