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Research object · BT-CLM-00171

Could Peggy Hinz have been Hilliard's sister?

Under Investigation· 1 sourceLast reviewed August 9, 2026
Research & Interpretation byAmberly R. Carter-MillsFounder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

The Claim

Peggy Hinz appears in the 1870 household context. No entered record states a sibling relationship.

Public Summary

A household association only. No relationship is recorded.

Evidence Reviewed

  • ContextualizesContext Only

    Hilliard and Bettie appear in the Lawrence Hinz / Hines household. Peggy Hinz also appears in the household context; the census does not state a relationship between Peggy and Hilliard.

    Source: 1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration

    A household association only. No sibling relationship is entered in the lineage.

The Evidence Trail

Step 1 · Claim

Could Peggy Hinz have been Hilliard's sister?

Under Investigation· 1 source

BT-CLM-00171

Peggy Hinz appears in the 1870 household context. No entered record states a sibling relationship.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

  1. Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    Hilliard and Bettie appear in the Lawrence Hinz / Hines household. Peggy Hinz also appears in the household context; the census does not state a relationship between Peggy and Hilliard.

    1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi · FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00153 ← BT-SRC-00036

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    A household association only. No sibling relationship is entered in the lineage.

Step 3 · Conclusion

No conclusion has been published. This remains an open research question. What Freedmen's Bureau, probate, marriage, death, church, census, estate, or descendant DNA evidence could establish whether Peggy Hinz was Hilliard's sister?

How the Evidence Sits Together

What supports the claim

Observations that carry the claim forward.

  • Nothing in this column for this claim.

What complicates or contradicts it

Kept in view rather than discarded.

  • Nothing in this column for this claim.

What only provides context

Consistent, but not identifying or probative on its own.

  • Hilliard and Bettie appear in the Lawrence Hinz / Hines household. Peggy Hinz also appears in the household context; the census does not state a relationship between Peggy and Hilliard.

    Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

    A household association only. No sibling relationship is entered in the lineage.

Research Conclusion

No conclusion has been published for this claim. It remains an open research question.

Amberly's Research Notes

No research note has been published for this claim yet.

From the research notebook ofAmberly R. Carter-MillsFounder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

What We Still Need to Find

What Freedmen's Bureau, probate, marriage, death, church, census, estate, or descendant DNA evidence could establish whether Peggy Hinz was Hilliard's sister?

Provenance, Access and Use

Source creator
Varies by record — see each source
Who made the original record.
Researcher of record
Amberly R. Carter-Mills — Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Located, transcribed, weighed and interpreted the evidence.
Publishing archive
BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Holds the object, its identifiers and its revision history.

1870 U.S. Census — Copiah County, Mississippi

BT-SRC-00036
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
FamilySearch / National Archives and Records Administration
Collection
U.S. census, Copiah County, Mississippi, population schedule, Townships 9 & 10 (Post Office Hazlehurst)
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Census
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

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