NERGC-2017 - Finding Someone Who Eluded Census Records

Directions to the Springfield, MA Civic Center provided by the New England Regional Genealogical Society were easy to follow. We exited I-91 at Columbus Street, onto Main Street, and within a few blocks was the Civic Center where the Fourteenth New England Regional Genealogical Conference was being held. Excitement was mounting!

Parking was right across the street; registration was easy. While we waited to meet our friends Wally and Marian for lunch, we had a long chat with speaker DonnaMoughty. We first met Donna when we lived in Newtown, CT, and she spoke to our newly formed genealogy club. Donna now lives in Florida, is a member of the Manatee Genealogical Society, as are we, so we see her there as well. It was nice to have a chance to visit in Springfield. Donna is a professional genealogist specializing in Irish research along with U.S. research, methodology and technology including Macs, iPhones and iPads.  She provides research, consultations and training. She is one busy lady!

After a delicious lunch at the Red Rose restaurant, my first NERGC session was Finding Someone Who Eluded Census Records, by Carol Prescott McCoy.

There are different types of censuses. The population census is the most used, but there are also industrial, agricultural, Veteran’s, some state censuses, and slave schedules. Note the date when the census was taken, i.e. in 1920, the date was 1 January. Check every year, every type. People moved and could have been missed. Or they were too far out in the country, in dangerous territory, where the census taker didn’t want to go. Sometimes ancestors are listed twice, if they were traveling between residences. And these could contain different information!

Copy/download entire census page to capture neighbors for future searches. Record all members of the household. Sometimes boarders or “servants” can be relatives. Record names, ages, and places exactly as in the census.

Name spelling issues are the most common. Try every variation. If that doesn’t work, find neighbors from previous census. If your ancestors stayed in the same place, finding the neighbors will locate your people. This was the only way we were able to find my New York City Nunn family in the 1900 census. When the census taker was told the last name was Nunn, he thought he was being told “none.” After several attempts at this misunderstanding, he finally wrote the deceased father’s first name “Joseph,” as the last name, scribbled in with the wife’s first name – a real mess. I located them because I found a 1905 New York Times article where Elizabeth Nunn (eldest daughter) sued her neighbor for return of money Elizabeth had entrusted with the woman in 1900. When I untangled that mess, I found the family!

Census Substitutes. Town records, tax lists, school lists, old maps, town histories, voter lists are all places where your ancestors’ histories reside. Hubby and I developed an 1890 Census Substitute for Newtown, Connecticut by using tax records, school and voter lists, and some church records. It was our hope that other towns would follow suit in order to fill in this 20 year gap.

My best takeaways: Develop a census database. This can be done for each person or by family, to sort by last name as well as date. Develop a timeline (I did that years ago, but it is a good reminder to review and update.) FAN Club - Follow friends, associates and neighbors. Be flexible!

Census Search Techniques

As seasoned genealogists we are adept at using the census in our research. In fact, we know to start with the census. We know to follow our family lines back through the census, and we know about cluster genealogy, that families oftentimes traveled together.

At NGS last week we had the opportunity to hear a presentation by Jason B. Harrison, CG^sm of Family Search explain additional strategies in census searches.

Jason reminded his audience that they might be searching the wrong name or wrong location. Their ancestor’s name could be misspelled, or information was given by a neighbor who was unsure of the spelling. There could be a transcription error, and/or the name could be illegible. Some techniques for dealing with these situations are:

• In Ancestry’s search box, provide minimal information. Start with just the basics;
• Try checking the “Exact Match” box;
• Use surname and location only;
• Do a Soundex search;
• Use Wildcards.  A question mark (?) replaces one character, an asterisk (*) replaces zero or more characters;
• Know your ancestors’ nicknames – for a listing go to Family Search Wiki
• Search for middle names or initials – quite often first and middle names became interchangeable as the decades passed;
• Leave out the name entirely and search on location, date/place of birth;
• Search for other family members;
• Search for a street address.  Utilize city directories for addresses; SteveMorse.org for Enumeration Districts;
• Search neighbors.  If your family is missing in a census year, try searching their neighbors from the decade before. You family might still be there, just not indexed appropriately.

Although Jason had some great examples, my family provides a great one as well. I could not find my Nunn family in the 1900 census. I wonder why?

Joseph Nunn family indexed with surname "Joseph"

I don't blame the indexer for this one. The father, Joseph Nunn, had just died. He left his wife, Catherine, who had mental health issues and eight children, ranging in age from 13 years to one month. When the census enumerator arrived at their door, I am sure Catherine did not understand what was asked. When asked her last name she responded, "Nunn." They probably thought she said, "none."  When pressed, she gave her husband's name, Joseph. That is how the family is recorded. To find them I had to search on the neighbor's name of Lewis, which I only found when Elizabeth sued them in 1905.