Census Search Tip

I was searching for Elizabeth Siebert on the 1940 census just now and could not find her. I knew she was still alive and living in the Bronx.  Why didn't she come up?

We are told to always search the pages before and after our family to see if other family members are nearby. Using this search technique I then searched for Elizabeth's daughter and son-in-law, Regina and Nicholas Eberhard.  I found them on page one of six of the Morris Street, Bronx section of the census.  The listing showed Nicholas as head with Regina, his wife, and their three children.  No Elizabeth.  I scrolled through the next page of names, nothing. The next page was blank. On page five I found four names. The top one was Elizabeth Siebert, indexed as "Silbert."  It listed Elizabeth as "mother-in-law." 

We have downloaded all the blank census forms that can be found on Ancestry.com. Elizabeth had a notation on Column 3 that stated, "cont. 3." I pulled out the blank form for 1940 and found that Column 3 asks "Number of Household in order of visitation." Going back to page one, I then noticed that Nicholas and Regina were indeed Household number three. 

The other three folks on this last page were Household 30, which had been missed altogether.  Why Elizabeth wasn't counted in the first round and ended up on a census sheet between two blank ones, I will probably never know. I do know that if this form had many more pages, I probably would not have taken the time to search.

Maybe Elizabeth really does want her story to be told. Thanks for guiding my hand.  

A New Year; A Fresh Start

This was a year of transition for us, moving from Newtown, CT to Fredericksburg, VA, and getting settled into our new environment.  Luckily our genealogy files arrived intact, and are housed on shelves in our lower level Hobby Room.  Between unpacking and finding my way around town, I was able to finish the Hardenbrook monograph, and immediately began a monograph of the Tucker family. I made great progress transcribing my great-grandmother’s (Jessie Tucker Agard) diaries, not verbatim, but just jotting down the important vital record information, and other details of importance.  From those diaries I learned about her sister, Addie Tucker’s illness and death that provided an important emotional element to the monograph. 

As the year ended I was successful in getting volunteers from the Field Library in Peekskill to assist in filling genealogy requests from the archives of St. Joseph’s Home.  I am so thankful to Rev. John Higgins for his willingness to keep these archives open.

And speaking of St. Joseph’s Home, I have not given up on my Nunn family line. I just know that someone from the Eberhard family will answer my call.

And there is much to be done in 2013.  I have old photos, lots of them, different sizes, shapes, and conditions.  Sometimes a particular photo will come to mind when I am writing a blog. But where is it? I paw through many archive envelopes, each time telling myself I have to take the time to get all these photos better organized.  Many years after my father died I found his box of slides. Lying on top were yellow lined pages with the number of the slide slot and a description of the slide.  Thanks, Dad, for a great way to organize those photos.

I still have a box of material on the Shepard family that I should delve into again and continue that research.  That box hasn’t been open in almost two years.

And, I need to continue verifying citations of previous work and putting them into the correct format.

I think that's enough for a start in this new year.  I wish everyone much success in their genealogy journeys. 

Mystery Monday - Levine and Cantor

In viewing the Manhattan Bride and Groom Card Certificate #6642 for my relatives Regina Siebert and Nicholas Eberhard the witnesses at the wedding ceremony were Raymond N. Lett and Eva Siebert. But also on the card were the signatures of additional witnesses; I assume those were who witnessed the couple filling out the certificate at the Department of Health. The witnesses were Samuel Levine and Estelle Cantor.  These names are not on my family tree – so who are they?

I scanned the previous card, #6641, and found that Samuel and Estelle were listed as the bride and groom. I then went down to #6643 and found that the witnesses listed for that couple were Regina and Nicholas. I then imagined that each couple in line at the City of New York Department of Health witnessed the signatures of the next couple in line.

Samuel Levine and Estelle Cantor 

If anyone is searching for Russian born Samuel Levine whose father is Joseph Levine or Estelle Cantor from Leeds, England whose mother’s name was Hattie Sacker, here is their Certificate and Record of Marriage.  Enjoy the journey.