Broyles/Briles Database
by Steve Broyles (John, Jacob, Michael, Aaron, Aaron, Jeremiah, Walter, Morris)
6 Sep 2014 - Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
3 Jul 2014 - North and South Carolina, Tennessee
26 Apr 2014 - Kentucky, Missouri
22 Feb 2014 - Indiana, Illinois, Iowa
This database is an update to one I published back in 1996. Errors large and small
have been corrected and coverage is being extended to 1880 and beyond. In the 18 years since
that previous release the Internet has changed everything. This release makes use
of numerous online primary and secondary source databases, both free ones and those of Ancestry.com. My interests continue in the areas of firming up sources and working on puzzles in the family.
I moved the database to WikiTree some years ago. It's an excellent site for collaborative family research with an emphasis on sources and I think you'll find it superior to what is here.
See the data now!
Other sources of information on the Broyles/Briles family
About this database
About 8000 individuals are represented. It was created primarily from information
in John Kenneth "Ken" Broyles's Broyles Family Ties and
Broyles Family Newsletter, which in turn are based on Dr. A.L. Keith's remarkable
"Broyles Family" typescript and Ken's own correspondence. I augmented
this with Dr. Keith's articles
in the William and Mary Quarterly, Max Briles's work, my own
census and county record research, German research, correspondence, and internet research.
Shortcuts and Inaccuracies
I took some shortcuts.
- Birth Dates. They are always given as BIRTHs, even when they are
christenings. The early German data is all christenings, and almost all
of the early Virginia birthdates, if given to the day, are from the
Hebron Church christening records.
- Birth Years. If I list someone as being born in 1827, it really means
c. 1827. Most of these dates come from census records which give someone's
age to the nearest year, and it's well known they can be off by a year or
two (or more). When I say someone was born "c. 1827", it means I have
estimated their placement in the family and have assigned a possible birth
year. Such estimates are probably accurate to within a few years. I tend
to list census birth years even if it looks like there's an error in it.
- Birth Places. These are almost entirely made up! If the place in
question is early Germany, they will be assumed to be from the village
their church records come from. If the place is in the U.S., I
estimated the likely state and county of birth based on where the
family was probably living at the time of birth. So what's listed
as a birthplace could be
wrong because people moved or their county changed name, or their estimated
birth date is wrong. (Note that in the
early years the counties were continually subdividing into new counties,
so it might look like a family moved when in fact the county they were living
in changed name.) In certain cases in the later generations there are
out and out mistakes caused by overzealous editing on my part.
Terms
- Generation - This is the generation for each individual, with
John Broyles the immigrant being generation number 1. His ancestors
use letters that increase the farther back you go. His descendants use
numbers that increase with each generation. Now, there's a problem with
this scheme when related people marry. A boy from generation 5 marries
a girl from 6. Are their children 6 or 7? To tell you the truth, I'm
not sure what I did, but I think I tried to choose the earliest number.
So, take the generation number as a guideline, because that is all such
a calculation can be in any case.
- Keith # - This is the identification number given by Prof. Keith
in his manuscript as reprinted by John Kenneth Broyles.
About the Census Records
Coverage of all Broyles/Briles families through 1880 is believed to be
pretty thorough. There are a good number of census records for 1900 and
later. (Note that African-American families are not yet part of the database.)
- Page Numbers. These are a guide, and you may find it easier
to use Dwelling and Family number to locate a record. There are
usually at least two sets of numbers on each page of a census book, one
stamped and the other handwritten. Sometimes there is
a third set of handwritten numbers. In the past I often recorded the
stamped page numbers but I'm now using the handwritten sheet number
where it's available. (Stamped numbers are printed on every other page, so it's possible you'll find the entry
one page before or after the given page.)
- Data not shown. The type of information taken in each census
would vary from census to census. I copied what I thought was most
useful into my database. So, you're seeing most, but not all, of the information.
- [Record Not Found]. This means either I have not been successful
in finding a record for that year, or that I haven't looked
for it. One exception is Randolph Co., NC, in which the census of
1820 was destroyed.
- Column Abbreviations
- Agr - Number in household engaged in Agriculture
- BP - Birthplace
- BPM - Birthplace of mother
- BPF - Birthplace of father
- Col - Color (B=black, M=mulatto)
- Dwel - Dwelling number
- ED - Enumeration District
- Fam - Family number
- MY - Married within the past year
- Real - Value of real estate
- Pers. - Value of personal property
- SY - Went to school within the past year
- RW - Unable to read or write.
- R/W - Unable to read or write. 01 means can't write. 11 means can't read or write.