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The
1880 San Diego County census
The 1880
San Diego County census recorded Nate Harrison twice, once in the San
Jacinto Township and once in the Bear Valley Township. Both townships
were in what was San Diego County in the late 19th century, but neither
was directly adjacent to Palomar Mountain. They were each about ten miles
from the mountain and in different directions. The census includes a wealth
of personal information about Harrison. The San Jacinto Township census,
with the hand-written entries in quotations, reads as follows:
Page No. “22”
Supervisor’s Dist No. “4”
Enumeration Dist. No. “74”
Note A—The Census Year begins June 1, 1879, and ends May 31, 1880.
Note B-All persons will be included in the Enumeration who were living
on the 1st day of June 1880. No others will. Children BORN SINCE
June 1, 1880, will be OMITTED. Members of Families who have DIED SINCE
June 1, 1880, will be INCLUDED.
Note C-Questions Nos. 13, 14, 22, and 23 are not to be asked in respect
to persons under 10 years of age.
SCHEDULE 1-Inhabitants in “San Jacinto Township”, in the County
of “San Diego”, State of “California”
enumerated by me on the “22nd” day of June, 1880.
“G. H. Zeigler”
Enumerator
.IN CITIES
Number of Street: “___”
House number: “___”
Dwelling house number in the order of visitation: “___”
Family number in the order of visitation: “___”
The Name of each person whose place of abode on June 1, 1800, was in this
family.
Enter surname first, then the given name and middle initial, if any.
Include every person living on June 1, 1900.
Omit children born since June 1, 1900.
“Harrison, Nathan”
Personal Description
Color-White W, Black B, Mulatto Mu, Chinese C; Indian: “B”
Sex-Male M, Female F: “M”
Age at last birthday prior to June 1, 1880. If under 1 year, give months
in fractions, thus: “45”
If born within the Census year, give the month: “___”
Relationship of each person to the head of the family-whether wife, son,
daughter, servant, boarder, or other: “___”
Civil Condition
Single: “/”
Married: “___”
Widowed W, Divorced D: “___”
Married during Census year:“___”
Occupation
Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male or female: “Farm
Laborer”
Number of months this person has been unemployed during the Census year:
“/”
Health…:“___”
Is the person [on the day of the enumerator’s visit] sick or temporarily
disabled *** to be unable to attend to ordinary ** or duties? If so, what
is the sickness or disability: “___”
Blind: “___”
Deaf and Dumb: “___”
Idiot: “___”
Insane: “___”
Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden, or otherwise disabled: “___”
Education
Attended school within the Census year: “___”
Cannot read: “___”
Cannot write: “___”
Nativity
Place of birth of this person naming state or territory of United States
or the Country, if of foreign birth: “Ky”
Place of birth of the FATHER of this person naming state or territory
of United States or the Country, if of foreign birth: “Ky”
Place of birth of the MOTHER of this person naming state or territory
of United States or the Country, if of foreign birth: “Ky”
The Bear
Valley census, with the hand-written entries in quotations, states:
Page No. “___”
Supervisor’s Dist No. “4”
Enumeration Dist. No. “71”
Note A—The Census Year begins June 1, 1879, and ends May 31, 1880.
Note B-All persons will be included in the Enumeration who were living
on the 1st day of June 1880. No others will. Children BORN SINCE
June 1, 1880, will be OMITTED. Members of Families who have DIED SINCE
June 1, 1880, will be INCLUDED.
Note C-Questions Nos. 13, 14, 22, and 23 are not to be asked in respect
to persons under 10 years of age.
SCHEDULE 1-Inhabitants in “Bear Valley Township”, in the County
of “San Diego”, State of “California”
enumerated by me on the “28th and 29th” day of June, 1880.
“Jno. P. Daly”
Enumerator
In Cities
Number of Street: “___”
House number: “___”
Dwelling house number in the order of visitation: “___”
Family number in the order of visitation: “___”
The Name of each person whose place of abode on June 1, 1800, was in this
family.
Enter surname first, then the given name and middle initial, if any.
Include every person living on June 1, 1900.
Omit children born since June 1, 1900.
“Harrison, Nathan”
Personal Description
Color-White W, Black B, Mulatto Mu, Chinese C; Indian: “B”
Sex-Male M, Female F: “M”
Age at last birthday prior to June 1, 1880. If under 1 year, give months
in fractions, thus: “50”
If born within the Census year, give the month: “___”
Relationship of each person to the head of the family-whether wife, son,
daughter, servant, boarder, or other: “___”
Civil Condition
Single: “/”
Married: “___”
Widowed W, Divorced D: “___”
Married during Census year:“___”
Occupation
Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male or female: “Farm
Laborer”
Number of months this person has been unemployed during the Census year:
“/”
Health…:“___”
Is the person [on the day of the enumerator’s visit] sick or temporarily
disabled *** to be unable to attend to ordinary ** or duties? If so, what
is the sickness or disability: “___”
Blind: “___”
Deaf and Dumb: “___”
Idiot: “___”
Insane: “___”
Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden, or otherwise disabled: “___”
Education
Attended school within the Census year: “___”
Cannot read: “___”
Cannot write: “___”
Nativity
Place of birth of this person naming state or territory of United States
or the Country, if of foreign birth: “Alabama”
Place of birth of the FATHER of this person naming state or territory
of United States or the Country, if of foreign birth: “Alabama”
Place of birth of the MOTHER of this person naming state or territory
of United States or the Country, if of foreign birth: “Alabama”
The San
Jacinto record listed Harrison as an illiterate single 48-year-old black
male farm laborer. According to this document, both Harrison and his parents
were born in Kentucky. Harrison’s name appeared in conjunction with
the Larson family, a Scandinavian husband and wife couple and their two
children. The Bear Valley listing reiterated that Harrison was a single
black male farm laborer, but it listed his age at 50 and his place of
origin as Alabama. In this record, he was documented in conjunction with
the Juans, an Indian couple. These records established that Harrison lived
in San Diego County by 1880 and indicated that he was able to travel large
distances between households working as a farm laborer. The 1880 census
did not put Harrison on Palomar (Smith’s) Mountain, which is surprising
because it listed other contemporary mountain residents. Although historical
census takers often missed individuals for a variety of reasons, the omission
of Harrison from Palomar Mountain on the 1880 San Diego County Census
raises three questions: 1) How many residences did Harrison occupy during
the late 1800s? 2) At which residence did he spend the most time? and
3) When did Palomar Mountain become his primary residence?
It is worth noting that there is an August 5, 1870, census record for
a Nate Harrison in Dallas County, Alabama. This Nate Harrison is a 34-year
old black male farm laborer born in Alabama. He is documented living with
19-year old Sylvia Harrison, a black female from Alabama. Although this
record might refer to the same individual who eventually resides on Palomar
Mountain, two additional factors must be considered. First, the name “Nate
Harrison” is fairly common. Second, nearly all of the other primary
historical records indicate that Palomar’s Nate Harrison and his
family were from Kentucky.
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