Life History

Other facts

Notes

• I have reviewed census entries for Ansel Wright, listed as apparently a son of Telitha Green.  Ansel is listed in the household of Daniel and Talitha Green in 1850 and 1860.  In 1850 his name is spelled Ansell and in 1860 Ansel.  The latter appears to be the more standard spelling of the name.  For other individuals in various families in the era, it also appears as Ancell and Ancel.
  
  It appears, thus, that he is a child of Daniel and Telitha.  However, the name is entered as Ansel Wright.  At first this appeared to mean his name was Ansell Wright Green.
  
  Working with other researchers on our family line, we have not been able to find anyone in the family lineage with the surname Wright of the given name Ansell that might account for a middle name of Wright.  We have also look for a surname of Wright married into the family lines.  There is one older Ansel Green, but ages and relationships in his family do not clarify this question about this Ansel Wright in the household of Daniel and Talitha.
  
  I reanalyzed this set of entries, to see if I could determine whether Wright was a surname for Ansel or a middle name for Ansel Wright Green.  Here is the way things look to me as of 11 May 2007.  The way names are entered and ditto marks (for last names in the same family) used on this page and neighbouring pages are entered, the use of ditto marks, etc., the 1850 census is more ambiguous.  The enumerator did not use dittos consistently.
  
  In 1950 Ansel is with Daniel and Telitha in Gilmer County, Georgia, but in 1860 he is with them in Tunnel Hill, in Whitfield County, Georgia.  Since he still lives with them after their move to the new location, it seems definitely that he is Telitha's son.  The Mary Wright appears to be his wife in 1860, while they are still living in the same household with Daniel and Telitha.
  
  The 1850 census entry for the family looks like this:
  1850 Federal Census, Gilmer County, Georgia, 9 November, Subdivision 33, Gilmer, Georgia, Hse/Family #1204
  Daniel Green 40 M Farmer  SC
  Telitha Green  41 F GA
  Ansell Wright  13 M GA
  
  In 1860, another person shows up in the household.  After the entry for Ansel Wright age 25 is a Mary Wright, age 22.  Neither Ansel's nor Mary's name has a ditto after the name Wright to indicate a last name of Green.  It appears that this is a separate couple in the household of Daniel and Talitha.  Winny Bearden, Talitha's older sister, is also living with the family in 1860.
  
  A property tax index record appears to be for this Ansell in the Trikeem District of Whitfield County.
  
  Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892
  Ansel Wright
  1858, Trickeem District, District #1049
  Whitfield County, Georgia
  
  In 1859, there was an entry for Ancil Wright in the property digest for the Tunnel Hill District, where he was enumerated in the 1860 census.
  
  Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892
  Ancil Wright
  1859, Tunnel Hill District, District #1049
  Whitfield County, Georgia
  
  In 1860 there is an additional person, Mary Wright, who appears to be Ansell's wife.  Talitha's mother Winney Bearden is also in the household.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Whitfield County, Georgia, 27 June, Tunnel Hill District, p 22B, Hse #161, Family #151
  Daniel Green 49 M Farmer  SC
  Talitha Green  51 F GA
  Ansell Wright  25 M Ala [note change of state from Georgia]
  Mary Wright  22 F Ala
  Winny Bearden 67 F NC (Talitha's mother)
  
  Note that the birth state for Ansel has changed from Georgia to Alabama, the same as his wife.  This could be an enumerator error.  We have no indication that Talitha's family were in Alabama.  It is possible that her first husband had moved them to Alabama, where Ansel was born.  But why would his birthplace be reported as Georgia in 1850?
  
  This does not clarify who his father was, but the evidence up to this point now seems to point to an earlier theory of my distant cousin Marion Mixon (in unpublished genealogy and email correspondence) that Telitha was married to someone named Wright before marrying Daniel.  The previous name indicated for such a father was Ansel Wright, or Ansel Wright Green, if Wright was a middle name instead of a surname.  But we can't find him any such person.
  
  U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865
  Ansel Wright
  Residence Georgia
  Enlisted 3 Jul 1861 Private in Company G, Georgia 11th Infantry Regiment on 03 Jul 1861
  Did not survive the War
  "Mustered out" (died) on 15 Jun 1862 at Richmond, VA Hospital
  Roster of Confederate Soldiers of Georgia 1861-1865 (no image)
  
  I have not been able to locate Ansel and his possible wife in later censuses.  But the overall picture from these two entries together is looking more like the enumerator of the two censuses 1850 and 1860 intended Wright as a last name, not a middle name.
  
  It is also possible that Ansel's father was listed before 1850 under a different first name.  This is a frustrating aspect that is hard to run down before 1850, where censuses had only the name of the head of the household.  I have many cases like this is virtually all lines of my family in the censuses from 1850.  You need at least two to confirm the identity of a child, and get the names and ages straight.

Sources

• 1. 1850 Federal Census, Gilmer County, Georgia
  • 9 November, Subdivision 33, Gilmer, Georgia, Hse/Family #1204
• 2. 1860 Federal Census, Whitfield County, Georgia
  • 27 June, Tunnel Hill District, p 22B, Hse #161, Family #151
• 3. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865
• 4. Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892