Halifax County, Virginia

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The Census Enumeration Districts of Halifax County, VA 1900

Many family researchers have had the opportunity to search for their ancestors in the original census schedules. It is always a thrill to find the person you've been looking for, and to get the snapshot of their life and family at the time the census was taken. There is much information that can be gleaned from the original census schedules, but this article will focus on the information about the physical area to which the census taker was assigned, or as it is called the 'enumeration district'.

At the top of each sheet of the census schedules is an enumeration district number, district name, county name, and state in which the census was taken. This is usually enough to give a rough idea of where an ancestor lived. However, few people realize that the recent censuses, 1880 through 1920, have very exact descriptions of the enumeration district boundaries. This information can be used to better pinpoint the location of an ancestor and could be useful when sorting through county deeds and court orders.

Prior to 1880, all that was recorded by the census office was the name of the census taker (enumerator) and the district he recorded (enumerated). For Halifax County, this is fairly boring information since there were just two districts, the Northern and Southern Districts. The author is not sure of the exact boundary between these districts, but believes it ran close to the Banister and Dan Rivers (see Avenues for further research below).

Starting in 1880, not only were the names of the enumerators recorded, but the boundaries of the district to which they were assigned was also recorded. These descriptions become more precise with each census after 1880. The post office address for the district is also recorded.

Enumeration Districts

The enumeration districts for the 1880 and 1900 censuses are listed below. You will notice that the boundaries are described using county landmarks such as creeks, rivers, towns, roads, and railroad tracks. Knowledge of the locations of these landmarks is needed to create the proper context . It helps to have a fairly detailed map of the county.

If you happen to have a copy of the census schedule sheet that your ancestor is recorded on, then find the enumeration district number and name of the enumerator at the top of sheet and match it with the information in the following tables.

1900 Census
Descriptions of the Enumeration Districts of the 6th Supervisor's District of Virginia for the Twelfth Census, June 1, 1900, with names of persons employed as Enumerators (Halifax County Only):

No. of E. D.	Description of Enumeration District			Name of Enumerator	Post-Office Address
	Magisterial Districts.
40.	Banister (pt. of) excl. of Houston town excl. of South Boston town Begin at the mouth of Banister River, thence up said river to the mouth of Wynne's Creek, thence up said creek and along the line of Roanoke Dist. to the line of Staunton Dist., and along same to the line of Meadsville Dist., along same to Banister River, thence down said river to Lynchburg & Durham R.R., thence along said R.R. to the corporation line of the town of So. Boston, and long said line to Dan River, thence down Dan River to the beginning.		1999	Chas. G. Leigh	Houston
41.	Banister (pt. of) excl. Houston town excl South Boston town Begin on the Banister River, up said river to the mouth of Pole Cat Creek, up creek to Poor House Road, thence that road to Mt. Road at Sora; thence Mt. Road to News Ferry Road, thence that road to Mircy Creek at Medley's Mill, thence down Mircy Creek to Dan River, thence down river to L. & D. R.R., thence R. R. track to Academy Creek near depot, thence south side Creek to west corporation line of Houston, thence said line straight north to Banister River at the beginning.		1925	M. B. Booker	Houston
42.	Banister (pt. of) incl. Houston town Begin where L. & D. R.R. crosses Banister River, thence R.R. track south to Academy Creek near Depot, thence up the creek to west corporation line of Houston, thence north with said line crossing Mt. Road (incl. N.T. Green's & Jno. W. Riely's homes) a straight line to Banister River, thence down the river to the beginning, incl. the town of Houston.	216 687	903	Jno. S. Price	Houston
43.	South Boston town		1851	J. W. Lee	South Boston
44.	Birch Creek (pt. of) Begin at the mouth of Birch Creek, thence up the said creek to the Pittsylvania Co. Line, thence along said line to Dan River, thence down Dan River to the beginning.		1727	Jno. W. McCormick	Whitlock
45.	Birch Creek (pt. of) Begin at the bridge across Birch Creek, near the residence of T. G. Coleman, thence along the road leading to News Ferry about one mile to the road leading to Vernon Hill, thence along said road to the Mt. Road at Vernon Hill, thence along the Mt. Road to Hughes old tavern, thence along the road leading by Asbury church to the line of Meadsville Dist., thence along same to Sandy Creek and up said creek to the Pittsylvania Co. line, thence along said line to Birch Creek, and down same to the beginning.		1402	Jas. D. Hernkins	Basses
46.	Birch Creek (pt. of) Begin at the mouth of Birch Creek, thence up same to the bridge near T. G. Coleman's residence, thence along the road leading to News Ferry about one mile to the road leading to Vernon Hill, thence along said road to Mt. Road at Vernon Hill, and along the Mt. Road to Hughes old tavern, thence along the road leading by Asbury Church to the line of Meadsville Dist., thence along said line to the line of Banister Dist., thence along same to Dan River, and up same to the beginning.		1730	Henry Thomas Vaughan	News Ferry
47.	Black Walnut (pt. of) Begin where the L. & D. R.R. crosses Dan River, thence along the said R.R. to the A. & D. R.R., thence along the A. & D. R.R. to the line of the Mt. Carmel Dist., thence along the line of the said Dist. to Dan River and down same to the beginning.		1502	S. B. Calvin	Black Walnut
48.	Black Walnut (pt. of) Begin where the L. & D. R.R. crosses Dan River, thence along the said R.R. to the A. & D. R.R., thence along the A. & D. R.R. to Hyco River at Carrington's Bridge, thence down said river to the line of Red Bank Dist., thence along said Dist. line to Dan River, and up same to the beginning.		1411	S. H. Brookes	Hyco
49.	Black Walnut (pt. of) Begin where Hyco River crosses Red Bank District line; thence along the line of said district to the line of North Carolina; thence along said state line to the line of Mt. Carmel district; thence with the line of said district to the A. & D. R.R. and along said railroad to Hyco River at Carrington's bridge and down said river to the beginning.		1103	A. R. Ragland	Hyco
50.	Meadsville (part of) Begin at the Pittsylvania County line on Banister River; thence down said river to the mouth of Sandy Creek; thence up Sandy Creek to the Pittsylvania County line and along said line to the beginning.		1650	Nathaniel Lovelace	Rodden
51.	Meadsville (part of) Comprises all of Meadsville district north of Banister River and south of Sandy Creek.		1363	Herbert Barksdale	Meadesville
52.	Mt. Carmel		2486	J. P. Wilkins	Turbeville
53.	Redbank including Virgilina town	2363 200	2563	W. H. Pannebaker	Virgilina
54.	Roanoke (pt. of) incl. Clover town Begin at Dry Bridge over the Southern R.R. about one mile north of Scottsburg, thence along said R.R. to the line of the corporation of town of Clover, thence said line on the west side of R.R. to Southern R.R., and along same to Staunton River, thence down said river to Abbyville & Dryburg Road, thence along said road to Dryburg, thence along the road leading to Houston to the Dry Bridge over the Southern R.R. at the beginning.	1862 400	2262	Jas. D. Clay	Clays Mill
55.	Roanoke (pt. of) Begin on Staunton River where the Dryburg & Abbyville road crosses the river, thence along the said road to Dryburg, thence along the road leading to Houston by the Dry Bridge to Wynn's Creek, thence down Wynn's Creek to Banister River, and down Banister and Dan Rivers to Staunton River to the beginning.		1538	W. B. Chandler	Scottsburg
56.	Roanoke (pt. of) Begin at the Dry Bridge over the Southern R.R., thence along said R.R. to the corporation line of the town of Clover, thence along said line to the Clover & Whitesville road, thence along said road by Mt. Laurel & Hunting Creek & Whitesville to the Coles Ferry road, and thence along the Coles Ferry road towards Houston to the Scottsburg road, and along the Dryburg road to the beginning at Dry Bridge.		2143	J. W. Chaffin	Clays Mill
57.	Roanoke (pt. of) Begin at Coles Ferry on Staunton River, thence down said river to the Southern R.R., thence along said R.R. to the corporation line of the town of Clover, thence along same on the west side of R.R. to Clover & Whitesville Road, and long same by Mt. Laurel, Hunting Creek church & Whitesville to the Coles Ferry Road, and long the said road to the beginning.		1936	Jno. M. Carrington	Mount Laurel
58.	Staunton (pt. of) Begin in Pittsylvania Co. line at road leading from Cody to Mt. Airy, thence along said County line to Staunton River, thence down the river to the mouth of Childry Creek, thence up Childry Creek to the road at Adam's Mill, thence along the road leading from Adams Mill by Rabat and along Booker's Road to Volens, thence along the Republican Grove & Cody road to Cody, and along the Mt. Airy road to the beginning.		2273	J. B. Epperson	Stovall
59.	Staunton (pt. of) Begin in the Pittsylvania Co. line at the road leading from Cody to Mt. Airy, thence along the said line to Banister River, thence down Banister River to Concord Bridge at line of Meadsville Dist., thence along the line of Meadsville Dist. to Terrible Creek at the crossing of the Catawba road and along said road to the Lynchburg & Durham R.R. at Catawba, thence along said R.R. to Childry Creek, thence up said creek to Adams Mill, thence along the road leading by Rabat, Volens, Republican Grove & Cody to the Pittsylvania line at the point of beginning.		1929	J. B. Lacy	Alchie
60.	Staunton (pt. of) Begin where the road leading from Catawba to Alchie crosses Terrible Creek, thence along the line of Meadsville Dist. to the line of Banister Dist., thence along the line of Banister Dist. to the line of Roanoke Dist., and along said line to the Staunton River, thence up Staunton River to the mouth of Childry Creek and up same to the L. & D. R.R., thence along said R.R. to Catawba, and along the road leading from Catawba to Alchie to the beginning.		1501	G. E. Clarke	Alchie

Source: National Archive, Census T1210, Roll 10. Transcribed by Mark Womack, March 1999.
Authors Note: The numbers next to each enumeration district are probably the total number of people or households recorded in that district. However, there is no description in the records, so its exact nature is unknown.