It's 1850

EagleGuy

EagleGuy

Well-known member
It's 1850. What is your name and occupation? Where do you live? I've thought about my situation, but would like to hear your's first. Add a picture, etc. of yourself if you wish.
 
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Probably be dead. Not sure what life expectancy was back then but I've likely passed that age.
 
Well I think my ancestors on my dad’s side were mostly coal miner’s in PA at this point. On my mom’s side we traced back my great-great-great-great grandfather (+/- 2 greats) to him being born in the east and then homesteading west in Iowa/SD/WI as a farmer/carpenter.

I really wish I knew more specifics. Going back that many generations, it’s easy to focus on parental name/mothers maiden name but when you think about it there’s a exponential amount of maiden names whose family histories you could also research (unless you’re inbred ;) )
 
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OhioBobcatFan06 said:
Well I think my ancestors on my dad’s side were mostly coal miner’s in PA at this point. On my mom’s side we traced back my great-great-great-great grandfather (+/- 2 greats) to him being born in the east and then homesteading west in Iowa/SD/WI as a farmer/carpenter.

I really wish I knew more specifics. Going back that many generations, it’s easy to focus on parental name/mothers maiden name but when you think about it there’s a exponential amount of maiden names whose family histories you could also research (unless of course you’re inbred ;))
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So to answer the question...

When I’m not mining coal, farming or building stuff you could likely find me riding my horse on the old town road. This was a much more simple time in America when you could ride around with a shotgun on your back and not have to worry about paying income tax.

If any tax man came after me in 1850 I would shoot him.
 
Tough to say. Definitely would be in Europe. Based on what I know most about my ancestry, probably working the family olive grove or causing a lot of trouble Calabria.
 
My name is Tom from Arkansas , I am free black man with four kids and one on the way. I married a beautiful white woman 12 years younger than me who was the daughter of my former master.
I am fairly well educated for a black man of my time and fortunately my former master (from Memphis) liked me enough and noticed his daughters attraction to me. He did not stop what he knew was going to happen and for this I am thankful.
He is very wealthy and set me up with a nice tract of land across the river to raise my/ his family. I am doing pretty good with my new farm but am thinking of selling due to some not so pleasant people nearby. I fear for my children the most.
I feel there is a storm coming and believe I will do better for my wife and kids north of the Ohio. I hear the land is cheep and very good up there, if you are willing to do some serious clearing. As soon as my 2 boys are old enough to help (about 3 years) I plan to buy 80 acres near a black settlement in Ohio not far from the Indiana boarder....Only time will tell if this is a good move for me and my family.
 
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I was a simple Ohio farmer, but I sold everything I owned and headed for San Francisco to pan for gold. Alas, I arrived a year late.
 
gneiss rocks said:
My name is Tom from Arkansas , I am free black man with four kids and one on the way. I married a beautiful white woman 12 years younger than me who was the daughter of my former master.
I am fairly well educated for a black man of my time and fortunately my former master (from Memphis) liked me enough and noticed his daughters attraction to me. He did not stop what he knew was going to happen and for this I am thankful.
He is very wealthy and set me up with a nice tract of land across the river to raise my/ his family. I am doing pretty good with my new farm but am thinking of selling due to some not so pleasant people nearby. I fear for my children the most.
I feel there is a storm coming and believe I will do better for my wife and kids north of the Ohio. I hear the land is cheep and very good up there, if you are willing to do some serious clearing. As soon as my 2 boys are old enough to help (about 3 years) I plan to buy 80 acres near a black settlement in Ohio not far from the Indiana boarder....Only time will tell if this is a good move for me and my family.
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Weird.
 
Either:

Juzef Tomeszewska, in Krasnosielc. I'm a member of the famed Polish cavalry. One of my mother's ancestors was the Supreme Commander of the Polish Armed Forces, and fought with General George Washington in the Continental Army.

or:

Sampson Miller of Addison (now Webster Springs) WV. Even though my family can't afford school (I have to work on our small farm on my family's mountain, and may have to get a job in the coal mines), my hope is that my children will go to school and to a college one day, and will become respected in the family as scholars.

irish_buffalo said:
Weird.
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Different.

He had me at "free black man married to a white woman in 1850". ?
 
Based on family history it would probably be safe to say I'd either be an Irish immigrant farmer in Iowa named Patrick or a 2nd-3rd generation Prussian-American farmer in Western Pennsylvania named Friedrich. My hobbies probably include alcoholism, gambling/playing cards, Catholicism and fathering as many Germanic potatohead children as humanly possible.
 
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