Life History

Other facts

Notes

• We can tell from the 1850 census that George's first wife Mary Mansfield died some time before 1850.  Stanley family sources and the Edmund West Family Data Collection report that Mary Ann died in 1846 in Georgia.  (See more information in the Notes for Mary Ann Mansfield.)  George is single in 1850, in a  shared household with his father, Lewis Terry, with two children, Nancy age 13 and Mary Ann age 8.
  
  1850 Census, Murray County, Georgia, 13 August, page 32, House/Family #1590
  George Terry 39 M  Farmer SC  [born abt 1811]
  Nancy Terry  13 F  SC  [born abt 1837]
  Mary A Terry   8 F  GA  Idiot  [born abt 1842]
  
  These ages and birth states of the daughters tell us that George moved to Georgia between 1837 and 1842.  His first wife Mary Ann Mansfield also died after 1842, since she is not reported in the 1850 census.  Stanley-Mansfield genealogies tell us that she died in 1846 in Georgia.
  
  There is a puzzling entry in a record compilation in Murray County records.  This alphabetized list of entries from the marriage book reports a series of Terry marriages.  One of these reports the groom as George C Terry and the bride as Mary Mansfield, but the date is 26 April 1851.  I do not find another George C Terry or Mary Mansfield to match this, but this conflicts with the other information on Mary as George's first wife and her death in 1846, as well as the censuses of 1850 and later reporting no wife.
  
  In the household of George's sister, next door to George, is his older daughter Jane Elizabeth, listed as Elizabeth Terry.
  
  1850 Census, Murray County, Georgia, 13 August, page 32, House/Family #1591
  Thomas Carder  45 M Farmer SC  [born abt 1805]
  Nancy [Terry] Carder 37 F SC  [born abt 1813]
  Elizabeth Terry 14 F SC  [born abt 1826]
  
  It appears that George did not remarry for at least 14 years.  Again in the 1860 census, no wife is recorded in his household.  In 1860 his sister Nancy, whose husband has died, is also living with them.  In 1860 his daughter Mary Ann is still at home, and is designated in both 1850 and 1860 as an Idiot.
  
  1860 Census, Murray County, Georgia, 30 June, Militia District 972, PO Rock Creek, p 42, House #286, Family #282
  George C Terry 49 M  Farmer 5000 2500 SC [widow]  [born abt 1811]
  Mary A Terry  18 F  GA  Idiot  [born abt 1842]
  Nancy Carder 47 F  $400 SC  [born abt 1813]
  Kimsy Carder 19 M Farm Laborer GA  [born abt 1841]
  William H Carder 12 M GA  [born abt 1848]
  
  Nancy's son Berry (Berryman) (age 25 born Georgia) and his wife Malissa (age 24 born South Carolina) are living one house down, with the family of M J and Sarah West between them.
  
  George was married in the 1840 census, but the censuses before 1850 do not give the exact ages of any persons or any names but the head of household.  So there is one female of age to be his wife, but we have no name.  There are two female children under 5 and 1 female between 5 and 10 years old.  This means there is one more daughter we have not accounted for.  I have the names of three children, as indicated by the information from the censuses of 1850 and 1860 above.  Other Terry genealogies also lack this info.
  
  According to one Terry Family source, he has a second marriage to Elizabeth Moreland.  This source gave no date is known for this second marriage.  It would be after 1860, since he has no wife in the 1860 census.  It appears that George's second wife Elizabeth Moreland died before the 1870 census.
  
  In 1870, George appears in the Murray County census, near other Terry family members, but with no wife.  There is a young woman named Louisa Terry, age 25, with him.  This appears to be his wife though this census did not designate family relationships.  We also see a child that appears to be Louisa's child 4-year-old William L.  This census does not report on marital status of individuals, so we are not told if Louisa is a widow.  It did not seem likely that she was a third wife of George, but the household members reported make it look that way.  I have thus reported Louisa as a third wife.  This relationship is confirmed in the 1880 census.  See below.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia, 19 July, Militia District 972, PO Spring Place, page 8, Hse/Fam #52
  Terry, George C  60 M W Farmer Real Estate 1000  Personal Estate 700 SC
  Terry, Louisa 25 F W  Keeping House SC
  Terry, William L 4 M W  GA
  
  I thought it more reasonable that Louisa is a widow of one of the young Terry men, who has moved in with George to keep house for him.  It did not seem to be another daughter.  The age of 25,  making her born approximately 1845, does not match his known daughters Jane Elizabeth born 1836, Nancy born 1837 or Mary Ann born 1842.   I expected this was a niece whose husband was killed in the Civil War.
  
  The 1880 census tell us more, due to additional information that census gathered.  It turns out that Louisa is reported there as wife of George, even with their great age discrepancy, and William L is his son.  It could still be that Louisa was first married to a younger man, then when widowed married George.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia, 3 June, Doolittle (Militia District 972), District 154, page 7, Hse #61, Fam #66
  Terry, George C  M W 69  Farmer SC VA VA
  Terry, Louisa C  F W 35  Wife Keeping House SC
  Terry, William L  M W 14   Son  GA
  
  If this child is the natural child of George, this means that he and Louisa were married sometime around 1865.  I have wondered if this is the woman reported as Elizabeth Moreland in some sources, under the name of Louisa.  I have not found Moreland families around the Terrys in censuses to evaluate families.  I have not yet been further able to identify Louisa.  So with what I know now, I will add her as a third wife.
  
  A new factor added in this census is the report of George's parents as born in Virginia.  From other family information we know that his father Lewis was born in South Carolina, but his mother was born in Virginia.  This is one fact that might make this appear as a different George C Terry.  However, the age matches and in 1870 he was living next door to George W Terry, age 26, his nephew, son of George's brother Duncan Terry.
  
  In 1900, Louisa is reported in Texas, living with her son William L and his wife Cora, who have no children.  They have been in Texas at least two years, because William and Cora and William have been married 2 years.  Cora was born in Texas.  They are enumerated in Erath County, west of Fort Worth.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Erath County, Texas, 11 June, Dublin City, District 69, page 17A, Hse #328, Fam #343
  Terry, William  Head W M May 1866  34  Married 2 years  GA NC SC School Teacher
  Terry, Cora  Wife W F Feb 1877 23  Married 2 years  TX AL GA
  Terry, Louisa  Mother W F May 1844 56  Widow  SC SC SC
  
  George married Elizabeth Moreland after the 1860 census.  His first wife died in 1846.  In 1860 he has only his 18-year-old daughter Mary A in his home, plus his sister Nancy Carder, whose husband Thomas has died.
  
  1860 Census, Murray County, Georgia, 30 June, PO Rock Creek, p 42, House #286, Family #282
  George C Terry 49 M  Farmer 5000 2500 SC
  Mary ATerry  18 F  GA
  Nancy Carder  47 F  SC

Sources

• 1. 1880 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 3 June, Doolittle (Militia District 972), District 154, page 7, Hse #61, Fam #66
• 2. Thomas Lewis Terry Bible, courtesy of Jacque Watkins, email September 2008
• 3. 1870 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 19 July, Militia District 972, PO Spring Place, page 8, Hse/Fam #52
• 4. Terry Family
• 5. 1860 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 30 June, Militia District 972, PO Rock Creek, page 42, Hse #286, Fam #282
• 6. 1850 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 13 November, page 532, Hse/Fam #1590
• 7. Ancestry Trees
  • DCH, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/14392824/person/117885333?ssrc=&ml_rpos=4&ftm=1
• 8. 1850 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 13 November, page 33 (scan p 264), Hse/Fam #1591
• 9. 1885 Kansas State Census, Montgomery County
  • 1 March, Parker Township, page 6
• 10. 1850 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • page 262,  House #1590, Family #1590
• 11. 1860 Federal Census, Towns County, Georgia
  • 15 July, PO Mountain Scene, page 24 (scan p 138), Hse/Fam #166
• 12. 1880 Federal Census, Platte County, Missouri
  • 1 June, Carroll Township, District 92, page 5, Hse #44, Fam #47
• 13. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 14. 1850 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 13 November, page 32 (scan p 263), Hse/Fam #1590
• 15. Family Data Collection - Individual Records
• 16. Ancestry Trees
• 17. 1850 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 13 November, page 32 (scan p 263), Hse/Fam #1591
• 18. 1900 Federal Census, Erath County, Texas
  • 11 June, Dublin City, District 69, page 17A, Hse #328, Fam #343
• 19. 1910 Federal Census, Jefferson County, Oklahoma
  • 23 April, Ryan City, Blackburn Township, District 148, page 8A, Hse#150, Fam #158
• 20. 1930 Federal Census, Tarrant County, Texas
  • 17 April, Enumeration District 79, Fort Worth, Ward 21W, page 40A, 2900 Avenue F, Hse #557, Family #644
• 21. 1870 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 19 July, Militia District 972, PO Spring Place, page 8, Hse/Fam # 52
• 22. 1860 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 30 June, Militia District 972, PO Rock Creek, p 42, House #286, Family #282