John Renslow appeared on the census of 1870 in the household of
Horace Renslow and
Mary Jane Renslow in Fenton, Whiteside County, Illinois, which lists Horace Renslow, 30, born in New York; his wife Mary, 29, also born in New York; Viola Renslow [actually Cole], 5, born in Illinois; Johm, 3, and William, 1, both both in Illinois.
1 John Renslow appeared on the census of 1880 in the household of Horace Renslow and Mary Jane Renslow in Elkhorn Township, Plymouth County, Iowa, which lists:
Renslow, Horace; white; male; age 35; married; farmer; born in Illinois; father born in New York; mother born in Vermont.
Mary; white; female; age 32; wife; keeping house; born in Illinois; father born in Penn; mother born in Penn.
John; white; male; age 14; son; single; at school; born in Illinois; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois.
Wm; white; male; age 12; son; single; at school; born in Illinois; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois.
Mira; white; female; age 9; daughter; single; at school; born in Illinois; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois.
Nathaniel; white; male; age 6; son; single; at school; born in Illinois; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois.
Minnie; white; female; age 3; daughter; single; born in Iowa; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois.
Cora; white; female; age 5 months; Jan; daughter; single; born in Iowa; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois.
Notes by Larry Renslow:
1. Horace's line has check mark in "months unemployed" column.
2. Both "single" and "married" columns left blank on Mary's line (or, I neglected to transcribe the mark!).
3. Cora's age given as fraction, 5/12. "Jan" is month of birth.
4. It's sometimes fascinating to look at the data and wonder who gave the information to the enumerator. Someone knew that Horace's family was from New York and Vermont, but otherwise couldn't get his parents' birthplaces right. Mary's parents from Pennsylvania? Probably that's the mysterious Renslow connection to Pennsylvania again, rather than Mary's family. This is the only record I know of that shows Nathan's name as "Nathaniel." Our unnamed informant knew that Horace and Mary were "from" Illinois, and thought they had been born there. A neighbor, maybe? I'd bet that the enumerator got all the local gossip, too.
John Renslow appeared on the census of 1885 in Garfield, Plymouth County, Iowa.
John Renslow and
May Renslow appeared on the census of 21 June 1900 in Precinct 28, Weld County, Colorado, which lists:
Renslow, John; head; white; male; born Sept 1866 in Illinois; age 33; married 2 years; father born in New York; mother born in New York; farm laborer; can read; can write; can speak English; rents home.
May; wife; female; born May 1880 in Iowa; age 20; married 2 years; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois; can read; can write; can speak English.
Bevin; son; white; male; born July 1899 in Colorado; age 10 months; single; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa.
Notes:
1. Bevin's age written as fraction, 10/12.
He appeared on the census of 1910 in the household of Horace Renslow and Mary Jane Renslow in Will Precinct, Lincoln County, Nebraska, which lists (Extracted from 1910 US Census, population schedule, NARA Microfilm Series T624, Roll #851, E.D. 169; p. 1B; House #19; Family #19. Enumeration date 19 & 20 April 1910. Nebraska. Lincoln County. Will Precinct):
Renslow, Harris [sic, Horace]; head; male; white; age 73; married 44 years; born in New York; father born in Vermont; mother born in New Jersey; speaks English; farmer; works on own account; can read; can write; rents farm; Farm #19.
------- Mary; wife; female; white; age 71; married 44 years; 9 children, 9 living; born in New York; father born in Vermont; mother born in Massachusetts; speaks English; trade, none; can read; can write.
------- John; son; male; white; age 42; married 12 years; born in Illinois; father born in New York; mother born in New York; speaks English; trade, none; works on own account; can read; can write.
------- May; daughter-in-law; female; white; age 29; married 12 years; 4 children, 3 living; born in Iowa; father born in Illinois; mother born in Illinois; speaks English; trade, none; can read; can write.
------- Benjamin; son; male; white; age 23; single; born in Iowa; father born in New York; mother born in New York; speaks English; farm labor; employee; can read; can write.
------- Franklin; grandson; male; white; age 6; single; born in Colorado; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none; can read; can write; attending school.
------ Opel; granddaughter; female; white; age 4; single; born in Nebraska; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none.
------- Cecil; grandson; male white; age 11 months; single; born in Nebraska; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none.
Davis, Tomas; hired man; male; white; age 46; single; born in Iowa; father born in New Jersey; mother born in Indiana; speaks English; teamster; employee; can read; can write.
Notes by Larry Renslow:
1. "Harris" is a phonetic rendering of "Horace." Many years ago, my uncle (Ed Renslow) told me how his grandfather pronounced his name: Hahr-iss.
2. A 44 year marriage for Horace & Mary means married in 1866 (or late1865), after birth of Viola. A figure of this age isn't necessarily reliable, but because married folks usually relate marriage year with birth year of a child, the 44-year figure may be credible.
3. Mary is reported as having given birth to nine children, all living. I know of only eight. She may have had a child before Viola from a first husband, but where was this child in 1870 census?
4. This census is the last record of Benjamin that I know of. Has anyone seen a later record of Benjamin?
5. Cecil's age was given as fraction, 11/12.
6. Tomas Davis's father is from New Jersey, meaning there's a possibility that he's a cousin to Horace (English family).
7. There are numerals written in the right hand columns of four lines, starting with the Farm Schedule column. Apparently, these numeral have nothing do to with the labeled purpose of the columns. The numerals are:
on Harris's line, 0 0 0 0;
on Johns' line, 0 0 0 0;
on Benjamin's line, 2 1 0 0;
on Davis's line, 2 1 0 0.
*****
Subject: Horace Renslow, 1910 U.S. Census
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000
From: "Eileen Roddy"
Larry,
One of your notes read: "Mary is reported as having given birth to nine children, all living. I know of only eight. She may have had a child before Viola from first husband, but where was this child in 1870 census?"
I have no record of Mary being married before she married Horace, do you?
I am very exasperated with one of my stupid mistakes! I do have nine children listed for Horace and Mary, but have only eight entered into my data base. I have an Edward on my group sheet with a question mark and was not sure enough about him to enter him in the data base. My stupid mistake is that I have no idea where I got that name!! I have no notes on him, just a question mark!!
So, I don't know whether they had an Edward or not. If I run across something in my other notes, I'll let you know.
*****
Subject: Re: Horace Renslow, 1910 U.S. Census
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000
From: Larry Renslow
I have records. The problem is that Cole and Shephard are such common names that I can't tell if all the records I have are for the Mary Jane who married Horace Renslow.
John Renslow and May Renslow appeared on the census of 1920 in Longmont, Boulder County, Colorado, which lists:
Renslow, John; head; owned home free; male; white; age 48; married; can read; can write; born in Illinois; father born in Pennsylvania; mother born in New York; speaks English; teamster; employee.
------- May; wife; female; white; age 39; married; can read; can write; born in Iowa; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; speaks English; trade, none.
------- Cecil; son; male; white; age 10; single; attended school; born in Nebraska; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none.
------- Russell; son; male; white; age 9; single; attended school; born in Nebraska; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none.
------- Lola; daughter; female; white; age 7; single; born in Nebraska; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none.
------- Donald; son; male; white; age 10 months; single; born in Colorado; father born in Illinois; mother born in Iowa; trade, none.
Notes:
1. Street name (Pratt Street) was difficult reading.
2. On John's line, the numerals 612 appeared in right margin.
3. Donald's age was expressed as a fraction, 10/12.
4. John's father's birthplace given as Pennsylvania. John's father was Horace Renslow, who was born in New York. Or was he? This branch of the family seems to have a tradition of being "from" Pennsylvania. I'd bet there are records in Pennsylvania just waiting for us to find them.4