There is a great deal of confusion surrounding the identity and origins of Dedemiah, wife of Enoch SHIVER. The surnames LOVE and NETTLES that have floated around for decades are strictly conjecture. What is more widely accepted is that she and Sarah (wife of Enoch's likely brother Manning) were sisters. From census records, we estimate that she was born abt. 1804. From her children's ages, we assume that she was married abt. 1826 or so. She does not appear under her own name until after she was widowed at a young age (about 44), with 8 children, four of whom were under the age of 10. She first appears in the 1850 Baker Co., Georgia census in a rather confusing record...
1850 Federal Census of #1 District, Baker Co., Georgia
Enumeration Date: 31 Aug 1850
M432, Roll #61, Page #89, Dwelling #205, Family #205
NAME AGE SEX OCCUPATION R/E VALUE BIRTHPLACE Jno. Shiver, Jr. 32 M Farmer $600 Georgia Delimar Shiver 35 F Georgia Rebecca Shiver 15 F Georgia Polly Shiver 11 F Georgia Martha Shiver 14 F Georgia Eliza Shiver 7 F Georgia Ransom Shiver 13 M Georgia Allen Shiver 8 M Georgia Harrison (or Harmon?) Shiver 3 M Georgia
From the names of the children, this woman, Delimar, is definitely our Dedemiah, but where is her son John (who would be 22 in 1850)? Also, Dedemiah would be about 45 years old in this census year, so why is Delimar listed as 35? These questions can probably only be answered adequately by the census taker himself.
Unfortunately, this one census record has led to a lot of speculation by various researchers about Jno. Shiver, Jr. being the son of John SHIVER, son of John SHIVER, son of John William Shiver. Some of the confusion can be cleared up by looking at the 1860 Mitchell Co., Georgia census record.
1860 Federal Census of Camilla P.O., Mitchell County, Georgia
Enumeration Date: 26 Jun 1860
M653, Roll #131, Page #670, Dwelling #250, Family #256
NAME AGE SEX OCCUPATION R/E VALUE P/E VALUE BIRTHPLACE John W. Shiver 32 M Farming $2000 $2000 Georgia Sarah D. Shiver 23 F Georgia Loyd H. Shiver 2 M Georgia William J. Shiver 7/12 M Georgia Dwelling #251, Family #257
NAME AGE SEX OCCUPATION R/E VALUE P/E VALUE BIRTHPLACE Dedemiah Shiver 56 F Farming $1000 $200 Georgia Ransome Shiver 22 M Laborer Georgia James A. Shiver 19 M Laborer Georgia Miles H. Shiver 13 M Laborer Georgia
Here are John W. and his mother, Dedemiah, living next door to one another. It is my belief that Jno. SHIVER, Jr. in the 1850 census is John W. (listed 10 years older than he was), and that Delimar is Dedemiah (listed 10 years younger than she was).
If you can add any information to the above data or have any questions, please contact me. Thank you!
