The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-And-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors by Marsha Hoffman Rising
Authors: Marsha Hoffman Rising
Tags: Non-Fiction
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Austin.
Use phonetic (or creative) spelling when entering search queries into CD-ROMs or Internet databases, particularly for those individuals with unusual first names.
5. In most cases, the federal census records you will examine are government copies of documents written in the field. As Kathleen W. Hinckley notes in her book,
Your Guide to the Federal Census
(Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 2002), “The original manuscript is the one the census marshal carried when he questioned local residents. Depending on the law at the time, handwritten copies of these manuscripts were made prior to their distribution to government officials. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to know whether records we examine today are the originals or copies.” When handwritten copies were made it would have been easy for errors to occur, such as skipping family members, moving slashes into the wrong rows, or placing individuals within the wrong family. Human error can lead to a number of problems with the census, so the researcher needs to remain alert.
6. Crucial parts of the name or enumeration might be missing or obliterated. Abbreviations may be used for the first names, or a last name may be missing entirely. The letters may be smudged or parts of the household overlooked or combined with a household to whom they do not belong. The family may give middle names or nicknames that you do not recognize. Be sure you know the nicknames common to the era and to the ethnic groups with which you are working: Nancy/Agnes, Martha/Patsy, Mary/Polly, Biddy/Obedience, Bridget/Delia, Milly/Emeline/Melissa, Gus/Augustine, Abe/Abraham, Bony/Bonaparte, Kit/Christopher, Iggy/Ignatius, or Ed, Ted, or Ned for Edmund, Edward, or Edwin. It is not unusual for the census taker simply to have copied the names incorrectly.
FOR MORE INFO
See Ruth Land Hatten, CGRS, “Finding ‘Missing Men’ on Early Census Records: The Example of Thomas Russell,”
National Genealogical Society Quarterly
81 (March 1993) 46–50.
Example:
Jason Ashworth was listed in 1860 in Polk County, Missouri, as “James” Ashworth. The lack of any other records from that vicinity for a man named James Ashworth prove that the census taker or copier simply must have made a mistake and that “James” was actually Jason.
Example:
Greenberry was often shortened to “Green” or “G.B.,” Ebenezer to “Eb,” which could easily be misread as “Eli,” and Constantine to “Tine.”
7. You may be looking for the right man in the wrong place. Before 1850, geographical boundaries were unclear, jurisdictions could overlap, and county and state lines often changed from decade to decade.
Example:
Isaac Rogers lived in St. Clair County, Missouri, in 1840, which was then called Rives. He was buried in Hickory County, but he was enumerated on the 1840 census in Polk County.
Example: James Harrison was one of the first settlers at the mouth of the Little Piney River in Missouri, arriving about 1817. While James did not move from the location where he first settled, the counties in that area were dividing rapidly. He was taxed first in Franklin County in 1819. When Gasconade County was formed in 1821, he became justice of the peace for Boone Township. Crawford County was formed in 1829, and James became clerk of the probate; his home became a pioneer courthouse. James was listed in Crawford County in 1830, the first surviving census for Missouri. By 1840 his place of residence was in Pulaski County, and he was head of household there. James left a will dated 28 August 1836, in which he called himself “of Crawford County.” The will was proved in 1842 in Pulaski County. In 1857, the area where the Harrisons had settled in 1817 became Phelps County and remains so, the same house having been in five different county jurisdictions.
Missed — But Why?
Although many “missing persons” may be found by using the methods described in this chapter, there undoubtedly are cases in which the
Use phonetic (or creative) spelling when entering search queries into CD-ROMs or Internet databases, particularly for those individuals with unusual first names.
5. In most cases, the federal census records you will examine are government copies of documents written in the field. As Kathleen W. Hinckley notes in her book,
Your Guide to the Federal Census
(Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 2002), “The original manuscript is the one the census marshal carried when he questioned local residents. Depending on the law at the time, handwritten copies of these manuscripts were made prior to their distribution to government officials. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to know whether records we examine today are the originals or copies.” When handwritten copies were made it would have been easy for errors to occur, such as skipping family members, moving slashes into the wrong rows, or placing individuals within the wrong family. Human error can lead to a number of problems with the census, so the researcher needs to remain alert.
6. Crucial parts of the name or enumeration might be missing or obliterated. Abbreviations may be used for the first names, or a last name may be missing entirely. The letters may be smudged or parts of the household overlooked or combined with a household to whom they do not belong. The family may give middle names or nicknames that you do not recognize. Be sure you know the nicknames common to the era and to the ethnic groups with which you are working: Nancy/Agnes, Martha/Patsy, Mary/Polly, Biddy/Obedience, Bridget/Delia, Milly/Emeline/Melissa, Gus/Augustine, Abe/Abraham, Bony/Bonaparte, Kit/Christopher, Iggy/Ignatius, or Ed, Ted, or Ned for Edmund, Edward, or Edwin. It is not unusual for the census taker simply to have copied the names incorrectly.
FOR MORE INFO
See Ruth Land Hatten, CGRS, “Finding ‘Missing Men’ on Early Census Records: The Example of Thomas Russell,”
National Genealogical Society Quarterly
81 (March 1993) 46–50.
Example:
Jason Ashworth was listed in 1860 in Polk County, Missouri, as “James” Ashworth. The lack of any other records from that vicinity for a man named James Ashworth prove that the census taker or copier simply must have made a mistake and that “James” was actually Jason.
Example:
Greenberry was often shortened to “Green” or “G.B.,” Ebenezer to “Eb,” which could easily be misread as “Eli,” and Constantine to “Tine.”
7. You may be looking for the right man in the wrong place. Before 1850, geographical boundaries were unclear, jurisdictions could overlap, and county and state lines often changed from decade to decade.
Example:
Isaac Rogers lived in St. Clair County, Missouri, in 1840, which was then called Rives. He was buried in Hickory County, but he was enumerated on the 1840 census in Polk County.
Example: James Harrison was one of the first settlers at the mouth of the Little Piney River in Missouri, arriving about 1817. While James did not move from the location where he first settled, the counties in that area were dividing rapidly. He was taxed first in Franklin County in 1819. When Gasconade County was formed in 1821, he became justice of the peace for Boone Township. Crawford County was formed in 1829, and James became clerk of the probate; his home became a pioneer courthouse. James was listed in Crawford County in 1830, the first surviving census for Missouri. By 1840 his place of residence was in Pulaski County, and he was head of household there. James left a will dated 28 August 1836, in which he called himself “of Crawford County.” The will was proved in 1842 in Pulaski County. In 1857, the area where the Harrisons had settled in 1817 became Phelps County and remains so, the same house having been in five different county jurisdictions.
Missed — But Why?
Although many “missing persons” may be found by using the methods described in this chapter, there undoubtedly are cases in which the
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