Household #42: McMillen, James

Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index

Under review: One or more details on this page conflict with an inspected source record. Corrections are being prepared.

In the 1900 Barney census, James McMillen headed a 4-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

James McMillen headed a 4-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner and 2 boarders, employees, servants, or other non-kin residents.

James McMillen's listed occupation was Clerk in Store.

All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.

Newspaper and Public-Record Trail

This section flags public-record leads separate from the census table. The detailed discussion stays in the family narrative, research status, and source citations below.

1900 Census Household

Children and Later Trails

No child-tracking items are open for this page because the 1900 table lists no children in the household.

Family Narrative

• Head: James McMillen, age 24 in 1900, born in Georgia, clerk in store
• Wife: Minnie McMillen, age 20 in 1900, born in Georgia

• Boarders in the 1900 household: Walter C. Edenfield, age 42, born January 1858, single, and Willis Aldridge, age 18

• A user-supplied 1900 census detail screenshot places James McMillen in Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, on sheet 2, dwelling 42, family 42. The house-number field is blank.

• That 1900 record shows James McMillen as a 24-year-old white male born in May 1876 in Georgia, married in 1900 to Minnie McMillen, and working as a clerk in store.
• The same record reports that James and both of his parents were born in Georgia, that he could read, write, and speak English, and that the household lived in a rented house rather than on a farm.
• The 1900 census places James McMillen in the household with wife Minnie McMillen and boarders Walton C. Edenfield and Willis S. Aldridge.
• The same 1900 household provides a clear boarding-house style household structure rather than a simple nuclear family unit.
• User-supplied census detail screenshots now trace Walton or Walter Edenfield across 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930, with expected spelling variation between Edenfield and Edinfield.
• The 1860 screenshot places Walton Edenfield, age 1, in Berrien County, Georgia, post office Nashville, in the household of Oscar Edenfield and Mary Edenfield.
• The 1870 screenshot places Walton Edinfield, age 12, in Militia District 518, Berrien County, Georgia, in the household of Oscar and Mary Edinfield, with occupation listed as farm laborer.
• The 1880 screenshot places Walton Edinfield, age 21, in District 518, Berrien County, Georgia, in the household of Mary Edinfield, working on a farm.
• The user-supplied 1900 census detail screenshot places Walton C. Edenfield as a 42-year-old single boarder, born January 1858, in James McMillen's Barney household.
• The 1910 screenshot places Walter C. Edenfield, age 50, in Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, on Main Street as a married merchant in general merchandise, living with wife Susie Edenfield and daughter Susie B. Edenfield in an owned free home.
• The 1920 screenshot places W. C. Edenfield, age 61, in Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, as a married farmer on his own farm, living with wife Susie and children Susie B., Annie Laura, Willie Ray, and Eddie Hazel Edenfield.
• The 1930 screenshot places Water C. Edinfield, age 70, in Militia District 1571, Brooks County, Georgia, on South Rail Road Avenue, living on a farm with wife Susie and children Annie L., Willie R., and Hazel Edinfield.
• A user-supplied 1930 Georgia death-certificate screenshot for Walter C. Edenfield reports that he died on 27 Apr 1930 in Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, at age 70 years 11 months 10 days; identifies him as a married white male farmer; names his wife as Susie Edenfield; names his father as Oscar Edenfield and his mother as Mary Henderson; and records burial at Mount Zion Cemetery on 27 Apr 1930.
• A user-supplied FindAGrave memorial screenshot for Walter C. Edenfield shows a gravestone shared with Susie A. Edenfield, gives birth as 7 May 1859 and death as 27 Apr 1930, and identifies the burial place as Camp Ground Cemetery Mount Zion Church, Morven, Brooks County, Georgia. The memorial image usefully preserves stone text and burial-place wording, though linked relatives remain derivative.
• A user-supplied family-record page identifies Walter C. Edinfield as the son of Mary Henderson Edinfield and Oscar Edinfield, gives his birth date as 7 May 1859, states that he married Susie Berryhill on 12 Oct 1904, and names four children: Susie B. Edinfield, born 12 Feb 1910; Annie Laura Edinfield, born 11 Aug 1914; Willie Ray Edinfield, born 8 Oct 1918; and Hazel Edinfield, born 11 Nov 1920.
• A user-supplied 1987 obituary for W. Ray Edenfield states that he was born 8 Oct 1917 in Barney, Georgia, to the late Walter and Susie B. (Berryhill) Edenfield; died in Licking Memorial Hospital; was a retired insurance agent and World War II veteran; was living at 206 Granville Street; and was survived by wife Ida Ruth McDonald Edenfield, daughter Ruth Sharpe, sister Hazel Victor of Tampa, and two grandchildren. The obituary also reports burial in Maple Grove Cemetery, Granville, Ohio.
• A user-supplied 1 May 1930 Valdosta Daily Times death notice reports that W. C. Edenfield of Barney died Saturday morning at an early hour after several months of ill health and only one day confined to bed; had made his home in Barney for the past 36 years; was described as a faithful church worker and a member of the Church of Christ for the past 22 years; and had funeral services at the Camp Ground on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock with Rev. Mr. Chapman officiating. The notice names his survivors as his widow and four children: Miss Sue Edenfield of Jacksonville, Miss Annie Laurie Edenfield, Miss Hazel Edenfield, and son Ray Edenfield of Barney. It also names two sisters, Mrs. J. J. Goodman of Brookfield and Mrs. R. C. Roberts of Ocilla.
• Taken together, those user-supplied census screenshots support a strong multi-decade identity chain for the boarder later seen as Walter C. Edenfield in Brooks County.
• The current draft also preserves a negative Brooks County FindAGrave result for Willis Aldridge.

Research Notes

• James McMillen and Minnie McMillen do not yet have a preserved continuity chain here beyond the 1900 census household.
• Walter C. Edenfield's later-life profile is now better grounded by user-supplied census screenshots, but the entry should still avoid full closure until the marriage, death, and burial records are preserved here more directly.
• The present file now preserves census detail screenshots for Walter's 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 appearances, though it still needs full source citations in a consistent final format.
• The present file still does not preserve Walter's 1904 marriage record or the supporting Georgia death-index citation in a normal evidence-first format.
• The family-record page is useful derivative evidence for Walter's exact birth date, marriage date, spouse, and children, but those details should still be matched against direct civil or census records where possible.
• The W. Ray Edenfield obituary is useful later-life evidence for the child Willie Ray and supports the Walter-Susie parent link, though obituary family details remain secondary and should be cross-checked when better records appear.
• The 1930 Valdosta Daily Times death notice is useful contemporary newspaper evidence for Walter's residence, church affiliation, funeral at Camp Ground, and immediate survivors.
• FindAGrave material now supports burial-place wording and gravestone text for Walter and Susie, but linked relatives and extended family connections remain derivative unless backed by stronger records.
• The current Willis Aldridge language is too speculative. A negative Georgia search is not enough to prove an Appalachian migration path or to convert absence of later records into a documented outcome.
• The current file does not preserve later census, marriage, death, burial, or probate material for James McMillen or Minnie McMillen.

Open Research Questions

• Parentage audit: confirm both parents of the household head for HH#42 through direct or near-direct records where possible; mark derivative-only parent links as unresolved until supported.
• Child census audit: confirm every child named in the 1900 household against later census, marriage, death, obituary, cemetery, probate, or draft records; separate proven child links from same-name candidates.
• Other household member audit: verify boarders, servants, in-laws, stepchildren, grandchildren, and unrelated residents in HH#42; document the exact relationship instead of assuming kinship.
• Spouse and marriage audit: locate marriage records, death records, divorce records, or later census records for spouses or absent spouses tied to this household.
• Direct image review: re-check the 1900 census image and any cited index-only sources before treating ages, relationships, birthplaces, or name spellings as final.

Research Status

• Status: Partially researched household with Walter C. Edenfield strongly documented, but not a complete household reconstruction.
• Strengths: The 1900 McMillen household is clearly anchored, and Walter C. Edenfield is now supported by a substantial 1860-1930 census chain, a death certificate, burial-level support, a contemporary death notice, and later family evidence that fits the same line.
• Remaining cautions: James and Minnie McMillen still need their own continuity work, Walter's marriage record is still not preserved directly here, and Willis S. Aldridge should remain unresolved rather than explained away.

Sources

• User-supplied 1900 U.S. census detail screenshot for James McMillen, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, sheet 2, dwelling 42, family 42, house-number field blank, listing Minnie McMillen, Walton C. Edenfield, and Willis S. Aldridge; Edenfield is listed as age 42, born January 1858.
• User-supplied 1860 U.S. census detail screenshot for Walton Edenfield in the household of Oscar and Mary Edenfield, Berrien County, Georgia, dwelling 246, family 228.
• User-supplied 1870 U.S. census detail screenshot for Walton Edinfield in the household of Oscar and Mary Edinfield, Militia District 518, Berrien County, Georgia, dwelling 461.
• User-supplied 1880 U.S. census detail screenshot for Walton Edinfield in the household of Mary Edinfield, District 518, Berrien County, Georgia, dwelling 538.
• User-supplied 1910 U.S. census detail screenshot for Walter C. Edenfield, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, sheet 3a, Main Street, with wife Susie and daughter Susie B. Edenfield.
• User-supplied 1920 U.S. census detail screenshot for W. C. Edenfield, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, with wife Susie and children Susie B., Annie Laura, Willie Ray, and Eddie Hazel Edenfield.
• User-supplied 1930 U.S. census detail screenshot for Water C. Edinfield, Militia District 1571, Brooks County, Georgia, South Rail Road Avenue, with wife Susie and children Annie L., Willie R., and Hazel Edinfield.
• User-supplied Georgia death-certificate screenshot for Walter C. Edenfield, died 27 Apr 1930 in Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, certificate 8621, naming parents Oscar Edenfield and Mary Henderson and wife Susie Edenfield, with burial at Mount Zion Cemetery.
• User-supplied family-record page for the Edinfield family identifying Walter C. Edinfield as son of Mary Henderson Edinfield and Oscar Edinfield; giving birth date 7 May 1859; marriage to Susie Berryhill on 12 Oct 1904; and children Susie B., Annie Laura, Willie Ray, and Hazel Edinfield.
• User-supplied FindAGrave memorial screenshot for Walter C. Edenfield, memorial 111611508, showing shared gravestone with Susie A. Edenfield and burial listed as Camp Ground Cemetery Mount Zion Church, Morven, Brooks County, Georgia.
• User-supplied obituary for W. Ray Edenfield, The Newark Advocate, Newark, Ohio, 27 Aug 1987, page 38, naming parents Walter and Susie B. (Berryhill) Edenfield and reporting Barney, Georgia, birth on 8 Oct 1917.
• User-supplied obituary notice for W. C. Edenfield, The Valdosta Daily Times, Valdosta, Georgia, 1 May 1930, page 5, reporting Barney residence, Sunday burial at Camp Ground, Church of Christ membership, and surviving wife and children.
• Preserved later-entry summary asserting a Georgia death-index entry.
• Negative FindAGrave search of Brooks County, Georgia, cemeteries, verified May 2026.

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