Shows up in the 1820 US Census in Braceville, Trumbull County, Ohio

Gurden Miller

2 free white males under 10 years  [Orson L and Isaac L]  (see 1850, 60 and 70 census for more on Orson L.)

1 free white male between 16 and under 26 [Gurdon] (would have been 31, but I've seen stranger on census records)

1 free white male 45 and upwards

1 free white female 16 and under 26 [Hannah] (if she was 16 when married would be no younger than 23)

1 free white female 45 and upwards

Mere speculation here, but the older lady and gentleman could have been one set of parents?

Shows up in the 1830 US Census in Braceville, Trumbull County, Ohio

Gurdon Miller

1 m 10-15 probably Isaac

1 m 15-20 possibly Orson L

1 m 40-50  Gurdon abt. 40

1 f 10-15 possibly Jane Ann (I've yet to see any evidence beyond family trees on her)

1 f 40-50

Almost every genealogist has that "oops" moment when they suddenly realize that they've made an error, and I'm no exception.  I falsely followed the following 1840 and 1850 census records for Gurdon Miller, and it wound up being a totally different man.  Gurdon B. Miller is not the same as Gurdon Miller, father of Issac Lane Miller.  And here's why.

1840 appears to show up in Wayne, Ashtabula County, Ohio

Gurdon B. Miller

1 male child under 5

1 male child 10 and under 15

1 male child 15 and under 20

1 male 50 and under 60  -- Gurdon, abt. 50

1 female under 5

1 female 5 and under 10

2 females 10 and under 15

1 female 15 and under 20

1 female 30 and under 40

What confused me so terribly is that my Gurdon was either skipped in the 1840 census, or he was living with a relative not yet uncovered.  But why not get confused Gurdon, born about 1790 in Massachusetts, how many can there be?  Well, we're about to find out.

1850 census Kinsman, Trumbull County, Ohio

Gordon B. Miller

Gordon B. Miller 60  M        Carder  Real Estate $5,000        b. Massachusetts

Anna S. Miller              18             F                                                               b. Ashtabula County

Sabra M. Miller            14             F    b. Ashtabula County

Charles G. Miller          12            M             b. Ashtabula County

Initially this through me for a loop, I was having difficulties trying to figure out who all these children were.  If Anna was 18 and was born in Ashtabula County if that is correct, and was a daughter of Gurdon (if he married a younger lady), then the family moved to Ashtabula County in after the 1830 census and in or around 1832.  So it was all going to fit.  Until...

1860 census Braceville, Trumbull County, Ohio

Gurden Miller

O.L. Miller50  M W    Farmer  No Real Estate  No property b. Ohio

Martha C. Miller         37   F  W        b. Ohio

Climena Miller  15  F  W         b. Ohio

Cordelia Miller  14  F  W         b. Ohio

Celestia Miller  12   F W b. Ohio

Ransom Miller            08  M     b. Ohio

Eddy Miller       04  M             b. Ohio

Gurden Miller   71  MFarmer$2340 Real estate – Personal   b. MA

I started researching deeper and decided to check and see if it was possible that any of the other Millers living in Trumbull County were born in Massachusetts about the time of Gurdon, to see if they could be somehow related.  To my surprise I discovered that in the 1860 census there was the Gurden mentioned above (my Gurden), and then another one.

The other one lived with and continued to live with both Anna and Sabra from the 1850 census through the 1870 census.  I then became interested in who O. L. Miller was, and discovered in the 1850 census that his name was Orson L. Miller and he was 36 years old.  That would mean he was born in 1814 (a year after Gurdon and Hannah were married).  Is he the oldest son? 2 free white males under 10 years in 1820 census, 1 m 15-20 in the 1830?  I believe he is.

The handwriting in the 1850 census is very difficult to read.  The census taker appears to make an unusual "d."  He makes an unusual double hump for a "d."  Notice Cordelia is Cornelia, and Gurdon appears as Gunnon, but when one sees the actual 1860 census for O. L. Miller, of Braceville, it becomes much more clear.

The same O. L., Martha (both their ages are off), and then all the children.  Clearly the garbled Gunnon would read Gurdon, just like Cornelia now correctly reads Cordelia.

I assume that due to the lack of any further mention in the census, plus his getting up in years, that he probably passed away sometime between the 1860 and the 1870 census.

1  Trumbull County, Ohio Early Marriages, 1800-1865.  Pg 45 lists the marriage of: Miller, Gurdon, 3-18-1813 to Lane, Hannah

Very little is known about Gurdon Miller and Hannah Lane, though they were married in Trumbull County, Ohio on March 18, 1813.1  Most of the rest of the stuff comes from the census records.

Gurdon and Hannah Lane Miller.

Image courtesy of Ancestry.com

Image courtesy of Ancestry.com