I started with Ellen Moore. I knew she was born in Coweta County in 1838. I had no information about her parents or siblings. I found her in the 1870, 1880, 1900 and 1910 Federal Censuses under her married name, but I had nothing from her childhood.
I first started looking for her in earlier census records, in the hopes that I could find her living in a household with her parents and obtain their names.
In 1860 I found an Ellen Johns living in George married to a Joseph M. Johns, listed as age 20 and 23 respectively. It is unlikely that this is the right family as the husband’s name is not an exact match, the ages are off and the location is not right. Ellen Moore was married in 1859 in Paulding County, GA, so by 1860 she would have been in her husband’s household, but I am unable to find any other reference that might be her in the 1860 census.
In 1850, I found an Ellen Moore in Cobb County, Georgia. She is the right age – 12 – and is listed as the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Moore, with six siblings. I then found a Nelly Moore (which is a common nickname for Ellen) in Coweta County, which I have as her place of birth. However, the age is not quite right – it’s off by two years, listing her as 10, not 12, as I would expect. Since census ages are not 100% accurate, I don’t eliminate this as a possible connection. She is listed as the daughter of George and Martha Moore with five siblings.
In 1840, I find a George Moore in Coweta County, Georgia. Two white males are listed, 15-19 and 30-39, which would match George and the oldest son listed in the 1850 census. Three white females under 5, 2-5 thru 9, 2-10 thru 14, 1-30 thru 39 and 1-70 thru 79. These ages match Ellen and two sister for the under 5, and two other sisters through the 5 thru 9 group from the 1850 census. The 1850 census did not list anyone who would fit the 2 10 thru 14 age group, which could indicate adolescent deaths before 1850 or sisters that married by 1850 and moved into their husband’s households. The female 70-79 is also missing from the 1850 census. The 1840 census for George Moore also indicates the household owned 5 slaves.
In 1840, I found several Robert Moores, listed in a variety of counties, including Jackson, Newton, Carroll, Clarke, DeKalb , Jones and Walton, but not in Coweta. At this point I’m leaning more towards George Moore being the correct father of Ellen Moore. The Roberts in Jackson and Clarke both had one female under 5 and one between 5 and 9, which did not match the Robert in Cobb County. The Roberts in Newton, Carroll, did not have any daughters in the right age groups. The Robert in Jones was a single older man, with no children. The Roberts in DeKalb and Walton were possible matches to the Robert in Cobb, but without more detail, this could not be definitively concluded.
In 1830, there are 4 George Moores, none of them in Coweta County. They are in DeKalb, Greene, Crawford and Newton. Based on the information about children, the Georges in Greene and Newton counties are possible matches to the George in Coweta County from 1840 and 1850. In 1820, there are two George Moores, one in Gwinnett and one in Clarke Counties, Georgia. In 1810, there are no George Moores listed in Georgia.