Eli Lindley Hadley mid 1860s
Here is an interesting demonstration of how old photographs can contribute information to your family genealogy. I only spent an hour or two researching this gentleman, but found plenty of information. At first, I thought I had too much information — or at least too many Eli Hadley’s from which to choose.
I was a bit surprised the only Eli Hadley listed in Clinton county Ohio was too young (27 in 1860) to match this photograph from about five years later. We know from the tax stamp that his image was taken 1864-1866 — let’s call it 1865, but remember it could be one year either side of that. The gent is not elderly, but he appears older than 32 to me. So I checked the 1850 census. There I found three candidates! One was the same fellow as we saw in 1860, as a teenager. Another was a bit older, and he had the right middle initial — Eli L Hadley aged 28. The third was even older, 46 in 1850. The 28 year old would be 43 in 1865, while the 46 year old would be 61. I think 43 fits this image better, but considered the possibility that it was an 1865 copy of an earlier image. Doesn’t look like it, but that is possible — if so my identification is wrong. But I do have more evidence in favor of Eli L, the middle-bear who is ‘just right’.
I wondered why Eli was not listed in 1860 — so I expanded my search a bit, and found him, along with the rest of his family, indexed as Hodley instead of Hadley. I found the family again in 1870, but Eli was not listed, and indexer mistook his wife Theodocia as Theodore (occupation, keeping house?). Most of the same children are listed (though the older ones had moved out of the household of course), but no Eli.
Next step was to look at the compiled genealogies, to see if anyone was searching this fellow. Indeed there were (or are) — quite a few in fact. They all list him as Eli L Hadley, son of William Hadley and Sarah Lindley. Aha, says I — that middle initial L is shown as Lindley on our photograph, and that was his mother’s maiden name. None of the compiled genealogies showed more than the initial — which is why I said at the start that photos like this can contribute information to your genealogy.
Most of the compiled genealogies listed his wife as Theodocia Thatcher, but one showed Theodocia Stanton Hadley Thatcher. That cleared up the oddity that two children, born before the given date of Eli and Theodocia’s marriage, were surnamed Stanton in the 1850 census, though they were listed as Hadley’s in 1860. Theodocia was four or five years older than Eli, and apparently their union was her second marriage.
Also, the compiled genealogies explain Eli’s absence from the 1870 census — he died 7 Sep 1868, just a few years after this image was taken.