Household #108: Pinkney, Robert

Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index

In the 1900 Barney census, Robert Rinkney headed an 8-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

Robert Rinkney headed an 8-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner, 5 children, and 1 extended-family member.

Robert Rinkney's listed occupation was Farmer.

All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.

1900 Census Household

Children and Later Trails

This section is reserved for later-life child evidence. No later spouse, death, burial, obituary, probate, separate household, or descendant-line identification has been added here yet from direct records.

Family Narrative

• Children and household members tied to the family cluster: John Pinkney, Rosa B. Mack, Mira L. Wilson, Gertrude Busby, Robert T. Pinkney, Jessie or Jesse Pinkney

This household is clearer now than the 1900 census alone first suggested. The surname in that census was initially read as Rinkney, but the wider record trail supports Pinkney. Later records use Pinkney consistently, and the ages, place, spouse, and children fit well enough to treat the 1900 reading as a damaged rendering rather than a different family name.

Robert Pinkney can now be followed with good confidence across four censuses. In 1880 a Robert Pinkney, age 20, appears in Quitman, Brooks County, Black, single, born in Georgia, and working on a farm. In 1900 Robert appears in Barney with wife Harriet and a cluster of children under the distorted surname reading. In 1910 Robert Pinkney, age 54, is still in Barney with wife Hattie and several of the same children or their later forms. In 1930 Robert R. Pinkney, age 74, remains in Brooks County with wife Hattie. Taken together, those records support one continuous Robert Pinkney line in the Barney-Quitman area.

The marriage record is now stronger than an index citation alone. Brooks County records show Robert Pinkney and Harriet Roberts married on 26 July 1881, and the original marriage license and return support the same date. Harriet's maiden surname is reinforced again by Gertrude Busby's 1924 death record, which names her parents as Robt. Pinkney and Harritte Roberts. That is one of the best records in the file because it links the Pinkney surname, Harriet's Roberts name, and one of the 1900 children in a single direct record.

Harriet's earlier family placement is also much stronger than it was before. In 1870 a Harriet Roberts, age 8, appears in Brooks County in the household of Prince Roberts. In 1880 Harriet Roberts, age 18, appears again in Quitman in the household of Prince Roberts and Lucy Roberts. With those two censuses followed by the 1881 Brooks County marriage to Robert Pinkney, the Roberts-family identification is no longer just a loose candidate. It is now a very strong reading, though the entry still lacks one direct document that states Prince and Lucy Roberts were Harriet's parents.

The children's record trail is mixed but useful. John Pinkney appears in 1900 as Harriet's nineteen-year-old son and was likely from an earlier relationship or marriage, but he has not yet been carried forward safely. Gertrude Busby is one of the clearest lines. She appears as a daughter in the later household reconstruction, appears in a 1920 Barney household with husband John Busby, and her 1924 death record names Robert Pinkney and Harriet Roberts as parents. Robert T. Pinkney is also well anchored. He appears as a son in the later household reconstruction, his World War I draft registration gives his birth as 9 April 1892 at Barney, Georgia, and he married Fannie McBride in Brooks County in 1920. A June 1919 troop return record sharpens that line further. It identifies Robert Pinkney, serial number 1,688,785, private, 15th Service Company, 20th Engineers, departing St. Nazaire on the SS Montpelier, and names Mrs. Hattie Pinkney of Barney, Georgia, as his mother. That is strong supporting evidence that Robert T. Pinkney belonged in this household and that Harriet and Hattie were the same woman.

Jessie W. Pinkney, later Jesse Pinkney, is also a strong continuation. He appears in the later household reconstruction, gave his birth as 24 May 1896 at Barney in his draft registration, married Annie Mae Thomas in 1916, and married Lucile Palmer in 1929. The likely Jesse P. Pinkney in Brooks County in 1930 fits that path well, though the 1952 death index entry still needs a tighter proof chain. Rosa B. Mack and Mira L. Wilson are plausible daughters from the same family cluster, but their later lives have not yet been traced cleanly enough to say much more.

The same caution still applies to the rough 1900 child readings. Names that came through as Jesta, Berta, Renur, Robert, and Wade do not all map neatly onto later records, and some are probably just bad readings in a difficult image. The safer approach is to read the household through the full cluster of later records rather than forcing every 1900 given name into a fixed identity too early.

There is also a probable late-life record for Harriet. A Georgia death index entry for Hattie Pinkney shows a Brooks County death on 6 November 1939 at age 81, certificate 25428. That fits the woman who appears as Hattie in the 1930 census well enough to treat it as a strong probable match, but the full death certificate is still needed before the identification should be stated as settled fact.

Connections to Other Barney Families

• Gertrude Busby's later Barney household creates a direct link from HH#108 into the Busby line.
• Harriet's maiden name ties the household to the Roberts surname cluster in Brooks County.
• The 1870 and 1880 Prince Roberts households give Harriet a strong earlier placement in the same county before her 1881 marriage.
• Rosa B. Mack and Mira L. Wilson show that daughters from this household may appear in later records under married surnames.
• The 1880 Robert Pinkney entry in Quitman and the later Barney records together support a continuous Brooks County identity for Robert.
• The 1919 troop return for Robert Pinkney naming Mrs. Hattie Pinkney of Barney as mother strengthens the Robert T. Pinkney line and the Harriet-Hattie identification.

Open Research Questions

• John Pinkney still needs to be identified after 1900.
• Rosa B. Mack needs a cleaner later-life trail through marriage, census, and death records.
• Mira L. Wilson needs the same later-life reconstruction.
• The 1952 Brooks County death index entry for Jessie Pinkney remains probable, not fully proved.
• Harriet Roberts is now strongly placed in the Prince and Lucy Roberts households, but a direct record naming her parents would still close the point more cleanly.
• Robert Pinkney still needs a death record, burial record, or probate record that closes the line more directly.
• The probable Harriet or Hattie Pinkney death in Brooks County in 1939 still needs the full death certificate.

Research Status

Well-researched. The household is anchored by a strong Robert Pinkney census chain from 1880 through 1930, the 1881 Brooks County marriage record and original license-return for Robert Pinkney and Harriet Roberts, strong Roberts-family placement for Harriet in 1870 and 1880, and solid later records for Gertrude Busby, Robert T. Pinkney, and Jessie or Jesse Pinkney. The biggest remaining gaps are the later lives of Rosa and Mira, the unresolved status of John Pinkney, and direct closing records for Robert and Harriet themselves.

Sources

• 1880 United States Federal Census, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, entry for Robert Pinkney
• 1900 United States Federal Census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, household of Robert and Harriet Pinkney under a distorted surname reading
• 1910 United States Federal Census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia, household of Robert Pinkney
• 1930 United States Federal Census, Militia District 1571, Brooks County, Georgia, household of Robert R. Pinkney
• Brooks County, Georgia, marriage record, 26 July 1881, Robert Pinkney and Harriet Roberts
• Brooks County, Georgia, original marriage license and return, Robert Pinkney and Harriet Roberts, married 26 July 1881
• 1870 United States Federal Census, Brooks County, Georgia, household of Prince Roberts including Harriet Roberts, age 8
• 1880 United States Federal Census, Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, household of Prince Roberts and Lucy Roberts including Harriet Roberts, age 18
• FamilySearch, United States Census, 1910, household reconstruction naming Robert Pinkney, Hattie Pinkney, Rosa B. Mack, Robert T. Pinkney, Mira L. Wilson, Jessie W. Pinkney, and Gertrude Busby
• World War I draft registration for Robert T. Pinkney, born 9 April 1892, Barney, Georgia
• U.S. Army Transport Service passenger or troop return record, Robert Pinkney, serial no. 1,688,785, Pvt., 15th Service Company, 20th Engineers, departed St. Nazaire 10 June 1919 on SS Montpelier, naming Mrs. Hattie Pinkney, mother, Barney, Georgia
• Georgia marriage record, Brooks County, 1920, Robert T. Pinkney and Fannie McBride
• World War I draft registration for Jesse Pinkney, born 24 May 1896, Barney, Brooks, Georgia
• Georgia marriage record, Brooks County, 23 October 1916, Jesse Pinkney and Annie Mae Thomas
• Georgia marriage record, Brooks County, 10 October 1929, Jesse Pinkney and Lucile Palmer
• 1930 United States Federal Census, likely entry for Jesse P. Pinkney in Brooks County with wife Lucile
• Georgia death record, 1924, for Gertrude Busby naming parents Robt. Pinkney and Harritte Roberts
• Georgia Death Index, 1933-1998, possible entry for Jessie Pinkney, died 11 May 1952, Brooks County, birth year 1897
• Georgia Death Index, Hattie Pinkney, died 6 November 1939, Brooks County, certificate 25428, probable match for Harriet or Hattie Pinkney

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