Bradford County PA
Chemung County NY
Tioga County PA
Tri-Counties Genealogy & History
by Joyce M. Tice
1855 New York State Census Records for

Town of Horseheads, Chemung County NY
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Joyce's Search Tip - January 2008 -
Do You Know that you can search just the Census Records on the site by using the three county level Census  buttons in the Partitioned search engine at the bottom of the Current What's New Page

You can further limit your search by choosing the find all words option and entering a year or township name along with your surname. Remember that alternate spellings of surnames WILL affect your search results.

Census records are very often difficult to read because of handwriting, microfilm quality, and spelling issues. Our early census takers were not as well educated as we'd like them to have been, and even the people bearing the names often could not spell them with the same consistency we are accustomed to in our own time. The census taker wrote what he believed he heard as well as he could. Our volunteers have transcribed them for you to the very best or our abilities given the difficulties mentioned. Please be tolerant of what you would consider "mistakes." If you can recognize the names you are looking for, then it is a success. If not, then you may want to find a place where you can view the originals so that you can judge for yourselves. Excessive attention to outmoded spelling issues is the sign of a beginner in family research and will limit your research effectiveness.

Transcribed 2008 by Sherry LAMPMAN Nichols
Published October 2008 by Joyce M. Tice

Note from Sherry - The 1855 census for Horseheads was collected by DeWitt Curtis from June 1 thru June 19, 1855.  A group of people years ago looked at the original records and copied them to paper form for the library and indexed them.  I first typed the records from these paper records. Just like the original records some of the handwriting was hard to read or the person copying them had trouble reading the census. I then ordered the microfilm of the 1855 census for Chemung Co from the LDS church. This film is now on permanent loan at the LDS Church on Broad St in Horseheads. I spent many hours looking at the film and trying to be as correct as possible with the names.  I spent hours looking at the 1850 and 1860 census records trying to figure out names that were in question. I had other genealogists look at the records to help me figure out names. If you don’t agree with what I have typed I suggest you look at the film at the LDS church. There is a copy of the records at the clerk’s office in Elmira but the records in the census books there are copies that are faded and hard to read. For any names that I wasn’t sure of I put question marks after them. In a few cases I added names from other sources and put parenthesis around them. The census taker stopped putting visitation numbers in the columns after # 378 and either left it blank or put a 1 in the space. There was a page and half of records missing from the library’s records that I found and added from the microfilm. This took me about 1 ½ yrs to type up, much longer then I thought it would. I hope it will help everyone that looks at it. I did my best with what I had.

Page 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Inmates of County Poor House are on page 37
Be sure to scroll to the right to see the entire page.
Dwelling # in order of visitation of what material built value family # in order of visitation Name of every person who lived in this abode 1st day of June age sex color relationship to head of family county born or what state married widowed years in residence profession voter native born voter naturalized alien persons of color not taxed persons over 21 who can't read or write owners of land
  frame 2400 1 Watkins Selem 28 M     Penn 1   1 farmer 1          
        Watkins Harriett 30 F   wife Chemung 1   1              
        Gray Frank 22 M   sister Chemung     15              
        Kingsley Daniel 24 M   servant Tompkins     1              
        Butler Margaret 14 F   servant Ireland     3m     1        
  frame 3500 1 Bennett Daniel 42 M     Chemung 1   9 farmer 1         1
        Bennett Elizabeth 30 F   wife Schoharie 1   9              
        Bennett George S. 17 M   son Chemung     9              
        Bennett William H. 15 M   son Chemung     9              
        Bennett Comfort 7 M   son Chemung     7              
        Bennett Frank 2 M   son Chemung     2              
        Taber Peleg 28 M   laborer Schoharie     4   1        
        Shay Catherine 21 F   servant Ireland     1       1      
  frame 400   Rumsey William 30 M     Delaware 1   1 farmer 1          
        Rumsey Caroline 26 F   wife blank 1   1              
        Rumsey James 6m M   son Chemung     6m              
  frame 1500   Burris Stephen 37 M     Chemung 1   34 farmer 1         1
        Burris Malinda 28 F   wife Chemung 1   5              
        Hammond Edward 13 M   laborer Chemung     3m              
        Arnold Sarah 14 F   b. girl Penn     1              
        Tanner A.B. 30 M   boarder Steuben     1 carpenter 1          
        LeFever S. 28 M   boarder Chemung     1 carpenter 1         1
        Gardner Robert 24 M   boarder Chemung     2m carpenter 1          
  frame 200   Smith Phillip 55 M     Orange 1   30 farmer 1         1
        Smith Ann E. 52 F   wife Dutchess 1   30              
        Smith Mary 34 F   daughter Chemung     30              
        Smith Townsend C. 20 M   son Chemung     20              
        Smith George W. 17 M   son Chemung     17              
        Smith Phillip Jr. 12 M   son Chemung     12              
  planked 200   Gardner Conrad 33 M     Chemung 1   5 farmer 1         1
        Gardner Abagail 33 F   wife Orange 1   5              
        Gardner Charles 5 M   son Chemung     5              
        Gardner Theodore 8m M   son Chemung     8m              
        Hurst? Esther 17 F   boarder Orange     2m              
  frame 1200   Ross John 45 M     Yates 1   10 farmer            
        Ross Polly M. 44 F   wife Columbia 1   10              
        Ross Herman 19 M   son Steuben     10              
        Ross Francis M. 15 M   son Steuben     10              
        Ross Enoch W. 11 M   son Steuben     10              
        Wood Eliz 53 F   wife Orange 1   16              
        Wood Charles 23 M   child Orange     16              
        Wood Harriet 21 F   blank Orange     16              
        Ross Rhoda 17 F   blank Orange     16              
        Wilson Daniel 10 M   blank Chemung     10              
  frame 800   Durland Jabez 52 M     New Jersey 1   28 farmer 1         1
        Durland Eunice 50 F   wife Tompkins 1   28              
        Durland Jabez C. 27 M   son Chemung     28 farmer 1         1
        Durland Ann 24 F   daughter Chemung     24              
        Durland Lisetter 21 F   daughter Chemung     21              
        Trumbull John 14 M   son Chemung     14              
        Smith Robert 18 M   laborer Orange     2              
  planks 300   Mathews Charles 49 M     Tompkins 1   29 farmer 1         1
        Mathews Susan 36 F   wife Penn 1   19              
        Mathews Charles 10 M   son Chemung     10              
        Mathews Rachel A. 3 F   daughter Chemung     3              
        Mathews Eva M. 9m F   daughter Chemung     9m              
        Riley William 78 M   father Penn     3 none 1          
        Thurber Rebecca 28 F   boarder Penn     8m millener            

Last Updated on 10/6/2008
By Joyce M. Tice