1a.  Marriage Record:  ante-bellum marriage records in South Carolina and Georgia are nearly non-existant due to the burning of county court houses during the Civil War — as if we needed another reason to hate war.

1b.  Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900:

Stroup, A F

Exon, Mary Ellen

2 Nov 1856

Hancock

Bk 2, p. 39, Lic# 2793

2.  1850 Census Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com; Image #45 of 281):  East Armuchy [Armuchee], Walker Co., GA, p. 364A, 300/300, enumerated 22 Aug 1850, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1850 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

Andrew J Stroup	26	M		Iron Manufacturer	450	SC
Arathiesa? L "	24	F				N York
Mary McFall	10	F				Geo
Margaret "	3	F				"

Is Arathiesa(?) a failed attempt at spelling Artemisia?  Artemisia is the only name I can think of that comes close.  Some secondary sources assert that Arathiesa(?) is the mother of the McFALL girls, but her age and birthplace argue against it.  The only other McFALLs in Walker Co., GA, are Hiram (36, NC), Martha (10, GA), and Emily (6, GA), each living in a different household in either East or West Armuchee.  A possible scenario here is that Hiram McFALL is a widower, and the four scattered McFALL children are his, with his late wife possibly a sister of either Andrew or Arathiesa.  Listed two households from Benjamin F. STRAIN, son of Andrew's half-sister, Catharine (STROUP) STRAIN. 

3.  1860 Census Index/Images (online at Genealogy.com, Image #16 of 20):  Warsaw P.O., Rocky Run Twp., Hancock Co., IL, Roll 184 (Book 1), p. 784, PN 523, 3705/3599, enumerated 31 Jul 1860, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1860 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

Andrew J Stroup	36	M		Farmer	2800	500	SC
Mary E      "	30	F					Ills
James S Exon	9	M					"
Martha E  "	8	F					"
Jacob H Stroup	8	M					Georgia
John E     "	5	M					Ills
Nevada C   "	3	F					"
Lane       "	7/12	F					"

Carson Nevada STROUP is male.  (What an interesting name.  Carson City, state capital of Nevada, was named for explorer Kit CARSON.)  Listed next to Andrew's brother, Jacob Decatur STROUP. 

4.  1870 Census Indes/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  not found, and I tried every conceivable set of search terms.  I also did page-by-page checks of Rocky Run Twp., Hancock Co., IL, and of Pleasant View Twp., Cherokee Co., KS.

5a.  1880 Census (indexed at FamilySearch.org; page image online at Ancestry.com, Image #10 of 23):  Pleasant View Twp., Cherokee Co., KS, Roll 376 (Book 1), p. 565B, PN 10, SD 1, ED 47, enumerated 10 Jun 1880, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1880 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1880:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).
1	2	3	4	5	6	8	9	11	13	24	25	26
79	82	Stroup Andrew J	W	M	55			/	Miller	S Carolina	Md	S Ca
		______ Carson N	W	M	22	Son	/		Miller	Illinois	S Ca	Ill
		______ Josephine	W	F	45	Sister	/		Keeping house	Georgia	Md	S Ca

5b.  1880 Census (indexed at FamilySearch.org; page image online at Ancestry.com, Image #7 of 17 — John is mis-indexed "Egan"):  Rocky Run Twp., Hancock Co., IL, p. 258C, PN 7, SD 3, ED 179, enumerated 16 Jun 1880, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1880 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1880:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

2

3

4

5

6

8

9

10

13

21

24

25

26

63

Exon John M

W

M

25

/

Farmer

IL

Eng

IL

Stroup Mary

W

F

48

Mother

/

House keeper

IL

KY

KY

Malone Halley

W

F

9

Niece

/

/

IL

IN

IL

5c.  1880 Census (indexed at FamilySearch.org; page image online at Ancestry.com, Image #7 of 34):  Ursa Twp., Adams Co., IL, Roll 174, p. 337C, PN 7, SD 6, ED 21, enumerated 4 Jun 1880, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1880 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1880:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

13

24

25

26

60

60

Smith T B

W

M

26

/

Farmer

Illinois

Ky

Ireland

_____ Jothe? F

W

F

24

Wife

/

Keeping House

Illinois

Ky

Md

_____ Sallie E

W

F

2

Dau

/

Illinois

Ill

Ill

_____ Walden

W

M

1/12

Apr

Son

/

Illinois

Ill

Ill

Cox Mary

W

F

19

Servant

/

Servant

Illinois

Ill

Ill

Stroup Wm A

W

M

19

/

Laborer

Illinois

Miss

Ill

Smith J S

W

M

22

/

Laborer

Illinois

Ill

Tenn

All other sources indicate William A. STROUP's father was born in South Carolina, not Mississippi — note that it's a virtual certainty that William was not the informant for this record and may not even have been present during the interview.  The head-of-household, Thomas B. SMITH, is a nephew of Mary Ellen (SMITH) STROUP, that is, he's William A. STROUP's first cousin. 

6.  1890 Census:  the 1890 Census Population Schedules were destroyed.

7.  WorldConnect / Ancestry World Trees (online at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com).

8.  A file at "GenCircles.com" says Andrew died in Illinois, but was buried in Jasper Co., MO.

9.  Messages posted to the Stroup Family Genealogy Forum (online at GenForum.com).