Ruth (Lawhead) Coen | Genealogy Lady

Once a time frame was established for the Laughead family settling in Ohio, the next step was to examine some early Ohio records, starting with the census.

To recap the research thus far…

Three likely Laughead/Lawhead siblings are:

Joseph, born Pennsylvania circa 1817
Susannah, born Ohio circa 1821
Ruth, born Ohio circa 1825

Since all three (Joseph, Susannah, and Ruth) were married in the Belmont and Guernsey County area in the late 1830s – early 1840s, further research should focus on these and surrounding counties. Likely mother Bathsheba Laughead lived in Guernsey County in 1840. Jumping back ten years to the 1830 census, there were 13 Laughead/Lawhead families living in Ohio.

1830 Census of Ohio – Lawhead & Laughead
Name	Location
Edward Laughead	White Eyes, Coshocton, Ohio
Elisha Lawhead	Richland, Guernsey, Ohio
James Laughead	Miami, Green, Ohio
James Lawhead	Warren, Belmont, Ohio
James Lawhead	Camp Creek, Pike, Ohio
John Laughead	Union, Clinton, Ohio
Joseph Lawhead	Greenfield, Highland, Ohio
Thomas Lawhead	Buckskin, Ross, Ohio
William Lawhead	McArthur, Logan, Ohio
William Lawhead	Warren, Belmont, Ohio
William Lawhead	Sugar Creek, Wayne, Ohio
William Lawhead	Wayne, Muskingum, Ohio
William Laughead	Hopewell, Muskingum, Ohio

Only three of these families lived in the Belmont or Guernsey County area.

The Three Families:

The household of Elisha Lawhead of Guernsey County consisted of seven individual members: one male aged 30-39, two males under 5, two females aged 20-29, and two females aged 5-9. Even though Ruth and Susannah would fit into this family, neither Joseph nor Bathsheba would. Joseph was 13 in 1830 and Bathsheba was 40.

The household of James Lawhead of Belmont County consisted of ten individual members: one male aged 40-49, one male aged 15-20, one male aged 10-14, one male aged 5-9, one female aged 40-49, one female aged 20-29, one female aged 10-14, one female aged 5-9, and two females under 5. Bathsheba (40-49), Joseph (10-14), Susannah (5-9) and Ruth (under 5) would all fit in this family.

Image courtesy of Ancestry.com

The household of William Lawhead of Belmont County consisted of four individual members: one male aged 40-49, one male aged 15-19, one female aged 40-49, and one female aged 10-14. Bathsheba would fit as the older female, but none of the children match.

In 1840, there were four Laughead/Lawhead families still living in the area:

Bathsheba Laughead (a widow)
Joseph Laughead (now married and head of his own household)
Elisha Laughead (likely the same man from 1830, now ten years older with five children)
James Laughead (not the same man from 1830, a twenty something male, with a wife and two young children)

Conclusion:

The most likely candidate for the father of Joseph, Susannah and Ruth Lawhead was James Lawhead. The family of James and Bathsheba Lawhead had seven or eight children in 1830 so there are more children that need to be identified.

Sources:

1830 U. S. census, Guernsey County, Ohio, Richland Township, p. 436 (penned), line 7, Elisha Lawhead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 131.

1830 U. S. census, Belmont County, Ohio, Warren Township, p. 212 (penned), line 4, James Lawhead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 127.

1830 U. S. census, Belmont County, Ohio, Warren Township, p. 216 (penned), line2 4, William Lawhead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M19, roll 127.

1840 U. S. census, Belmont County, Ohio, Somerset Township, p. 10 (penned), line 14, Joseph Laughead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 378.

1840 U. S. census, Guernsey County, Ohio, Seneca Township, p. 3 (penned), line 15, Bathsheba Laughead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 397.

1840 U. S. census, Guernsey County, Ohio, Seneca Township, p. 4 (penned), line 7, Elisha Laughead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 397.

1840 U. S. census, Guernsey County, Ohio, Seneca Township, p. 4 (penned), line 10, James Laughead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 397.

Focus in on a person or location of interest:

After constructing a timeline of Joseph’s life, the next step is to focus in on either a geographical area where the person lived or a “person of interest.”

Joseph lived in several locations, beginning in Pennsylvania, then Ohio, and finally Indiana. He lived in at least 6 known areas of interest: Pennsylvania, Belmont County (Ohio), Guernsey County (Ohio), Greene County (Indiana), Daviess County (Indiana) and Knox County (Indiana). Two locations that might provide information regarding his parentage would be – his birth place (Pennsylvania) and his death place (Knox County, Indiana). At this point, his birth place is too broad a location to search. In addition, birth records were not recorded at the county or state level in Pennsylvania during the early part of the 19^th century. Information regarding Joseph’s death location is rather sketchy. He is buried in Edwardsport, but evidence that he died or even lived there has not been discovered yet. Bodies are not always buried where they died, and are sometimes disinterred and moved to another location to be closer to living family members. Delving deeper into Knox County’s records is currently on the future “to do” list. In addition, the chance of finding Joseph’s parents listed on a death certificate or other death related record is rather slim based upon the time and place where he died. For one, the state of Indiana did not require official death records until after 1900. The WPA death index of Knox County’s extracted county records does not list Joseph Lawhead. For now, focusing on a location of interest will have to wait until more information is available.

There are a handful of individuals that belong to the “person of interest” category. The first one is Bathsheba Lawhead. Thus far only four records have been found that mention Bathsheba:

In 1840, Bathsheba Laughead was living in Seneca Township, Guernsey County, Ohio. She was the head of a household of four persons: one female aged 40-49, one male aged 20-29, and two boys under the age of 5.
In 1850, ‘Basheba’ Lawhead was living with the family of Joseph in Guernsey County, Ohio. She was a 60 year old female, born in Pennsylvania. The young family of William and Ruth Coen lived next door.
In 1860, ‘Barshaby Lockee’ was living in Seneca, Noble County, Ohio. She was the second family living at dwelling #1268. The first family was that of William and Ruth ‘Cower’.
In 1870, Bashaly Laughead was living in the household of William and Ruth Coen in Uhrichsville, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. ‘Bashaly’ was an 80 year old female, born in Ohio.

Until 1880, census records did not record relationships between individuals in a household. Before 1850, only the head of the household was enumerated. The rest of the household was recorded as tally marks in columns designating a person’s age and sex. Using these early census records as a road map, relationships can be established but they cannot be used alone as proof.

Women were very rarely head of households in the 19^th century. Two possible reasons why Bathsheba would have been the head of household in 1840 were: she was a widow or a woman of property. Proceeding with the assumption that Bathsheba was a widow, the other members of the family were likely to be her children or grandchildren. The young man in his twenties may have been her son, or a hired hand. The two young boys may have been her grandchildren. Based upon her age in the later census years, Bathsheba was at the far end of the 40-49 age category and close to 50 years old. The boys aged under 5 years were more likely to be her grandchildren, possibly sons of the twenty something male. Perhaps he was a widower, living with his mother, and they were helping each other out as families often do. Of course, the above is all conjecture until any further evidence comes along. The truth remains unknown.

Skip ahead ten years to 1850, Bathsheba now lived with Joseph Lawhead and his family. A likely scenario is that Bathsheba was Joseph’s mother. At 60, she may not have wanted (or been able) to run her own farm or live by herself. Children often took care of their parents then as they do now. Another interesting clue from this census year is that Joseph lived next door to William and Ruth Coen. On 24 March 1844, Ruth Laughead married William Coen in Guernsey County, Ohio. Siblings and in-laws sometimes lived together on adjoining property. Perhaps a bit of land was deeded to a child as a wedding gift or a second house was built on the family property. There are many possible reasons for this proximity. At the very least, an assumption can be made that the families were related due to the shared surname. The 1840 census calls into question why Bathsheba did not have a 15 year old female living in her household. Was Ruth Bathsheba’s daughter or perhaps a niece? Did she live with another relative or work out of the home at that time? There were two Cohen families living nearby Bathsheba and one had a female in the correct age category. Did Ruth live and work on another neighboring farm?

Through the years 1860 and 1870, Bathsheba lived with the Coens. Bathsheba was 80 years old in 1870. She has not been found on the 1880 census, likely dying before then. Between the years 1850-1870, Ruth and her family moved from Guernsey County, to Noble County, and then Tuscarawas County. These three counties are clustered together (and border one another) in the eastern part of Ohio. The Coens lived in Uhrichsville during the time that Bathsheba may have died.

Ruth (Laughead) Coen, Joseph Laughead and Bathsheba Laughead were clearly connected. Bathsheba was born in Pennsylvania, c1790. Joseph was born in Pennsylvania, c1817. Ruth was born in Ohio, c1825. If Joseph and Ruth were two of Bathsheba’s children, their birth dates and locations have helped to narrow down when the family might have moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio. Ruth has become another person of interest because of her geographic proximity to Joseph and their shared connection to Bathsheba.

Sources:

1850 U. S. census, Guernsey County, Ohio, population schedule, Seneca Township, p. 474 (penned), dwelling 3045, family 3067, Joseph Lawhead; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 684.

1860 U. S. census, Noble County, Ohio, population schedule, Seneca Township, p. 483 (stamped), dwelling 1268, family 1220, Barshaby Lockee; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1020.

1870 U. S. census, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, population schedule, Uhrichsville, Uhrichsville Post Office, p. 20 (penned), dwelling 150, family 150, William Coen; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 April 2014); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1273.

“Indiana Deaths, 1882-1920,” index, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 April 2014).

“Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994,” database and images, Family Search (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 6 April 2014) William Coen and Ruth Laughead, 24 March 1844; citing Guernsey County, Marriage records 1844-1864, v. D: 25.