Tracing Charlotte Manson's Descendants in Georgia--New Discovery

It Pays to Re-visit Old Research!

One of my earliest discoveries in my research was finding Jane Manson, my 3rd great-grandmother, and her two daughters, Matilda (my great-great-grandmother) and Mary, in the 1850 federal census of Talbot County, Georgia. After that discovery, I continued to study the 1850 census for several months without further results, so I put it away.

Last week, more than two years after my initial success with the 1850 census, I decided to go back there. I found an 1850 federal mortality schedule for Upson County, which abuts Talbot County. Among the persons listed are two children, John Manson, age 4, and Matilda Manson, six months old. Both are reported to have died of "hooping cough." While their race is not given, the children are noted as "free."

Who were these children? Who were their parents?

My searches of the 1850 census reveal only one adult named "Manson" enumerated in Talbot and Upson counties--that being Jane Manson. Were these her children? If so, why was one named Matilda, like Jane's oldest daughter?