My relationship to Cornelia Ann McMillan:
Me
Virginia Marie Stalls (mom)
James Paul Stalls, Jr (granddaddy)
Minnie Virginia Richards (great-grandmother)
Minnie DeMumbrie (2nd great-grandmother)
Cornelia Ann McMillan (3rd great-grandmother)
Cornelia Ann McMillan was born about 1833 in Tennessee to parents MC McMillan (about 1808-?) and Minerva (Manerva) Unknown (about 1810-?).
The US Federal Census did not record the names of every person in a household until 1850, though a handful of state census records did. Because of this the first census record that Cornelia can be found on is the 1850 US Census enumerated September 25, 1850 in District 14, Shelby County, Tennessee. She is shown as 18 years of age and her place of birth is Tennessee. She is listed as living with her parents MC (age 41 years) and Manerva (age 40 years). The family name is spelled McMillen. Also living with them is a man by the name of William P Day (age 24 years). It doesn’t appear that any of them have a job, though I can see on the 1850 Slave Schedule that MC is the owner of one slave, a black female (age 11 years).
Cornelia married (John) Spencer DeMumbrie sometime between September 25, 1850 and May 13, 1858, though I don’t know what state they married. On May 13, 1858 Cornelia gave birth to her daughter Minnie (whose name, judging by what I know now and matching it up to the initials on the 1860 census, may have been Cornelia Ann Minerva DeMumbrie).
The second, and final, census record that I can find Cornelia on is the 1860 US Census enumerated July 23, 1860 in Tunica, Tunica County, Mississippi. Cornelia is listed as C.A. and 27 years of age. Also listed in the household is her husband Spencer (listed as S., a farmer, age 38 years) and her daughter Minnie (listed as C.A.M., age 2 years).
I believe Cornelia passed between the time the 1860 census was enumerated and the time the 1870 census was enumerated since she is not found in 1870 with Spencer and Minnie, nor can I find her anywhere else. I don’t know her death date, nor where she is buried, though I assume in Tunica is where she died. If the plantation they lived on was washed away by the Mississippi River slowly eroding the land around it then it is quite possible her grave is now under water.
I’m still trying to locate more records for Cornelia’s parents. Once I find more I will update!
UPDATE
I just went back and looked at the 1870 census record for Spencer DeMumbrie in Tunica, Mississippi. I had forgotten that two older women in their 60’s were living in the household. One of the women was named Mary Mcmillen, age 62 years and born in North Carolina. I believe this Mary was Minerva (Manerva), Cornelia’s mother. Since she was listed as “House Keeper” she may have moved in to help raise Minnie, who was 13 years of age at the time, before Spencer married Effee Jane Gilchrist.
I also found Minerva (Manerva) living in Tunica, Mississippi with Minnie in 1880 after Minnie had married Jerome Richards. This census says that she was born in Tennessee rather than North Carolina as the other census records I found have said. Because her name is listed as M.H. McMillen (age 70 years) I am beginning to think that the spelling in my Granddaddy’s baby book of McMillan may be incorrect. I know that his baby book has Caroline McQueen’s first name spelled as Carolyn (see first photo above), which was incorrect.
Comments