Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer; moved from North Carolina to Georgia
Parents:	unknown
Born:	mid to late 1810's North Carolina
Last known record:	1880 census Houston County, Georgia
Buried:	unknown

100Kenion Oxley was born in North Carolina1-3 sometime in the late 1810's (Estimates range from 1814 at the earliest1 and 1819 at the latest2). Other details of his early life are totally unknown.

He married 101Marinda Pool on 25 September 1836 in Houston County, Georgia.4

1836: 100Kenion's and 101Marinda Pool's marriage record. Full page.4

By 1840 they had had two sons.5

1840: 100Kenion's family in Houston County, Georgia. Full page.5

By 1850 they had relocated east to Wilkinson County. In addition to the censuses below, you may also be interested in 100Kenion's 1860 farm schedule listing (pages 15 and 16; template).6 A newspaper notice written in December 1859 also attests 100Kenion's presence in Wilkinson County around this time (Irwinton is its county seat).7

1850: 100Kenion's household in Wilkinson County, Georgia. Full page.1

1859: 100Kinion's newspaper notice mentions Irwinton, which was Wilkinson County's county seat. Full page.7

1860: 100Kenion's household still in Wilkinson County. Full page.2

The American Civil War began the following year. During the war, many of Georgia's soldiers were sent to fight in more vital locations, e.g. to defend Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. As a result, few soldiers were available to defend Georgia, and slaves were becoming less obedient and more likely to attempt escape. Governor Joseph Brown, worried about the state's predicament, had the state legislature order a special census to list all white males age 16-60 not already in Confederate service, along with militarily significant facts like whether the men owned any guns or horses. This census would help the state government allocate its few home guard soldiers more efficiently. This census is formally called the 1864 Census for Re-organizing the Georgia Militia but is sometimes nicknamed the Joe Brown census. The census shows 100Kenion in militia district 332 (map), Wilkinson County with a horse and shotgun.8

1864: 100Kenion in the "Joe Brown" militia census. Full page.8

In 1867 the U.S. Congress passed several Reconstruction Acts. These Acts divided the former Confederacy into several military occupation zones, which were ruled by Union military commanders. The Acts also directed the commanding officers to register Southerners who wanted to vote in upcoming elections. One registration requirement was to swear an oath of loyalty to the United States; the obvious intent was to disfranchise any lingering Confederate resistance. 100Kenion signed his oath on 12 July 1867 as a resident of Pulaski County.9

100Kenion's Reconstruction-era voter registration oath.9

By 1880 he had returned to Houston County, where he had lived decades earlier. Living with him and his wife were a daughter and grandson. Unlike several earlier records, this census suggests that 100Kenion was literate, so perhaps he learned later in life.3

1880: 100Kenion's family in Fort Valley (militia district 528), Houston County, Georgia. Full page.3

I have been unable to find any record of 100Kenion after the 1880 census.

Sources Cited:

1: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Division 93, Wilkinson County, Georgia. Page 381A, dwelling 646, family 646, Kinion Oxley household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 87. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-63KW-9PT?cc=1401638&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZY6-FKV>., accessed 22 April 2020.

2: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Griffins District, Wilkinson County, Georgia. Page 965, dwelling 730, family 732, Kenan Oxley household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 141. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBT-8F4?i=11&cc=1473181&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMZM4-5K6>.

3: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Fort Valley (militia district 528), Houston County, Georgia. Enumeration district 29, page 278D, dwelling 358, family 358, Kenyon Oxley household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 152. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YBH-X3R?cc=1417683&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AM8G4-HF9>, accessed 22 April 2020.

4: Houston County, Georgia. Marriage book A (1833-1852), page 38, marriage of Kenion Oxley and Marinda Pool, dated 25 September 1836. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS7W-J3YR-2?cc=2748952&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQL8R-6YML>.

5: 1840 U.S. Federal Census. Houston County, Georgia. Page 379, Kinian Oxley household. NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 43. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYTL-3NN?cc=1786457&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AXHBZ-28F>, accessed 22 April 2020.

6: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Agriculture Schedule). Wilkinson County, Georgia. Pages 245-246 or 31-32 (The first page is numbered both 245 and 31, but it's actually the 15th page of the Wilkinson County listings, as determined by counting forward from the beginning. Likewise, the second page is actually numbered both 246 and 32, but it's actually the 16th page from the beginning.), entry 15, Kenan Oxley farm. NARA microfilm publication T1137, roll 6. The NARA provides a helpful template.

7: "Notice," Southern Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia), 3 January 1860, page 4, column 4, bottom of the page. Georgia Historic Newspapers, <https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82016415/1860-01-03/ed-1/seq-4/>.

8: 1864 Census for Re-Organizing the Georgia Militia. Militia districts 332, 330, 352, and 353, Wilkinson County, Georgia. Page 1, entry 5, Kinan Oxley. Georgia Virtual Vault, <https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/1864/id/3724/rec/6>, accessed 23 April 2020.

9: Georgia's 1867-1868 Voter Registration Oath Books. Volume 81 (Pulaski County Book 2), page 270, entry 538, Kinioun Oxley. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, Returns of Qualified Voters and Reconstruction Oath Books, 1867-1869" / Oath Book / Pulaski / 14 / image 825 of 1038), accessed 22 April 2020. Although I copied the image from Ancestry.com, the corresponding microfilm at the Georgia Archives is microfilm 296/34.