1840 Van Buren Co TN Will of Robert Boyd--caught in the middle of a county formaton

The above image is a snippet from the inventory of the Estate of Robert Boyd.  Robert's will was written in 1837(Oct 26th) in Warren Co Tennessee.  Van Buren Co TN was formed from part of Warren Co TN along with parts of White County & Bledsoe County. The act to form Van Buren county passed on January 3rd 1840 but according to the information in the act at the TN.gov site, it appears records didn't start until April 1840.

It looks at though Robert Boyd's probate records were caught in the middle of the formation of Van Buren Co. TN.  A note from Will Armstrong, Warren County Clerk states that it(the will in the Van Buren Co Record Book) is a true copy of the original will on file in his office.  So although the probate records start in Warren Co TN...they end in Van Buren Co TN but do have a copy of all the will there.  In the will Robert left pretty much everything to his wife Jane to use in the support of his "little daughter" Ann. He appointed William Logue and John Boyd as executors. The listing of inventory along with the sale starts May of 1840 and wraps up July the 8th of 1840.  I should note that although Wm Logue is listed on the will as executor along with John Boyd I don't see any more listings of him as a witness or purchaser at the estate sale.  This adds more weight to this being William Marrs Logue, Robert Boyd's Father-In-Law who is known to have passed before September 4th 1839(I need to do a blog post on his estate info.). Wm Marrs Logue was the maternal 1/2 brother of my 4th Great Grandfather, John Fleming.

Person making purchases at the estate sale:  John Boyd, Isaac Hillis, James Hillis, Lemuel Romons, Wm L. Fleming, D. C. Russell, Wm McDonald, Jacob Romons, Wm Johnson, J.A. Miller, Thomas Meders,  Isaac? Tomas, Jesse Mooneyham. Wm McDaniel, Elisha Mayfield, George Ledbetter, Wiley Johnson, and John Russell

"Tennessee Probate Court Books, 1795-1927," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-2RKT-G9?cc=1909088&wc=M6QQ-L38%3A179830201%2C179855401 : 22 May 2014), Van Buren > image 3 of 186; county courthouses, Tennessee.

It's Been a Search of a Hale..

My Gr Gr Grandfather Wm. P. Hale & his parents have probably been the biggest brick wall opportunity that I've faced in the 18 years I've been researching. It took me a while to sort through information on Wm. P. Hale and find that he had been married not just once...but three times. I did find him in the census with each of his three wives between the years 1880 & 1920. I've not been as lucky with his parents.

How can a family escape being listed in both the 1860 & 1870 Federal Census? The answer is most likely that they didn't & that they are in fact listed but not in a location or with the expected names that would allow me to recognize the family. The family is that of Wm. Taylor Hale and his wife Eliza Adaline Elzey(spelling varies) They had Two Girls(Lucinda Caroline, Mary A.) & Three Boys(James Arvil, Wm P. & John Nathaniel). Here is a time line I've worked out for the family covering the years 1850-1880.

Wm. Taylor Hale (1820/22-1861)
Eliza Adaline Elzie(1820-1906)

1843  Marriage Wm Taylor & Eliza Adaline Elzie/Elsie(June 29) 
1844  Birth of Lucinda Caroline Hale(dau of Wm & Adaline)
1846  Birth of James Arvil Hale(son of Wm & Adaline)
1849  Birth of Wm. P. Hale(son of Wm & Adaline)
1850  Census Wm & Family --Van Buren Co. TN Dist 6(Sept 13)
1855  Birth of Mary Hale(Dau of Wm & Adaline)
1861  Death of Wm T. Hale(drown in Collins River)
1861  Birth of John Nathaniel Hale
1865  Marriage of Lucinda Caroline Hale to John Bishop(Van Buren Co. TN Aug 8)
1866  Birth of Lucinda & John's son--James Monroe Bishop
1876  Birth of Lucinda & Mr. Davis' son--Luther Davis
1880  Census Adaline & Lucinda living same household (Van Buren Co. TN Dist 8) 
1880  Census James A. Hale & Family(Van Buren Co. TN Dist 8)
1880  Census Wm P. Hale & Family(Bledsoe Co. TN Dist 1)
1880  Census Mary Hale Johnson & Family(Bledsoe Co. TN Dist 1)

They could have left the Van Buren/Warren Co. TN area after Wm. Taylor Hales Death however they were back for Lucinda's marriage & births of both children. I've searched in 1870 for the Bishop surname in the chance that the family might have been enumerated under that name. I've tried creative spellings of Hale. Also have tried creatively spelling Adaline and Lucinda Caroline. Searching age groups within the Hale variants to cut out false positives(hopefully). No signs of them--not sure what to do at this point.