Girl’s Disability Confirmed by Census Data
Laura “Leurana” Robertson: 1838-? (Maternal Second Cousin 3x
Removed)
While researching the children of Aaron Fairfax Smith, my
husband’s third-great-granduncle, I found an interesting note on the Findagrave
entry for Aaron’s daughter Eudoxia. The entry stated she gave birth to two
children, son Aaron Smith Robertson and daughter Laura or Leurana. “Laura was
retarded. Her date of death has not been found,” the entry read. I was a bit
startled, and not just by the out-of-date terminology for a mental disability.
Did the bio writer know about Laura’s disability from other family members, or
was there some sort of record to be found? I began to investigate Laura’s life.
Laura was born in 1838 to parents Alney Robertson and
Eudoxia Smith Robertson. Other trees list her birth date as June 5, but I have
found no birth record to confirm that date. Her brother Aaron Smith Robertson
was born a year later on September 22, 1839, and her mother Eudoxia died five
days later, probably from some sort of childbirth complications.
It is unclear what happened to the two babies after
Eudoxia’s death. I was unable to find any obituary notice for Eudoxia, and I
can’t find 1840 census records for her husband Alney. The 1840 census for Eudoxia’s
father, Aaron Smith, shows he had two young children in his household, but it
is unclear if they were Eudoxia’s babies or his own youngest children.
The 1850 census finds Laura and little Aaron living with their grandparents, Aaron Fairfax and Judith Stum Smith. The census taker erroneously listed them with the surname “Smith” instead of Robertson.
The 1860 census provides some shocking clarification. By
then, young Aaron was out of the house; I could not find him on the census. He
enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and died the following year from typhoid
before he had a chance to fight in the Civil War. But Laura was listed as a
member of her uncle Presley Smith’s household. (See below.)
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| 1860 Census for Aaron Smith family |
The 1860, 1870 and 1880 census forms included questions that
other censuses did not, and that is where I hit paydirt in regards to the
Findagrave claim about Laura. On the 1860 census, there were boxes to check off
for a range of disabilities. The categories included: “Blind; Deaf and Dumb;
Idiotic; Insane; Maimed, Crippled, Bedridden or Otherwise Disabled.” The box
for “Idiotic” was checked off for Laura, along with boxes in the Education area
that reported she could neither read nor write.
 |
| 1860 Disability Checklist for Laura |
Laura also appears in her Uncle Presley’s household in 1870.
That census featured a question regarding disabilities. It read, “Whether dead
and dum, blind, insane or idiotic”. The census taker was required to write down
the disability. He wrote “Idiot” for Laura.
 |
| 1870 Census record for Presley Smith household |
 |
| Laura listed as "idiot" |
Laura appears on the census one more time in 1880. She is 42
years old and still living in Presley Smith’s household. Once again, the census
form offers boxes to be checked if the household member has a disability, and
once again, Laura is marked down as “Idiotic”.
 |
| 1880 Census for Presley Smith household |
I have been unable to find any additional records for Laura,
and I have been unable to locate her grave. I checked all the cemeteries where
other Smith and Robertson family members were buried, but could not find her.
Perhaps she was buried in an unmarked grave. I could find no newspaper accounts
of her death either. I will continue to look.
The census records provided me with important information
about Laura that I could not have found elsewhere. In fact, they were the only
records that I have found for her. The censuses confirmed that she was
disabled, and also showed that her mother’s family stepped up and took care of
her, probably for her entire life. Her disability must have been profound, but
first her grandparents and then her uncle made sure she had a place to live. I
hope she felt loved, safe and secure.
Sources:
1850 United States Census. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/17408881?tid=81812584&pid=262735890530&ssrc=pt
1860 United States Census. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/records/39548628?tid=81812584&pid=262735890530&ssrc=pt
1870 United States Census. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/18749732?tid=81812584&pid=262735890530&ssrc=pt
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