My ancestors, Elijah STAFFORD and his wife Nancy WRIGHT, seem to manifest themselves out of thin air on the 1860 census. This is quite a feat as they were already about fifty years old at the time and the parents of several children: Narcissa Caroline, Mary Jane, Lewis, Nancy Anna, Henry, Elizabeth, and Rosa.
On various census, Elijah states his birth place was NC, on another census, it's SC. On the 1870 census, his father is listed as "foreign-born". Many years later, on the 1920 census, Elijah's eldest daughter Narcissa says her father was born in Holland and spoke Dutch. Elijah's birthdate also changes, as he switches between about 1806 and 1816.
Now, tracing his wife Nancy's family isn't so hard -- she was from Gilmer co., Georgia, and a whole pack of her relatives moved with her and Elijah down to Alabama and lived next door to them. There's even a P. WRIGHT, presumably a sister-in-law, age 30, living with them at one point.
I can find no record of Nancy WRIGHT marrying Elijah STAFFORD. Ah, but here's the thing... there IS a record of Nancy WRIGHT marrying Elijah HILL in 1844 in Gilmer co., GA. So what's this? Did Nancy marry two men named Elijah? Did Elijah change his surname from HILL to STAFFORD? If so, why? Why is he so slippery and hard to pin down?
