George Dawson

In the 1850 Census, George is in Collin County, TX.  He is living with this family:

Father “J Dawson” was 36 years old born in NC

Mother Saraham was 34 born in TN

Brother “D” was 14 Born in MO

Brother “Jonus D” was 12 born in MO

Sister Nancy was 8 born in MO

George is the odd fellow on this census.  He is 19 years old yet listed last.  Usually a sign that he is not a direct family member.  His place of birth is listed as Georgia.

Why is George Dawson significant?  Because George ended up marrying Mary W. Foster, daughter of Maize R. Foster.  This is going to get a little complicated so please bear with me.

A look on the 1840 Census can find this Dawson family with fair certainty.

In Rives County, MO there is a Jonas Dawson with the following family:

1 male 20-30

1 female 20-30

2 males under 5

A perfect fit if George was not living with them.

The few lines on the census are very interesting:

Malcom  Foster

1 male 20-30

1 female 15-20

Robert Foster

1 male 20-30

1 female 20-30

2 males under 5

Benny (Berry) Dawson

1 male 40-50

1 female 40-50

1 female 10-15

2 males 15-20

1 male 10-15

1 male under 5

(The next line is Nathaniel Brown whom deserves a whole discussion by himself)

If Maize’s family in 1850 was intact and all of the children listed were his, his family in 1840 should look like this:

1 male 30-40

1 female 20-30

1 female 10-15

2 females under 5

1 male under 5

But we know that the pioneer life was a hard life.  Parent’s died, families merged, children died.

The oldest female listed in the 1850 cesus in Maize’s family was “L. G.”  I have not been able to find out what happened to this person after 1850.  Given the fact there was 6 years between her and the next child listed and that Sarah would have been 19 when she was born, it is a valid speculation that she came from another family.

Hypothesis:  The “R” in Maize R. Foster stands for “Robert”.

We cannot find Maize anywhere on the 1840 census.  We can confirm that the person living next to Robert Foster, Jonas Dawson, was living in Collin County, TX in 1850 near Maize and family.

Maize named one of his sons “Malcomb”.