.  Sarah KESTER, b. 1810

Said to have had this son, but Mary was too old to be his mother:
.  William B. KESTER, b. ca. 1820, VA 

1.  West Virginia Marriages, 1854-1932 (online at familysearch.org):

Name:	Joseph Kester
Spouse's Name:	Mary Morrison
Event Date:	22 Feb 1788
Event Place:	Harrison, West Virginia
Reference ID:	Book 1 p 3
GS Film Number:	163840; 250015

2.  Census Index:  Colonial America, 1607-1789 (Broderbund CD-310):  not found.

3.  1790 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  the 1790 VA census was destroyed.

4.  1800 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  the 1800 VA census was destroyed.

5a.  Census Index:  U.S. Selected Counties, 1810 (Broderbund CD-313):

1810

Custer, Joseph

VA

Harrison Co.

p. 94

31000-1120100

A problem with the extractions on this CD is that, for the state of Virginia, the genders in the tally have been switched.  The numerical data should read as in the next source.

5b.  1810 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #34 of 64 — indexed "Cuslam"; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):

1810

VA

Harrison Co.

Roll 69

p. 94/937

Ln. 13

Joseph Cuslar / Custar / Custur

11201-31000-00

These data indicate:

No. & Sex	Age Class	Therefore Born	Individuals Inferred
1 male	9 or under	1800-1810	= Conrad (b. 1803)
1 male	10-15	1794-1800	= George (b. 1795)
2 males	16-25	1784-1794	= Alexander (b. 1789) = Joseph II (b. 1788)
1 male	45 or over	by 1765	= Joseph (b. 1750)
3 females	9 or under	1800-1810	= Sarah Ann (b. 1806/7) = Susannah (b. 1805/6) = Margaret (b. 1801)
1 female	10-15	1794-1800	= Mary (b. 1798)

This page image is barely readable.  Where is wife Mary?  Surely this is enumerator error because all the other numbers are correct.

6a.  Census Index:  U.S. Selected Counties, 1820 (Broderbund CD-314):  no Harrison County records on CD.

6b.  1820 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com):  indexed here as "Kesta," and I will grant that that is what it looks like, though the (1-bit) image is barely readable.

6c.  1820 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #6 of 30 — list was roughly alphabetized; indexed "Kesta," which it does appear to be, but the (8-bit) image is difficult to read; extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):

1820

VA

Harrison Co.

Roll M33_138

p. 11/90B/91/779

Ln. 7

Kester? Joseph

120201-20201-0-103

0000-0001

These data indicate:

No., Race, Gender	Age Class	Therefore Born	Individuals Inferred
1 white male	9 or under	1810-1820	= ?
2 white males	10-15	1804-1810	= ? = ?
2 white males	19-25*	1794-1801	= ? = ?
1 white male	45 or over	in or bef. 1775	= Joseph (b. 1750)
2 white females	9 or under	1810-1820	= ? = Sarah Ann? (b. 1806/7)
2 white females	16-25	1794-1804	= Susannah? (b. 1805/6) = Margaret (b. 1801)
1 white female	45 or over	in or bef. 1775	= Mary (b. 1771)
1	people engaged in agriculture
3	people engaged in manufacture
1 female slave	45 or over	in or bef. 1775	= ?
*In the 1820 Census, the third column is age class 16-18 and the fourth column is age class 16-25, which means any individual in column three is duplicated in column four.  So, for an accurate representation of the household, the number in column three should be subtracted from the number in column four. If, after the subtraction, any individuals remain in column four, then they have to be age 19-25, thus creating a "new," more precise age class.

The numbers in the tally don't seem to jibe very well with what we know of the family.  We know they had four sons by 1810, but two are now married, namely,  Joseph II and George.  Joseph II appears to have one of his unmarried brothers living with him and, given this male's age (b. 1775-94), he would have to be Alexander (b. 1789).  I don't find George.  None of the three daughters is married yet, but they don't "fit" right.  Everyone seems to "fall through the cracks," so I wonder if this simply isn't our subject.  If not, then he was missed in this census. 

7a.  Census Index:  U.S. Selected Counties, 1830 (Broderbund CD-315):  not found, and I really looked.  The CD does have Harrison Co., VA, records.

7b.  1830 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  not found, and I really looked.  The listing is roughly alphabetized, so I browsed the "C's" and "K's" both for Delaware Co., OH, and Harrison Co., VA.  The only KESTERs in Harrison Co., VA, were Drusilla, Henry, and Peter.

8.  1840 U.S. Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):

 .  Find-a-Grave: Entries (online at findagrave.com):

Except for the tombstone images and occasional mention of a death certificate, this database consists of undocumented patron submissions, so caveat emptor.
Name:	Joseph Kester	Mary Morrison Kester
Birth:	14 Mar 1750 Germantown Philadelphia Co., PA	15 Jan 1771 Moorefield Hardy Co., WV
Death:	2 Jul 1839 Morrow Co., OH	18 Oct 1847 Morrow Co., OH
Note:	Father of 10 children, fought in Virginia Militia	Mother of 10 children, buried next to husband
Burial:	Shawtown Cemetery Westfield Morrow Co., OH
Inscription:	In Memory of Joseph Kester S?? Died July 2 1832 Aged 87 years 3? Mo & 18 ds plus a metal star embossed "WAR OF 1776"	Mary wife of Joseph Kester Died Oct 18 1847 aged 76 y & 9 months
Father:	Conrad Kester
Mother:	Susannah Adams or Margaret Morris
Spouse:	Mary Morrison (1771-1847)	Joseph Kester (1750-1839)
Contributor:	victory military 21 Mar 2008	victory military 21 Mar 2008
Memorial #:	25431817	25431908
For their children, see their individual family group sheets, but these seven are listed here, under Joseph and under Mary: Joseph Kester (1788-1835) George Kester (1795-1849) Mary Kester Utter (1798-1873) Margaret M. Kester McWhorter (1801-1850) Conrad Kester (1803-1892) Sarah Ann Kester Cupp (1805-____) Sarah Spencer (1810-1893)