A Case Study of The Phil McWhorter Family

The only U.S. Population Census that my great-great-grandfather Phillip McWhorter and his wife Patsy Williams McWhorter are enumerated in is the 1880 U.S. Population Census.  Both died in 1899 and therefore were not on the 1900 U.S. Census.

I have constructed a McWhorter Family spreadsheet with the information contained in the 1885, 1890, 1894 and 1896 Black School Censuses that will show the value of these rare censuses for Wilkinson County Mississippi Black Families.

First, observe the evolution of the spelling of the surname McWhorter on the different censuses – McWhorter, McWhorton, McWhirtin, McWhitney, McQuerter, etc.  The spelling of the name evolved over the years and McWhorter descendants today also spell their name McWhirter, McQuarter, McQuaiter, McQuiter, McQuater, etc.

The Black Family School Censuses document all the McWhorter children as they advance in age between 5 and 19 years.  This information also provides several reference points in documenting their birth years, which can then be compared to the birth year and month given in the 1900 Census.

In the 1900 Federal Population census, after the parents died, the younger children lived in a household together with the older brother Jerry McQuerter listed as the head of household.  The older children Suky, Eliza, Emma, Phil and Caroline are married with children by 1900, and they can be found in their respective households in other locations throughout the census. The older daughters shown in the spreadsheet now carry their married surname.

The McWhorter children all lived a hard life as farm laborers and sharecroppers in Woodville, Mississippi. In 1899 when the parents died, 3 of the children, Hannah (13), Taylor (11) and Amanda (7), were minors under the age of 16.  Ironically, it took a Union Army Special Investigation lasting 30 years to “prove” what is clearly shown in this spreadsheet – that the children were indeed the minor children of Civil War pensioner Phil McWhorter, and following his death in 1899, that they were under the age of 16 and entitled to a pension.  How painful it is, even today, to think of these children whose father was a Civil War Veteran, growing up in Woodville Mississippi with no means of support, waiting 30 years for their pension check to arrive.  But that’s a long story for another day.

There is the potential for finding valuable family information inside the 20-year Wilkinson County population census gap.  Although Phil McWhorter’s family appears only on the 1880 Census, details of his family have been revealed through these Censuses.

Today, more than ever, I realize how valuable the information contained in these censuses is to me and hope it helps others who are researching Wilkinson County Black Family History.  Researchers who are not from Wilkinson County should look for similar school censuses.