Family Notes

1790 Federal Census of Pennsylvania
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
1 male over 16.........George Henry Arnsberger
6 males under 16.....any 6: Jacob, Christopher, Henry, John, Peter, David, Frederick. (Peter may have already died.)
3 females.................Catharina, Elizabeth, and Mary
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1800 Federal Census of Pennsylvania
East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
1 male 45 years and over........George Henry Arnsberger
1 male 16-26 years..................not enough info to determine the names
2 males 10-16 years................not enough info to determine the names
3 males under 10 years...........Daniel who was 6, not enough info to determine the 2 others. Henry was probably married by 1798
1 female 26-45 years...............not enough info to determine the names
2 females 10-16 years.............not enough info to determine the names
2 females under 10 years........probably Mary and Nancy

Trying to figure out the names to fit in the age categories is complicated and there are some other un-answered questions about the information from the census and the 1804 Probate of George Henry's estate.

1. If there were 3 males under 10 years in 1800, why are there only two, David and Frederick, being named as minors in the 1804 Probate? What happened to one of the other males? Died? Or just a mistake in the census?

2. Why wasn't Daniel who was born in 1794 named as a minor in the 1804 Probate?

3. If the 1800 Census shows 2 females under 10 years and 2 more between 10-16, then why is there only Nancy being named as a minor in the 1804 Probate? What happened to the other females? All died? Or just a mistake in the census? Even if two of them were just 16 in the 1800 census, they would still be minors in 1804.

4. Why are other researchers not including the name of David as one of the children in the family as he was specifically named as a minor child in the 1804 Probate?

The naming of David, Nancy, and Frederick as the 3 minors in the 1804 Probate basically sorts all the children into two age groups: either and adult born between 1774-1783, or a minor born between 1783-1804. With some other known dates of birth, this provides the following chart:

Jacob...............born abt. 1774. He likely the first born son because he was named as Administrator in the Probate.
Christian..........born bet. 1774-1783
Henry...............born bet. 1774-1783
John.................born bet. 1774-1783
Peter................born bet. 1774-1783
Elizabeth.........born bet. 1774-1783
Mary................born bet. 1774-1783
David...............born bet. 1783-1804
Frederick..........born bet. 1783-1804
Nancy..............born bet. 1783-1804; Nancy was probably born after 1790 otherwise that census would have shown 3 instead of 2 females
Daniel..............born in 1794.

This totals 11 children. There are still some problems with this list and comparing it to the census records of 1790 and 1800.

In the 1790 Census, there are supposed to be 6 males under the age of 16, meaning born between 1774-1790. My list shows 7 names which means one of the names could have been born after the 1790 census or one of the names may have already died by the 1790 census. Or perhaps, the entry of David as a legitimate child is not correct. There is no other information in other census years about Peter so it is possible that he may have been born before 1783 but died before the 1790 census.