Westbrook, Maine Census 1850
Comparing antique photos and studying the census records can reveal many mysteries. The original census records are easy to read who the Head of the Household was as all names are listed underneath. The Westbrook Historical Society is in possession of the original handwritten 1850 census book. It is fascinating to see the names which now are listed on the tombstones of Westbrook and far away. I revisited the census as I had a request to search for some Babb families. Babb was perhaps the single most common surname in Westbrook. There were 27 Babb families in the 1850 census. The Society is fortunate to have Donna Conley as an involved President and before that an involved volunteer. She indexed the census so that it is easier to read and to search alphabetically and also by natural order. Searching alphabetically, one can compare the common dates with columns and pages to figure out each family group.
My maiden name is Roberts. The first Roberts listed was Abba Roberts, age 16 on July 19th, 1850, page 19, column 1. There is also a Benjamin Roberts, age 81, Ellen B. [Babb] Roberts, age 32, Joshua D. Roberts, age 35, and Martha E. , age 7. They all have the same date of July 19th and the same page 19 and same column 1. I can safely assume they all lived in one household. I know that Benjamin is the father of Joshua D. Roberts. Joshua was married to Ellen Babb (his 1st wife). He had a daughter Martha who was listed as age 7. I now know that he had a daughter Abba, listed as age 19. I have not solved the mystery of Abba Roberts Webb, wife of Capt. Joseph Webb who is buried at Saccarappa Cemetery, listed as dying at the age of 19 in 1834. I can only speculate that this Abba in the 1850 census was named for the one at Saccarappa Cemetery.
As far as comparing photographs to reveal clues, I have a nice example. I have a studio picture of Martha that is the same scene for 2 other people. It has the same backdrop and same table and chair that 3 different people sat in for a photograph. I know Martha and now I am certain the other 2 photos are her 2 cousins, Frank and Isa M. They lived on Saco Street also. She speaks of them often in her diary.
The census and also cemetery transcriptions are very important as they are sometimes the only proof a person ever existed at all. Westbrook records are scattered. Fortunately, we have some of Rev. Caleb Bradley’s records of marriages. There may be some births noted in there as well. There is a great deal of vital records missing from early and mid 1800’s. Interestingly enough, it was not uncommon to bury people on the family farm. I have found references to the remains of the dead being exhumed for reburial at the new burial ground Saccarappa Cemetery. There was a cemetery of Hatches and Johnsons up near the old Hatch Libby house. In fact, maybe 20 years ago, a gravestone was found with the name Abigail Hatch. This had been found under the corner of a Roberts’ homestead. It was given to the occupants of the Libby house and can still be seen between the trees facing the road. There is nobody buried there, as it is an historical artifact. I believe the stone had been discarded when the remains were put up at Saccarappa and new stones marked the plot. The bodies were all exhumed and new stones put up at Saccarappa cemetery. The source for this information was Leonard Chapman’s Grandpa’s Scrapbook which is full of fascinating genealogies of early families to the area.
Anyhow from studying the census, I have learned there were 5 Roberts families in Westbrook in 1850, a much smaller number than the Babbs. I would like to share an interesting story about a find in the census. The Historical Society had an acquisition of an old atlas dated 1840’s. Throughout the atlas were many hand colored ink drawings, with the careful hand of a young artist. The atlas was a valued book as books were rare in the mid 1800’s, especially the academic books. It was held together with fine thread stitched along the spine of the atlas. There were blank pages between the maps which were filled with delightful drawings from a young boy’s imagination. He drew clipper ships with sailors all in the water, and the ship under distress. He must have liked ships because he drew a few throughout the atlas. This young boy was named George Andrews. He was 15 in 1850. The atlas was dated 1847. He had a fine hand as he drew pictures of a colt, circus performers and pictures of people in the costume of the day. He drew his interpretation of an American Indian, most likely an image from his imagination. It was also filled with his lessons as he penciled his history of the United States at that time which was rather small. It was a thrill to see such an artifact. Imagine my surprise when I found him listed as a sailor in Brooklyn , NY in 1880.
My maiden name is Roberts. The first Roberts listed was Abba Roberts, age 16 on July 19th, 1850, page 19, column 1. There is also a Benjamin Roberts, age 81, Ellen B. [Babb] Roberts, age 32, Joshua D. Roberts, age 35, and Martha E. , age 7. They all have the same date of July 19th and the same page 19 and same column 1. I can safely assume they all lived in one household. I know that Benjamin is the father of Joshua D. Roberts. Joshua was married to Ellen Babb (his 1st wife). He had a daughter Martha who was listed as age 7. I now know that he had a daughter Abba, listed as age 19. I have not solved the mystery of Abba Roberts Webb, wife of Capt. Joseph Webb who is buried at Saccarappa Cemetery, listed as dying at the age of 19 in 1834. I can only speculate that this Abba in the 1850 census was named for the one at Saccarappa Cemetery.
As far as comparing photographs to reveal clues, I have a nice example. I have a studio picture of Martha that is the same scene for 2 other people. It has the same backdrop and same table and chair that 3 different people sat in for a photograph. I know Martha and now I am certain the other 2 photos are her 2 cousins, Frank and Isa M. They lived on Saco Street also. She speaks of them often in her diary.
The census and also cemetery transcriptions are very important as they are sometimes the only proof a person ever existed at all. Westbrook records are scattered. Fortunately, we have some of Rev. Caleb Bradley’s records of marriages. There may be some births noted in there as well. There is a great deal of vital records missing from early and mid 1800’s. Interestingly enough, it was not uncommon to bury people on the family farm. I have found references to the remains of the dead being exhumed for reburial at the new burial ground Saccarappa Cemetery. There was a cemetery of Hatches and Johnsons up near the old Hatch Libby house. In fact, maybe 20 years ago, a gravestone was found with the name Abigail Hatch. This had been found under the corner of a Roberts’ homestead. It was given to the occupants of the Libby house and can still be seen between the trees facing the road. There is nobody buried there, as it is an historical artifact. I believe the stone had been discarded when the remains were put up at Saccarappa and new stones marked the plot. The bodies were all exhumed and new stones put up at Saccarappa cemetery. The source for this information was Leonard Chapman’s Grandpa’s Scrapbook which is full of fascinating genealogies of early families to the area.
Anyhow from studying the census, I have learned there were 5 Roberts families in Westbrook in 1850, a much smaller number than the Babbs. I would like to share an interesting story about a find in the census. The Historical Society had an acquisition of an old atlas dated 1840’s. Throughout the atlas were many hand colored ink drawings, with the careful hand of a young artist. The atlas was a valued book as books were rare in the mid 1800’s, especially the academic books. It was held together with fine thread stitched along the spine of the atlas. There were blank pages between the maps which were filled with delightful drawings from a young boy’s imagination. He drew clipper ships with sailors all in the water, and the ship under distress. He must have liked ships because he drew a few throughout the atlas. This young boy was named George Andrews. He was 15 in 1850. The atlas was dated 1847. He had a fine hand as he drew pictures of a colt, circus performers and pictures of people in the costume of the day. He drew his interpretation of an American Indian, most likely an image from his imagination. It was also filled with his lessons as he penciled his history of the United States at that time which was rather small. It was a thrill to see such an artifact. Imagine my surprise when I found him listed as a sailor in Brooklyn , NY in 1880.
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