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From: "Dave Naylor" <>
Subject: [HARTRUM] Current research emphasis
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2003 20:26:11 -0400


In attempting to trace our families to their source we meet lots of
road blocks and come across conflicting information. It is our task
to make sense of these.

For example . . . .

David Hotrum, when applying for land in Canada, said he came from
Morris County, NJ, yet we believe his father was married in Hunterdon
County, NJ. -- what shows this move to Morris County or is this a
border change, or an error made by David?

Benjamin Hartrum's obituary says he was born in Newark, NJ, which is
in Essex county. What other Hartrum data is in Essex county?

Then there's the 1830 census for Pompton township, Bergen county, NJ.
It shows 2 separate Hartrum families -- with the head-of-households
named Edward and George. We believe the folks that moved to Ohio are
recorded here. But . . . . (to simplify) . . . the German naming
pattern basically named a child after it's grandparent. This caused
a flip-flop of the name each generation and really confuses things.
For example, Edward's family may name their firstborn son George.
This George would name his firstborn son Edward.

In the 1830 census we have George's family with 2 males < 5, 1 male 5-
9, 1 male 10-14, 1 male 30-39, 1 male 70-79, 1 fem 5-9, 1 fem 10-14,
1 fem 30-39, 1 fem 50-59. But which is the "head-of-household" --
the alpha male! Is it the prime 30-39 year old, or the senior 70-79?
It makes a big difference because one is named George and the other
is probably Edward.

Likewise with Edward's family in 1830. We have 1 male < 5, 1 male 5-
9, 1 male 15-19, 1 male 30-39, 1 male 50-59, 1 male 70-79, 1 fem < 5,
1 fem 5-9, 1 fem 10-14, 1 fem 15-19, 1 fem 30-39, 1 fem 50-59.

We are fairly certain that the Ohio Edward and George are represented
in the above numbers, but where? Is the Ohio Edward in George's
family or in Edward's? This is why we have been placing an emphasis
on ensuring we are correct with their children and their ages. We
have to match their family's profile to the 1830 census numbers.

So where are we placing the current emphasis? We need to resolve,
without any doubt, the profile of the two Ohio families -- Edward's
and George's -- so we can match them with the 1830 census. We also
need to discover more early New Jersey censuses of any
Hartrum/Hotrum/etc. back to 1790. The problem that arises however is
the vastly different ways that the surname was spelled.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers, -- Dave
--
David Naylor, Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada.
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