The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-And-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors by Marsha Hoffman Rising Page B
Authors: Marsha Hoffman Rising
Tags: Non-Fiction
Ads: Link
still be able to locate the family later in an unexpected place. Unless a family was making the big jump to California or Oregon, many migrants seemed to go back and forth between their old homes and their new ones. Often they would clear the land and begin establishing a homestead, then return for other family members — or to settle old business, such as a parent's estate. They might be out of the neighborhood temporarily just at the time the census taker was passing through. They
should
have been listed, but weren't.
Perhaps the family moved into a new territory. The area may not yet have been surveyed, or officially organized or attached. Perhaps it was too distant from the seat of government for newcomers to be noticed. In essence, anyone living in unorganized territory was squatting, and the census taker may not have been aware of them. The territory may not have been organized well enough to conduct a careful and comprehensive census. Oregon and California, for example, experienced such floods of new settlers in the mid-nineteenth century that census takers simply could not keep up with the constant flux. We know there are huge gaps in the censuses of both these areas.
Example:
Jacob Alderman appeared in probate court in May 1850 in Polk County, Missouri, asking for guardians to be appointed for John J. and Lucinda Alderman, but did not request that he become one. He cannot be found on that county's census, nor in any neighboring counties or states. He was not on the local 1851 tax list. The conclusion is that he moved that summer from Missouri to an unknown location.
Example:
Walter Anderson and family migrated to California in 1847, and contemporary documents record his presence there soon after his arrival. Before 1850 the family moved to what became Mendocino County; they were among the first Anglo settlers in that area. Although they are listed in the 1852 California state census, they do not appear in the one for 1850.
5. The family was new to the area, so the enumerator was unaware of them even though the community was organized and functional. Newcomers were more likely to be among the missing in a census, because neither the census taker nor the neighbors may have become acquainted with them. This would be true especially if the terrain were mountainous or hilly and the family had settled in a remote “holler.”
6. The family was enumerated, but not in the expected place. Perhaps they moved for a short time to a location unknown to you. As new territories opened, people often moved into them for short periods of time to determine whether the area was suitable for permanent settlement. Sometimes they stayed; sometimes they became “go-backers” who returned to prior residences. If such moves occurred during the year the census was taken, you may think that the family was missed, when actually they are listed in a different location.
Example:
An extensive genealogy of the Dooley family produced a detailed biographical sketch of a man I was researching. Yet, the compiler did not know that for about four years, between 1836 and 1840, John Dooley had lived in Southwest Missouri. He does not appear in the 1840 census there, nor in the area where he lived in 1850. Where was he in 1840? Apparently, he was missed because he was between a residence in Southwest Missouri and one in the northwest part of the state.
7. Sometimes a family moved but did not follow normal migration patterns, or did not move with the expected neighbors and friends.
Example:
Some Kentucky migrants can be found listed in the northwestern third of Illinois in the 1830s. This is not where one would expect southerners to migrate because the area has an entirely different climate. However, that area was the site of early 1812 bounty land warrants. Most of these migrants did not remain long and moved within a few years to areas that were more familiar, or to which extended family members had already moved.
8. Death and the remarriage
should
have been listed, but weren't.
Perhaps the family moved into a new territory. The area may not yet have been surveyed, or officially organized or attached. Perhaps it was too distant from the seat of government for newcomers to be noticed. In essence, anyone living in unorganized territory was squatting, and the census taker may not have been aware of them. The territory may not have been organized well enough to conduct a careful and comprehensive census. Oregon and California, for example, experienced such floods of new settlers in the mid-nineteenth century that census takers simply could not keep up with the constant flux. We know there are huge gaps in the censuses of both these areas.
Example:
Jacob Alderman appeared in probate court in May 1850 in Polk County, Missouri, asking for guardians to be appointed for John J. and Lucinda Alderman, but did not request that he become one. He cannot be found on that county's census, nor in any neighboring counties or states. He was not on the local 1851 tax list. The conclusion is that he moved that summer from Missouri to an unknown location.
Example:
Walter Anderson and family migrated to California in 1847, and contemporary documents record his presence there soon after his arrival. Before 1850 the family moved to what became Mendocino County; they were among the first Anglo settlers in that area. Although they are listed in the 1852 California state census, they do not appear in the one for 1850.
5. The family was new to the area, so the enumerator was unaware of them even though the community was organized and functional. Newcomers were more likely to be among the missing in a census, because neither the census taker nor the neighbors may have become acquainted with them. This would be true especially if the terrain were mountainous or hilly and the family had settled in a remote “holler.”
6. The family was enumerated, but not in the expected place. Perhaps they moved for a short time to a location unknown to you. As new territories opened, people often moved into them for short periods of time to determine whether the area was suitable for permanent settlement. Sometimes they stayed; sometimes they became “go-backers” who returned to prior residences. If such moves occurred during the year the census was taken, you may think that the family was missed, when actually they are listed in a different location.
Example:
An extensive genealogy of the Dooley family produced a detailed biographical sketch of a man I was researching. Yet, the compiler did not know that for about four years, between 1836 and 1840, John Dooley had lived in Southwest Missouri. He does not appear in the 1840 census there, nor in the area where he lived in 1850. Where was he in 1840? Apparently, he was missed because he was between a residence in Southwest Missouri and one in the northwest part of the state.
7. Sometimes a family moved but did not follow normal migration patterns, or did not move with the expected neighbors and friends.
Example:
Some Kentucky migrants can be found listed in the northwestern third of Illinois in the 1830s. This is not where one would expect southerners to migrate because the area has an entirely different climate. However, that area was the site of early 1812 bounty land warrants. Most of these migrants did not remain long and moved within a few years to areas that were more familiar, or to which extended family members had already moved.
8. Death and the remarriage
Similar Books
![Taming Heather [Cariboo Lunewulf 1]](https://fs.ageofbook.com/447568/thumbs/152x264/taming-heather-cariboo-lunewulf-1.jpg)
