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Re: Seeking records of Winfield Scott Kuhns
Lisha Penn
Sep 19, 2019 9:16 AM
Dear Ms. McNeely,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
The State of West Virginia was not admitted to the Union as a state until 1863 after first seceding from Virginia during the Civil War. What is now West Virginia was originally part of Virginia. Please read History of West Virginia for more information. Therefore, it is most likely that your ancestor was actually born in Virginia based on the birth date that was provided.
We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the Population Schedules for the 1850 Census; 1860 Census; 1870 Census; 1880 Census; and 1890 Census; in the Records of the Census Bureau (Record Group 29). Digital images of 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1890 census records are not available yet in the Catalog for Virginia but are digitized and available on Ancestry.
On Ancestry, we located Multiple listings on the 1850 Census for a Winfield Kuhns with numerous surname variations; Multiple listings on the 1860 Census with surname variations; Multiple listings on teh 1870 Census with surname variations; and Multiple listings on the 1880 Census. The 1890 Census records were partially destroyed in a fire; and therefore no records for him were found on Ancestry. You may wish to consider whether or not the spelling of his family’s surname occurred in the past to assist with your research efforts.
We also located on Ancestry, Multiple Death Records with numerous surnames for a Winfiled Kuhns and Multiple Marriage Records for a Winfield Kuhns with surname variations. There may be a fee for using Ancestry. However, you may view these records online at one NARA's facilities for free via a NARA PC. For the nearest NARA location, please consult our web page at https://www.archives.gov/locations/. Also, some of the images from Ancestry are available for free on Family Search at https://www.familysearch.org/en/.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!