Just to further confuse the issue...I have noticed, when doing extensive research with early Surry county records, that the census enumerator and the person taking information for taxes usually followed the same route, format, etc. So you might want to check the personal property tax lists for a year or two on either side of the census to see it there is any information on those lists concerning the people you are researching which might help solve the problem.
The personal property tax lists for most Virginia counties have been microfilmed and are available on inter-library loan from both the Library of Virginia and Family History centers.
Anne
-----Original Message-----
>From: Sally Phillips <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Jan 14, 2008 3:12 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] 1820 Census BS
>
>Thank you for your thoughts re the meaning of BS on the 1820 Cumberland
>County Census.
>
>Might it mean bastard son? Or would a bastard take his mother's name?
>
>I don't think it has any geographic meaning, because the record shows
>occasional indications of the village/town where the individual lived.
>
>Sally Phillips
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Elizabeth Shown Mills" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 2:30 PM
>Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] 1820 Census BS
>
>
>> David wrote:
>>>Just to throw another possibility into the mix - I've seen people
>> designated
>> as "blacksmith" or "b.s." on tax lists. Perhaps "BS" in this census record
>> could be an abbreviation for blacksmith.
>>
>>>C. Etter wrote:
>>>It looks like column number 15 is for people
>> engaged in manufacturing, and blacksmithing could be considered as
>> manufacturing.
>>>Teach of the 3 guys shown with a "BS" in
>> the above examples appears to have people listed in the manufacturing
>> column, which would be consistent with a blacksmith operation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Good points.
>>
>> Column 17 (15 columns after the name) is, indeed, headed "Numbers of
>> persons
>> engaged in Manufactures." And blacksmiths would, logically, seem to be
>> included in this column.
>>
>> On the other hand, what seems "logical" to us may have been considered
>> differently in the past. On this particular issue, the evidentiary waters
>> are really muddy.
>>
>> According to the census instructions issued 20 June 1820 by the Department
>> of State (which are not included at the IPUMS website for census
>> instructions, but can be found in the 1820 census compendium published the
>> next year as _Census for 1820: Published by authority of an Act of
>> Congress,
>> under the direction of the Secretary of State_ [Washington: Gales &
>> Seaton,
>> Printer]):
>>
>> "In the column of manufactures will be included not only all the persons
>> employed in what the act more specifically denominates manufacturing
>> _establishments_, but all those artificers, handicraftsmen, and mechanics,
>> whose labor is pre eminently of the hand, and not upon the field."
>>
>> I.e., smithies--who worked with their hands--would seem to be included.
>>
>> *However,* the Descriptive Pamphlet that NARA has prepared for M279
>> (Records
>> of the 1820 Census of Manufactures" follows the issue through some
>> bureaucratic wrangling. Page 2 of the DP tells us:
>>
>> "In May 1820 Secretary of State John Quincy Adams began drafting
>> instructions to the marshals for taking the census of manufactures. The
>> results were incorporated with the instructions relating to the taking of
>> the population enumeration and were sent to the marshals on June 20, 1820.
>> When several marshals noted difficulties in interpretation, the Secretary,
>> on August 5, sent them a letter of 'elucidations' to the instructions. .
>> .
>> . The instructions [of June 20] applied the exception of household
>> manufactures to section 10 and to the column for manufactures in the
>> population schedules. The August 5 letter included in the "excepted"
>> category all persons of the 'mechanical professions or handicrafts' and
>> defined household manufactures as the products of artisans who produced
>> "works of handicraft" and were therefore commonly known as mechanics."
>>
>> Unfortunately, Virginia's returns for the manufacturing schedule of 1820
>> appear to have been lost and aren't included on M279, so we can't test the
>> theory that these three men were blacksmiths.
>>
>> Playing Devil's Advocate, one thing keeps me from settling into the
>> hypothesis that "BS" means blacksmith. Actually, 2 things:
>>
>> 1. "BS" appears only 3 times in the entire county. Surely a
>> well-established county in 1820 would have more than 3 blacksmiths.
>>
>> 2. If the enumerator was noting, there on the population schedule, the
>> specific occupation for individuals included on the manufacturing
>> schedule,
>> then why aren't all the other occupations noted?
>>
>> 3. the one other initialism found after a name, "SM," still remains
>> unexplained and does not seem explainable under the BS=Blacksmith
>> hypothesis. SM appears only once--in the Field Robinson case for which we
>> have (p. 134)
>>
>> Robinson BS, Field 1 male 16-26, 1 male 45+, 0 slaves, 2 in mfg.
>> Robinson SM, Field 1 male 26-45, 2 fem 45+, 20 slaves, 7 in ag
>>
>> We can't argue that it was necessary to distinguish a "Field Robinson,
>> Blacksmith" from "Field Robinson, Something More" because there are too
>> many
>> other cases of same-name individuals in the county who don't have
>> distinguishing initialisms--including multiple John Robinsons other than
>> "John Robinson, BS"
>>
>> We sure need more grist for this mill!
>>
>>
>> Elizabeth
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
>> Advanced Research Methodology & Evidence Analysis
>> Samford University Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research
>>
>> _Evidence: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian_
>> (the "briefcase edition")
>> _Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts
>> to Cyberspace_ (the "desktop reference edition")
>> _QuickSheet: Citing Online Historical Resource, Evidence Style_
>> _Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers,
>> Writers, Editors, Lecturers & Librarians_
>>
>> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
>> at
>> http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html
>>
>
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