1830 Lead Mine Census

Introduction

 

This census transcription is for the area known as the Upper Mississippi Lead Mine Region. It includes Jo Daviess County, Illinois and Iowa and Crawford Counties in Michigan Territory. Crawford County had lesser involvement with the lead mines but were near neighbors engaged in the Winnebago War of 1827 and the coming Black Hawk War of 1832.

The Jo Daviess County census starts in the Galena area and then follows the Mississippi River south to Rock Island. James Craig and the Armstrong families on page 312 resided in present day Hanover area. Aaron Pierce is celebrated in Carroll County as the founder of Savanna, Illinois. The Wells family also on page 312 lived in the Rock Island area. George Davenport on page 313 was the founder of Davenport, IA. On page 314 is Peter Cartwright* the famous pioneer minister, also John Dixon who founded Dixon, Illinois. The census taker then turned around and started north again reaching present day Jo Daviess County with John Flack on page 314. John D. Winters on page 314 had his stage coach business near present day Elizabeth, Illinois.

The Iowa County, Michigan Territory contains the present Grant, LaFayette, and Iowa Counties in Wisconsin. What is remarkable about this census is the number of households that contain only one man. On page 248 John Rountree is the founder of Platteville. Henry Dodge on page 237, later governor of Wisconsin, was probably at Dodgeville. Mineral Point is represented by James H. Gentry on page 239. Henry Gratiot on page 243 founded the little town also called Gratiot south of Shullsburg.

Crawford County is primarily an Indian trading town with mostly French Canadian residents. Col. William Morgan is the commander of Fort Crawford on page 219. Most of these people live in or near Prairie du Chien.

The age statistics columns are numbered 1 through 12

1: under 5 years of age

3: 10 - 15 years of age

4: 15 - 20 years of age

5: 20 - 30 years of age

6: 30 - 40 years of age

7: 40 - 50 years of age

8: 50 - 60 years of age

9: 60 - 70 years of age

10: 70 - 80 years of age

11: 80 - 90 years of age

12: 90 - 100 years of age

Other miscellaneous information in given in the last column of the table:

a: number of slaves

b: number of free blacks

c: number of foreigners not naturalized.

The slaves and free blacks are broken down by age statistics in the original census which are not included here.

Submitter unknown and source unknown

* Peter Cartwright, the famed Methodist Circuit Rider was, by 1830, heavily involved in his religious activities and was a member of the Illinois State legislature (elected 1828 & reelected 1832 defeating Lincoln). According to a brief history supplied to me by the Peter Cartwright Church of Pleasant Plains, IL., Cartwright purchased land in 1823 on Richland Creek in Sangamon County, and there he lived for the rest of his life. Now it is possible that Cartwright just happened to be in the area and was enumerated as the census was being taken, but by then he would have been 45 years old...the Peter Cartwright listed in the census was 20-30 years old.

Instead, I believe that the Peter Cartwright that's listed in the census is actually a man who married my ggg-grandmother, Temperance (Hall) Kindle. Temperance, who would have been approximately 23 years old in 1830, married Peter Cartwright October 14, 1827 in Tazewell County, IL. This Peter Cartwright (his name is also spelled Cutwright & Cartright) is purported to be the nephew of the "famed" Peter Cartwright...although I have yet to find that link.

Besides the fact that the famous Peter Cartwright apparently lived in Sangamon County, I would also point out as strong evidence to support my argument the fact that listed next to the Peter Cartwright family is the family of William Hall. William was Temperance's father. It was this William Hall, along with his wife Mary Jane Rebecca (Williams) and daughter Elizabeth Hall, who was killed in May, 1832 in the Indian Creek Massacre...and it was William Hall's daughters (and Temperance's sisters) Sylvia and Rachel who were kidnapped by the Indians and ransomed a few days later in modern-day southern Wisconsin.

We do not know what became of Temperance's husband, Peter Cartwright, but it is likely he died before 1843, because it was then that Temperance married her 3rd husband, Thomas J. Potter. Thomas, too, is enumerated in the 1830 Lead Mine Census...although it doesn't appear likely that Temperance and Thomas had even known each other, much less had a romantic encounter then. Thomas married a girl named Payne in Jo Daviess County in 1833, and later married Olive (Coe) Hullinger in LaSalle County in 1837. Thomas and Temperance were married in Bureau County in 1843.

The marriage of Peter Cartwright (the "non-famous" one) and Temperance is inaccurately characterized in the History of Tazewell County (1879), where it reads: "The marriage of celebrated Peter Cartwright was among the very first to take place in Tazewell County. He was married to Temperance Kindle October 14, 1827, by George Hittle, County Commissioner." This information is all true, with the exception of the implication that this Peter Cartwright is the "celebrated" one. He isn't.

The actual "celebrated" Peter Cartwright was married to Frances Gaines August 18, 1808 in Glasgow, Barren Co., KY...they remained married their whole lives and Fances died in 1876, a few years after Peter died.

Fritz Miller
overfork@cableone.net