The earliest records I have of the Peterson family comes from the 1870 US Federal Census.
George and Martha Peterson in the 1870 Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
When George and Martha Peterson were interviewed for the 1870 US Federal Census, were 32 and 29 years old, respectively. They had four children: Mourxxx age 10, Harriet age 7, Henry age 5, and George age 1. We can calculate their birth years to be: George Sr. 1938, Martha 1841, Mour???? 1860, Harriet 1863, Henry 1865, and George Jr. 1869. Since the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, it is likely that except for Henry and George Jr., the rest were born slaves. According to the Census, George and Martha were born in South Carolina but all of their children were born in Georgia. Since there older child is 10 years old, we can assume that theyThere is no telling how long they had been living in Georgia but it would have to be at least ten years since all of their children were born in Georgia. George was a farm laborer and Martha stayed at home.
It would be 5-year old Henry who would grow up to marry Molly Ingram and father the children that later married into the Jackson, Connor, Wakefield, and Mack families.
George and Mary Peterson on the 1880 Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
When George Peterson Sr. appeared on the 1870 Census he was married to Martha. Now, the 1880 Census lists him as being married to Mary. It appears that in the intervening years, Martha Peterson had died and that Henry had remarried.
When George Sr. and Mary Peterson were interviewed for the 1880 US Federal Census ("the Census"), they were 45 and 17 years old, respectively. Four of Henry's five children from his marriage to Martha were living with them. Mau????, Henry's oldest daughter, was not living with them. Based on the age of the youngest child, Moses, we can speculate that Martha died soon after he was born. Although Moses did not appear in the 1870 census, it is unlikely that 17 year Mary could be his birth mother. According to the Census, George Sr. was a farmer and everyone else in the family were farm laborers.
George and Mary Peterson on the 1900 Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
In the 1880 Census we discovered that George's first wife, Martha had died and that he had remarried and his new wife was named Mary. Mary was much younger than George was and it is no surprise that by the 1900 Census they had started a new family.
When George and Mary Peterson were interviewed for the 1900 US Federal Census ("the Census"), they were 60 and 39 years old, respectively. They had 8 children living at home with them. They were: Spank 19, Marjorie 16, Watson 13, Lora 10, Shellman 8, Martha 6, Hattie 4, and Easterly 2. The child Martha may be named for George's first wife.
According to the Census they had been married for 22 years and they lived on a farm that they owned. This marks the first indication that someone in the Peterson family owned land. George was a farmer and Mary, Spank, and Watson were farm laborers. They could not read nor write. Marjorie and Lori were listed as being in school.
It is interesting to note that George Sr. lives very close to his son Henry and that they have children of similar ages. Listed on the Census schedule immediately below George Sr. and his family is a single 30 year of George Peterson. This may very well be the same George Jr. from the 1870 and 1880 Census.
Henry and Molly Peterson on the 1900 US Federal Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
We first saw Henry Peterson as a 5-year-old on the 1870 census. Now, we see him on the 1900 Census as a husband and father. According to the 1900 US Federal Census ("the Census"), in June of that year, Henry and Molly Peterson were 33 and 32 years old, respectively. They had been married 13 years. They had seven children: Ellie (13), Tempy (11), Mattie (8), Clarey (6), George (5), Henry (3), and Allison (1). Henry was a farmer and Molly, Ellie, and Tempy were farm laborers. The family lived on a farm as renters. None of them could read nor write. All of them were born in Georgia. Molly's parents were also born in Georgia but Henry's parents were born in South Carolina.
The fact that Henry's occupation is listed as farmer is no surprise. However, it is a bit unsettling that Molly, a wife and mother of seven, is listed as a farm laborer when many other mothers are listed as being housekeepers. It's obviously that Molly had to work to help support the family. Equally unsettling is that Ellie and Tempy, ages 13 and 11, respectively, worked instead of going to school. The fact that the family lived on a farm as renters suggests that they were probably sharecroppers. Life for sharecroppers throughout history has never been prosperous.
As the family struggled to make ends meet in a world that offered them little opportunity for success, their greatest struggle would have been against the overt racism of the times. Blacks were freed in September of 1863 via the Emancipation Proclamation. We can deduce from the Census that Henry and Molly were born around 1867 or 1868. This means that they were born only a few short years after slavery and the Civil War had ended. It also means that Henry and Molly's parents were probably born slaves and that Henry and Mollie were members of the first generation of Southern blacks to be born free.
Henry and Molly Peterson on the 1910 US Federal Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
By the 1910 US Federal Census ("the Census"), Molly Peterson had apparently died. She was probably no older than 40 at the time and had given birth to at least 11 children. The Peterson's oldest daughter Ellie was a widow and the mother of a child named Jimmie.
Henry and Nena Peterson on the 1920 US Federal Census -Calhoun County, Georgia
By the 1920 US Federal Census ("the Census"), Henry had remarried and seven of his eleven children had left home.
