Life History

Notes

• Some censuses and even family sources spell Manoah's surname as Sheriff.  The 1870 census and some genealogies spell the name Sherriff, which is how I more commonly see it spelled.  This is the spelling I have decided on to best represent Manoah's family name.
  
  1850 Federal Census, Gilmer County, Georgia, 15 October, Subdivision 33, Hse/Family #692
  Manoah Sheriff 29 M Farmer  SC
  Polly Sheriff 25 F GA
  William W Sheriff 7 M GA
  Winney T Sheriff 5 F GA
  Sarah M Sheriff 3 F GA
  Abel C Sheriff 4mos M GA
  
  The family grew much larger between 1850 and 1860, and the Sheriffs had moved to St Clair County, Alabama, where they are living near Bennetsville.  Note that now Manoah's first name has been shorten to Noah.  Likewise in 1870.
  
  1860 Federal Census, St Clair County, Alabama, 5 July, Township 12 Range 4 East, PO Bennetsville, p 37, Hse #254, Fam #252
  Noah E Sheriff 41 M Farmer $309 Personal Estate b NC (b abt 1819)
  Mary Sheriff 35 F Housewife b Georgia (b abt 1825)
  William W Sheriff 18 M Farmer b Georgia (b abt 1842)
  Winny T Sheriff 14 F South Carolina (b abt 1846)
  Sarah M Sheriff 12 F Georgia (b abt 1848)
  Abil C Sheriff 10 M Georgia (b abt 1850)
  Nancy J Sheriff 8 F Georgia (b abt 1852)
  Mary A Sheriff 6 F Georgia (b abt 1854)
  Minervia C Sheriff 4 F Georgia (b abt 1856)
  Noah J Sheriff 3 M Georgia (b abt 1857)
  Rebekkah A Sheriff 1 F Alabama (b abt 1859)
  
  The 1870 census reports the children above who were born after 1860.  We find that Manoah and Mary have moved to Tennessee since Rebekkah was born.  They have moved just north of the Tennessee border, near Camargo, a little southwest of Fayetteville, Tennessee, in Lincoln County.  Note that the genealogy above reports the birth of Rebeka as 1862 in St Clair County, Alabama.  However, she was listed in the 1860 census as 1 year old.  This would make us think she was born in 1859.  This is somewhat confirmed in the 1870 census where she is reported as 10 years old in June.  Perhaps her birthday was in June, since she was reported as already one year old in July 1860.  But people often rounded up the reported ages.  In 1870, Mary is Polly again.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Lincoln County, Tennessee, 22 June, Civil District 19, PO Camargo, p 12-13, Hse/Fam #97
  Sherriff, Noah 52 M W Farmer $1200 Real Estate $500 Personal Estate b NC (b abt 1818)
  Sherriff, Polly 35 F W Keeping House b Georgia (b abt 1825)
  Sherriff, A C 20 M W Farm Laborer Georgia (b abt 1850)
  Sherriff, N J 17 F W At Home Georgia (b abt 1852)
  Sherriff, Polly A 16 F W At Home Georgia (b abt 1854)
  -- page 13 --
  Sheriff, N C 14 M W At Home Georgia (b abt 1857)
  Sheriff, Rebecca A 10 F W At Home Alabama (b abt 1860)
  Sheriff, C S 6 F W At Home Alabama (b abt 1864)
  Sheriff, Robert J 4 M W At Home Tennessee(b abt 1866)
  Josie A Sheriff 1 F W At Home Tennessee(b abt 1869)
  
  Note that the daughter that was reported as Mary A in 1860 is now reported as Polly A, using the same nickname as her mother Mary "Polly."  The birth places of the children, as with Rebekkah's birth in Alabama reported in 1860, indicates Manoah and Polly moved to Alabama about 1858.  From this 1870 census, we see they moved a bit north into Tennessee about 1865.
  
  Minerva does not appear in 1870, even though she should be about 14 at the time of the 1870 census.  Also N C (Noah) is reported as 14, for this June census, even though in July 1860 he was only 3.
  
  There is an oddity about the entries for the children on page 13.  Before continuing with the additional children of Noah and Polly, the enumerator lists three additional house numbers (but no additional family number) on empty lines, as houses number 98, 99 and 100.  No people are listed, as we might expect with empty houses.
  
  Then on a new line he enters the name of the next child, N C Sheriff (matching Noah J in 1860).  He enters no family or house name for the child Noah.  But the designation "At Home," as for the two previous children on the previous page, seems to indicate that Noah and the other children on page 13 are in the same household with Noah, Polly and the other children listed on page 12.
  
  Another item of interest here is that on this page, he enters the family as Sheriff, rather than Sherriff as for the family members listed on page 12.
  
  In 1880, they have moved back south of the Alabama line.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Limestone County, Alabama, 4 June, Beat #8, District 183, p 4, Hse #41, Fam #43
  Sherriff, Noah W M 61    Farmer NC NC NC (b abt 1819)
  Sherriff, Pollie W F 56 Wife Keeping House b GA GA VA (b abt 1824)
  Sheriff, Rebecca A 10 F W Dau At Home AL NC GA (b abt 1859-60)
  Sheriff, Selah 16 F W Son At Home AL NC GA (b abt 1864)
  Sheriff, Robert 13 M W Son Work on Farm TN NC GA (b abt 1867)
  Josie Sheriff W F 11 Dau At Home TN NC GA (b abt 1869)
  
  Here we find that the girl reported in 1870 simply as C S is now enumerated as Selah.  Marion Mixon (see genealogy below) clarifies from family history that the child's actual name is Celia.  Marion (Butch) Mixon reports more complete names for some of the children.  This clarifies, for instance, that the girl called Mary or Polly has the same name, Mary Ann, as her mother.
  
  MARY ANN BEARDEN (WINIFRED WINNIE FLANNIGAN3 SMITH, MARY POLLY LANGSTON, NATHAN) was born Jan 1824 in Hall Ga, and died Aft. 1900 in Limestone CO AL.  She married MANOAH E SHERIFF Abt. 1841 in Ga, son of ABEL SHERIFF and ELIZABETH G.  He was born Abt. 1819 in NC.
  
  More About MANOAH SHERIFF and MARY BEARDEN:
  Marriage: Abt. 1841, Ga
  
  Children of MARY BEARDEN and MANOAH SHERIFF are:
  i.WILLIAM W SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1842
  ii.WINNIE TELITHA SHERIFF, b. 06 Feb 1844, Gilmer Co GA
  iii.SARAH M SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1847, Gilmer Co GA
  iv.ABEL C SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1850, Gilmer Co GA
  v.MARY ANN SHERIFF, b. 20 Oct 1852, Gilmer Co GA
  vi.NANCY JANE SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1854, Gilmer Co GA
  vii.MANOAH JASPER SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1857, Gilmer Co GA
  viii.REBEKAH ANN SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1859, Ga or AL
  ix.JOSEPHINE ANN SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1859, Ga or AL
  x.MINERVA CATHERINE SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1862, St Clair co AL
  xi.CELIA SHERIFF, b. Abt. 1864, AL or TN
  xii.ROBERT JACOB SHERIFF, b. 05 Oct 1865, AL or TN

Sources

• 1. Ancestry Trees
  • McElyea, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/10736493/person/-226638756?ssrc=&ftm=1
• 2. 1880 Federal Census, Limestone County, Alabama
  • 4 June, Beat #8, District 183, p 4, Hse #41, Fam #43
• 3. 1870 Federal Census, Lincoln County, Tennessee
  • 22 June, Civil District 19, PO Camargo, p 12-13, Hse/Fam #97
• 4. 1860 Federal Census, St Clair County, Alabama
  • 5 July, Township 12 Range 4 East, PO Bennetsville, p 37, Hse #254, Fam #252
• 5. 1850 Federal Census, Gilmer County, Georgia
  • 15 October, Subdivision 33, Hse/Family #692
• 6. Marion L Mixon, Bearden-Langston Genealogy