Nathan Bodie, Sr. in 1840

According to John Bennett Boddie (on page 386 of his Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County Virginia) , Nathan Boddie [sic], Jr. states in a petition that Nathan Boddie (Sr.) died 8 November 1841. If so, we should expect to find him in the 1840 census, at approximately the age of 66. However, he does not appear to be heading his own household. If he is in the household of one of his children, which one? Not that of Nathan Bodie, Jr. Which Bodie households appear in the 1840 Edgefield District census, other than that of Nathan Bodie, Jr.?

Felix Boddie
Elizah Boddy
Obidiah Boddy
Westly Boddy
John Bodie

The household of Westly Boddy has a male in his 70s and a male in his 40s, and Nathan Sr. had a son named John Wesley Bodie (the Bodie family had several males who became Methodist ministers) born in 1797. While the age of the older male is a bit old, it's not impossible for that to be John Wesley Bodie's household with his father Nathan Sr. in it. John Wesley Bodie would have been Nathan Sr.'s oldest surviving son in 1840.

What should John Wesley Bodie's 1840 household look like? In addition to a male in his 40s, it should have 4 (or possibly 5) sons: one 15-20, three 5-10, and possibly one less than 5. What does the "Westly Boddy" household actually have? one 15-20, two 10-15, one 5-10, and two less than 5. Close. It's possible that two sons born in 1832 could be listed as two years older. And another very young son could have died prior to 1850. Nathan Sr. also had a son, Michael Boddie, by his second wife, and Michael was born about 1829. Perhaps he's one of the males in the 10-15 group?

Let's now look at the females: We should see Laura Amanda Smith Bodie (John Wesley's wife) at the age of 38, but I'm not aware of any daughters. The census household shows a woman in her 40s, a woman in her 30s, and a female less than 5. Again, the daughter could have died prior to 1850. But who is the oldest woman? Could she be Nathan's second wife, or was she already dead by 1840?

It looks like it's going to be necessary to go forward in time with the John Wesley Bodie household to pin down some names and dates.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1830

Let's look at what we should expect to find for Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1830. We would expect to see at least 2 sons under the age of 5 (Jesse Pitts Bodie was born in 1826, and Andrew Jackson Boddie was born in 1828); Nathan himself at the age of 26; possibly no daughters; and Nathan's wife, Mary Edna "Edney" Eidson, who would be 24.

When we search the Edgefield District census for 1830, we find two households headed by a "Nathan Body". The head of the one listed between Isaac Crouch and William Whittle is in his 60s (too old to be Nathan Bodie, Jr., but the right age for Nathan Bodie, Sr.), but the head of the one listed next to W. Deloach is in his 20s. If we assume that this is Nathan Bodie, Jr.'s household, then we have:

3 males under 5
1 male 15-20
1 male 20-30 (Nathan Bodie, Jr.)
1 female 20-30 (Mary Edna Eidson Bodie)

The extra male under 5 may be a son who died prior to the 1840 census. The male born between about 1810 and 1815 may be a younger brother to Nathan or to Mary Edna. So far as I know, Nathan's only younger brother, Joseph Bodie, was born in 1808, so Joseph would be too old. Mary Edna may have had at least 4 younger brothers: William Wiley Eidson, born in 1809; Mahlon Eidson, born before 1819; James Russell Eidson, born in 1821; and Allen Eidson, born about 1832. So Mahlon remains a possibility. It will be necessary to find the household for Mary Edna's parents and some of her siblings to rule out Mahlon living with those other households.