Hi Gail,

There is a William Chinn who is closer to home- in both 1870 and 1880, listed in Prince William County

Name: William H Chin
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1820
Age in 1870: 50
BirthPlace: Virginia
Home in 1870: Brentsville, Prince William, Virginia
Family and Neighbors: View Results
Race: M
Gender: Male
Value of real estate: View Image
Post Office: Manassas

Name: William China
Home in 1880: Brentsville, Prince William, Virginia
Age: 58
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1822
BirthPlace: Virginia
Relation to head-of-household: Self
Spouses's Name: Caroline
Father's birthplace: MD
Mother's birthplace: VA
Neighbors: View others on page
Occupation: Farmer
Marital status: Married
Race: Black
Gender: Male

Household Members: Name Age
William China 58
Caroline China 46
Anthony Gibson 26
John Scott 17

What's interesting is there is no Caroline Chinn in 1870.
And the only dividing county is Fauquier. William - where ever he was - obviously visited often enough for there to be quite a few little Chinn's, but would not necessarily have been allowed to stay with Elizabeth if she was working in service.

I'd take a closer look at him.

Denise