The Childress surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 24,937 people carried this name — #1,424 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 11,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 24,485 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

71 families named Childress, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 395 people lived in those households, 4.6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 6 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 38
South Carolina 17
North Carolina 15
Pennsylvania 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 233 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Childress in American newspapers,
1878–1909.

Newspaper page from The Herald carrying the name Childress
The Herald 1893-09-09
Newspaper page from The Elbert County Tribune carrying the name Childress
The Elbert County Tribune 1909-07-22
Newspaper page from The Donaldsonville Chief carrying the name Childress
The Donaldsonville Chief 1878-08-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 49,690 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Childress,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sarah Childress Polk
    Sarah Childress Polk 1803–1891 · politician
  • George Childress
    George Childress 1804–1841 · lawyer
  • Alvin Childress
    Alvin Childress 1907–1986 · actor
  • James Childress 1773–1836
  • John P. Childress 1787–1870
  • Bill Childress 1867–1940 · baseball player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Childress,
in the records of 2 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,264 records

1,264 records of the Childress name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 845
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 355
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 19
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 12
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 10
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 4
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record George W. Childress

    Born 1947; from Holcomb, Missouri. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; died of wounds 1967 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. Buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lionel V. Childress

    Born 1914 in Oklahoma. Enlisted 1940 at Tahlequah; cook from Cherokee County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Oklahoma.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Charles T. Childress

    U.S. Navy veteran. Born 1973, died 1994; buried at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,264 records for Childress in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Childress name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Charles Albert Childress

    Died in service in 1943.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Childress

    Married 1805 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Childress.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Childress is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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