AMY HOLCOMB'S BIRTH DATE

There is conflicting information on the birth date of Amy Holcomb Green, wife of Cambridge Green. Following is the pertinent information:

1. The 1850 census lists Amy in the household of W. C. E. Holcomb (probably brother of Amy), and lists her as being 31 years old. This would indicate a birth date of about 1819.

2. The 1880 census lists Amy in the household of her son, L. C. Green, and lists her as being 56 years old. This would indicate a birth date of about 1824

3. The obituaries for Amy Green are listed in "They Passed This Way, Vol. II, Maury County, Tennessee Death Records" by Lightfoot and Shackelford: "Green, Mrs. Amie, died near Mallard Saturday; buried Mallard Cemetery; paper dated 2 Feb. 1899. Another says Mrs. Annie Green, 75, died 28 Jan. 1899 of lagrippe.
This obituary would indicate a birth date of about 1824, consistent with the 1880 census.

4. No listing of Amy Green was found in the 1860 census in Maury County; however, there is an Amy Green, age 40 listed in the 1860 census in Sumner County, Tennessee. If this is the same Amy Green, then the birth date of 1820 would agree with the 1850 census.

5. Amy Holcomb married Cambridge Green on July 9, 1836.

6 The son of Cambridge and Amy, Lucratus C. Green, was born Jan. 29, 1841(some census records would indicate 1842). To my knowledge, Lucratus was the first and only child.

Note that if the 1880 census and the obituaries are correct, Amy Holcomb would have been only about 12 years old when she married Cambridge Green. If the 1850 census is correct, she would have been about 17, which would seem more reasonable. However, since it was more than three years before the first child was born, perhaps the younger age would explain why no children were born for more than three years after the marriage.

There is also a very interesting and suspicious entry in the 1900 census for L. C. Green. The census states that L. C. Green was born January, 1842 (should be 1841 according to his tombstone) but that his wife, M. F. Green was born December, 1824. This is obviously incorrect, because Mary Fances Brown Green was born in 1843. It is possible that the birth date given is for L. C. Green's mother, Amy Holcomb Green, since the date would correspond to the 1880 census and the obituaries.

Amy's parents were married in 1817 in Maury County. From the information that I have (though not definitive), it would appear that Amy was the first child. If Amy is the first child, this would probably argue for the earlier date of about 1819 rather than 1824.

With all of the conflicting information, it is difficult to determine the date of Amy Holcomb's birth. I tend to think that the earlier date of 1819 is the more reasonable although I cannot rule out the later date of 1824.

• Married: 9 JUL 1836

1. Lucratus C. GREEN b: 29 JAN 1841 in Maury County, Tennessee

1. Title: File from Barbara Barnes
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   Media: Book