Household #123: Isom, Charlie

Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index

In the 1900 Barney census, Charlie Isom headed a 5-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

Charlie Isom headed a 5-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 spouse or marital partner, 2 children, and 1 extended-family member.

Charlie Isom's listed occupation was Laborer Saw Mill.

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

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Charlie Isom	Head	53	Georgia	Laborer Saw Mill
Nancy Isom	Wife	52	Georgia	—
Edwin Isom	Son	25	Georgia	—
Vivian Isom	Son	12	Georgia	—
May Clayton	Granddaughter	15	Georgia	—

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

Charlie Isom, head, age 53, born Dec 1846 in Georgia, laborer at a saw mill
Nancy Isom, wife, age 52, born about 1848 in Georgia
Edwin Isom, son, age 25, born about 1875 in Georgia
Vivian Isom, son, age 12, born about 1888 in Georgia
May Clayton, granddaughter, age 15, born about 1885 in Georgia

The 1900 Barney household is best read as the later Florida family of Charles N. Isom and Nancy Griffin Isom. The race label in this entry needed correction; the household is white in the census image, and the later Florida records are consistent with that reading.

The earlier Georgia trail is now much firmer than the old entry suggested. In 1860, Charles N. Isom, age 13, appears in Berrien County in the household of John and Sophia Isom. A Georgia militia reorganization census taken in Berrien County in 1864 records a Charley Isom, age 16 years 2 months, born in Georgia. In 1870, Charles Isom, 23, appears in Lowndes County with wife Nancy and children Ida and William. In 1880, Charles N. Isom, 33, appears at Valdosta with wife Nannie and children Ida, William C., John M., and Simion E. Together these records provide a workable chain from Berrien County into Lowndes County before the move to Brooks County.

Lowndes County tax and land material helps fill the gap between 1870 and 1880. A sheriff's sale notice in The Valdosta Times of 10 Mar 1877 lists 225 acres of lot 136 in the 11th district as the property of Charles N. Isom under a 1876 tax fi. fa. Additional tax digest material places Charles N. Isom in Valdosta militia district 663 in the late 1870s and early 1880s, with taxable land in the 11th district. These are continuity records rather than direct kinship proof, but they fit the census trail well.

By 1900 the family was in Barney. The schedule gives Charlie's birth month as Dec 1846 and says he and Nancy had been married 34 years. That points to a marriage about 1866, although the direct marriage record has not yet been found. The household also shows a granddaughter, May Clayton, age 15. May remains unresolved, but her age suggests that she belonged to one of the older children already present in the 1880 household, most likely through a married daughter branch rather than through the younger Florida children.

The later Florida records are strong. In 1920, Charles N. Isom appears in Plant City, Hillsborough County, age 73, with wife Nancy, 71. In 1930, he appears there again at 1304 Park Street, age 83, with wife Nancy G. Isom, 81, working as a truck farmer and marked as a Civil War veteran. Florida end-of-life records place Charles Nelson Isom's death in Hillsborough County in 1934. Cemetery evidence places him at Oaklawn Cemetery in Plant City as Chas. Nelson Isom, 1846-1934. Nancy Isom's own trail is also clearer now. The Florida death index records her death in Hillsborough County in 1937, the Tampa Tribune death notice of 10 Aug 1937 reports that Mrs. C. N. Isom, 89, died at the home of her son V. C. Isom in Plant City, and her burial is also placed at Oaklawn Cemetery.

Nancy's maiden name is now strongly supported as Griffin. A Georgia death certificate for a son of C. N. Isom names the mother as Griffin. Nancy's 1937 death notice names her brothers as W. O. Griffin of Turkey Creek and C. L. Griffin of Wauchula. Earlier Lowndes County records for Nancy Griffin in 1850 and Nancy Guffin in 1860 look like the best current candidates for her earlier life, though that part of the case is still indirect. For now, the careful reading is that Charlie's wife was Nancy Griffin, with the 1900, 1920, and 1930 census forms preserving her as Nancy or Nancy G.

Several child lines can now be followed beyond the Barney household. Vivian of the 1900 census is the later Vivian Clower Isom, born 18 Apr 1888 in Lowndes County, Georgia, later of Plant City. His draft card, later censuses, death notice, and Oaklawn burial all align, and his son Charles Jerome Isom's draft card names Vivian Clower Isom as father. Another son from the 1880 household, Simion E. Isom, can be followed as the later Simon E., Simmeon Edwin, Edwin S., or S. Ed Isom of Plant City. His 1903 marriage notice to Sallie Robinson, 1910 and later census appearances, World War I draft card, and later family records tie that branch together. These descendant lines do not solve every question in the 1900 Barney household, but they do show that the family moved into a durable Plant City cluster.

Connections to Other Barney Families

The strongest current parentage reading is that Charlie of HH#123 was the Charles N. Isom who appears in 1860 with John and Sophia Isom in Berrien County. The later record that gives Charles's parents as John Isom and Sophia Guest or Guess fits that reading, though the exact spelling of Sophia's maiden name still needs the original document checked carefully.

The Lowndes County tax records also place Charles near John Isom and James W. Isom in the same local network. That supports a family cluster in the 11th district and militia district 663, but it is still contextual support rather than direct proof of each relationship.

The Florida branch is now clearer than before. Charles and Nancy's descendants can be followed through Vivian Clower Isom and through the Simmeon Edwin or S. Ed Isom branch, with Sallie Robinson and later children such as Ida S. Isom Jefferson and Charles Jerome Isom appearing in direct records.

Military Service

Charles Nelson Isom's current military evidence is limited to the 1930 census, which marks him as a Civil War veteran. The later Florida death and cemetery records strengthen the identity chain for the man, but no service file is yet tied to him here, so the page should avoid adding a unit or service chronology.

Open Research Questions

Obtain the full 1934 Florida death certificate for Charles Nelson Isom to confirm the exact death date, informant, burial wording, and parent field language.
Obtain Nancy Isom's full 1937 death certificate if possible. The death notice and cemetery record are strong, but the certificate would help close the case.
Look for a direct marriage record for Charles Isom and Nancy Griffin, or another early record that states Nancy's maiden name in original form.
Resolve the identity of May Clayton, the 15-year-old granddaughter in the 1900 household.
Check whether the original record behind the later parentage claim gives Sophia's surname as Guess, Guest, or another close variant.

Research Status

WELL-RESEARCHED: Charles N. Isom is now documented through the 1860 Berrien County census, the 1864 Berrien militia reorganization census, the 1870 and 1880 Lowndes County censuses, Lowndes County tax and land notices in the late 1870s and early 1880s, the 1900 Barney census, and the later 1920 and 1930 Plant City censuses. His end of life is supported by the Florida death index and Oaklawn Cemetery burial record. Nancy Isom is strongly supported as Nancy Griffin by a son's death certificate, her 1937 death notice naming Griffin brothers, and her Florida burial record. The main remaining questions concern the original marriage record, Nancy's full death certificate, the exact wording of Charles's parent fields, and the identity of May Clayton.

Sources

1850 U.S. Census, Lowndes County, Georgia, household of Mitchell and Rebecca Griffin, including Nancy Griffin
1860 U.S. Census, Berrien County, Georgia, household of John and Sophia Isom, including Charles N. Isom
1860 U.S. Census, militia district 663, Lowndes County, Georgia, household of Mitchel S. and Mary E. Guffin, including Nancy Guffin
1864 Georgia militia reorganization census, Berrien County, Georgia, entry for Charley Isom
1870 U.S. Census, Lowndes County, Georgia, household of Charles and Nancy Isom
1880 U.S. Census, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, household of Charles N. and Nannie Isom
The Valdosta Times, 10 Mar 1877, sheriff's sale notice for Charles N. Isom's Lowndes County land
Lowndes County, Georgia, tax digest material placing Charles N. Isom in Valdosta militia district 663 during the late 1870s and early 1880s
1900 U.S. Census, Barney precinct, Brooks County, Georgia, household of Charlie Isom
1920 U.S. Census, Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida, household of Charles N. Isom
1930 U.S. Census, Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida, household of Charles N. Isom at 1304 Park Street
Florida death index entry for Charles Nelson Isom, Hillsborough County, 1934, vol. 610, no. 1028
Find a Grave memorial for Chas. Nelson Isom, Oaklawn Cemetery, Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida
Florida death index entry for Nancy Griffin Isom, Hillsborough County, 1937
Tampa Tribune, 10 Aug 1937, death notice for Mrs. C. N. Isom
Find a Grave memorial for Nancy Isom, Oaklawn Cemetery, Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida
Georgia death certificate for a son of C. N. Isom, naming the mother as Griffin
World War I draft card for Vivian Clower Isom
1930, 1940, and 1950 U.S. Census records for Vivian C. Isom in Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida
Tampa Tribune, 20 Nov 1952, death notice for Vivian C. Isom
Find a Grave memorial for Vivian C. Isom, Oaklawn Cemetery, Plant City, Hillsborough County, Florida
Tampa Tribune, 21 Aug 1903, marriage notice for S. E. Isom and Sallie Robinson
World War I draft card for Simmeon Edwin Isom
1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. Census records for Simon E. or S. Ed Isom in Florida
U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index entry for Charles N. Isom, spouse Nancy Griffin, child Vivian Clower Isom
U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index entry for Simmeon Edwin Isom, spouse Sallie Robinson, child Daniel Edwin Isom
Gibson City Courier, 21 Jul 1993, obituary for S. Ida Isom Jefferson

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