Elizabeth English Ward, Census Records

Elizabeth never appeared on an Indian census because she was found as a small child around 1805, taken in, and raised by James English and his wife.  She appears on the 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 U.S. Census with her husband or family.¹  She is first recorded by name on the 1850 census when she is 52 years old.  (The 1850 census was the first census to include the names of wives and children.)

The 1850 Census was also the first to provide a column for the census taker to enter "color."  Unfortunately, the census taker left the entire column blank on the page where the Ward family was recorded – except for the letter “B” next to the name of Ann Elliott in the Ward household.  No "color" information was recorded for other members of the household.²  It is important to note slaves were enumerated on a separate census that year, which means Ann Elliott was not a slave.

On the 1860 Census, the same thing happens.  The "color" column is blank except for Ann Elliott (recorded as Ellis) and her children.  Ann and two of her children are recorded as “B” and one son is “M.” ³

By the 1870 Census, her husband is dead and she is living with her son, Monroe Ward in Geneva County, AL (previously Dale County).  Everyone in the home is recorded as “W” for white.⁴  Neither she nor Monroe’s family were enumerated on the 1880 Census – the last census prior to her death.

Through the years there have been numerous “reasons” to explain why Elizabeth was not identified as Indian on these three censuses.  But the truth is, we don’t know why.  Some say the dark-skinned folks in the house stayed elsewhere while another family member answered the census takers’ questions – which allowed the census taker to “assume” everyone in the home had lighter skin.  Another reason says the family was “known” to the census taker and they chose to “look the other way.”

But the reason may also have political roots.  Each state relied on their increased population, as enumerated by the Federal Census, to provide more legislative seats, taxation, funding, and other resources.  Many states excluded American Indians from the first six censuses (1790 through 1850) due to the clause “excluding Indians not taxed” in Article 1, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution.⁵  Beginning in 1860, “assimilated” Indians were to be officially counted and noted as "civilized Indians" in census documents – which was primarily contingent on land ownership.⁶ For Alabama, a relatively new state eager for growth, and one who recently had numerous Indian battles as well as the removal of a very large Indian population, counting Indians still in their jurisdiction was most certainly an issue.  Mixed-blood Indians also presented an issue requiring administrative guidance – were they to be counted as “white” or “Indian” – or not at all?⁷  Each state made its own administrative decisions on where to draw these lines. 

Or, maybe it was simply because the census did not provide “Indian” as a racial choice.  How did Dale County, Alabama enumerate Indians on these censuses?

• 1850:  Race choices on this census were White, Black, or Mulatto. The Southern District of Dale County, AL enumerated approximately 4,235 people on 134 census pages.  Of those, only 3 people had race information recorded:  Ann Elliott (B) living in the home of Elizabeth English Ward,⁸ William Wise (M),⁹ and Thomas Ivins (M).¹⁰  Abel Echols, Assistant Marshal, began the enumeration on October 9, 1850 and finished on January 23, 1851.
• 1860:  Race choices on this census were White, Black, or Mulatto.  (No towns or districts noted) Dale County, AL enumerated approximately 10,414 people on 261 census pages.  Of those, only 7 people had race information recorded:  Ann Ellis (Elliott) (B) and her children Wesley (M), Henry (B), & Amos (B) who were living in the home of Elizabeth English Ward;¹¹ Samuel Doil (M);¹² Thomas Justice (M) was singled out as the only member of his family of eight to receive a race classification;¹³ and Henry Simmons (M) who was living in the home Thomas J. Ward, son of Elizabeth English Ward.¹⁴  William Bracewell, Assistant Marshal, began the enumeration on June 19, 1860 and finished on September 26, 1860.
• 1870:  Choices on the census were White, Black, Mulatto, Chinese, and Indian.  As the first census after the Civil War (1861-1865), prior slaves were free, could own land, pay taxes, and were to be enumerated with whites on the same census pages.  Two years prior to this census, in 1868, Geneva County, AL was created from the southern portion of Dale, Henry, and Coffee Counties. It was further divided into two townships.  Geneva County, Township 2 (where Elizabeth lived), enumerated approximately 1,332 people on 34 census pages.  Of those, only one person was identified as M (mulatto), 65 as B (black) and the remainder as W (white).  E.R. Porters, Assistant Marshal, began the enumeration for Township 2 on June 1, 1870 and finished on August 30, 1870.  A search of the 1870 Census on Ancestry.com for individuals identified as Indian in Geneva and Dale Counties produced zero results.  Other counties in Alabama near sites of well-known Native American towns, did identify and report Indians in their communities (for example, Monroe County, home of the Weatherford family, reported 18 Indians). ¹⁵
• 1880:  For unknown reasons the family of Monroe Ward was not enumerated on the 1880 census. Elizabeth, who stayed with either her son or daughter, was also not enumerated.  Since her daughter, Mary Jane Ward Davis’s family was enumerated, Elizabeth must have been living with Monroe when the census was conducted.

As a result, proof of Elizabeth’s Indian identity comes down to one document created when she was 72 years old – the 1870 Census. This is the ONLY government document during her life where her race could have been recorded as Indian!  Because this one opportunity resulted in the identification of “white” her descendants will forever deal with controversy over the legitimacy of her Indian heritage.

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