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Ancestry Daily News
6/26/2002 - Archive
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Census Wanted, Dead or Alive |
Census Wanted, Dead or Alive
Last week's article on Illinois death records contained an error
which several readers gently pointed out to me. The error had nothing to do
with death records though.
One of the death records discussed was for a Louise Meyers who died in mid-January
of 1920. I made the comment that based upon her death date, Louise would not
be listed in the 1920 census. This was incorrect. The 1920 census was taken
starting on 1 January. The 1920 U.S. census was the first one taken at the beginning
of the year. The dates of census enumeration were as follows:
1790 census taken starting on 2 August 1790
1800 census taken starting on 4 August 1800
1810 census taken starting on 6 August 1810
1820 census taken starting on 7 August 1820
1830-1900 census taken starting on 1 June of the census year.
1910 census was taken starting on 15 April 1910
1920 census was taken starting on 1 January 1920
1930 census was taken starting on 1 April 1930
Obviously every census enumeration was not done on the exact same day for every
household. Enumeration was an ongoing process which was supposed to be done
as expeditiously as possible. Information was also supposed to be provided as
of the census date. This usually was the case, but there are always exceptions
and genealogy somehow seems to center on exceptions. An enumerator could easily
have made a mistake and there is always the chance that an ancestor misunderstood
the question.
Is Louise There?
Based upon her date of death after the actual date of the 1920 census, Louise
should be listed. The only real problem was the potential variants of her surname
of Meyers. Any Soundex-based search (performed by either using the Ancestry.com
indexes or the actual 1920 Illinois Soundex microfilm) should find the reference
if Louise was enumerated with a reasonably correct surname. While a Soundex
search will not cure every census problem, it would have caught the main variants
of Myers, Mayer, Meyer, Meyers, Mayers, etc. in one swoop. Right? Well not exactly.
Don't Get in a Soundex Hurry
The letters "r" and "s" have separate Soundex codes. Meyer, Myer, Mayer, etc.
would be coded as M600. The other main surname variants ending with an "s" (Meyers,
Myers, Mayers, Maiers, etc.) would have Soundex code M620. This difference needs
to be kept in mind when performing any Soundex-based searches. And Soundex does
not solve every census problem.
Was Louise Really Found?
Fortunately, locating Louise in the census was not difficult. She was easily
located in the 1920 census index for Illinois at Ancestry.com. My original search
focused on Hancock County, Illinois. This search was not as specific as her
town of residence because I was not certain where she lived at the time of the
census and was concerned that she might have actually been living in an outlying
township near, but not within, the city of Warsaw. An unusual spelling variant,
census taker error, or difficult-to-read handwriting might also have stymied
my search. Had this happened, a manual search of the actual census records for
Louise should have started in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, which is where
Louise died. This search should have expanded in continually growing circles
until she was located (or I got completely frustrated). Fortunately, Louise
was located in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois, where she was enumerated on
5-6 January 1920.
What Did It Say?
The census entry was not too surprising. I was hoping to find some of Louise's
children living in a house nearby, but none of them appeared near her census
entry. Louise's census entry indicated her father was born in New York State.
Her death certificate indicated her father was born in Illinois.
Illinois Is Quite A Ways From New York
There's an obvious discrepancy in the places of birth listed for Louise's father.
Both the 1920 census entry and Louise's death certificate are secondary sources
for this information on her father. Louise was the likely informant on her 1920
census entry, although it is possible that a neighbor provided the information
for her. Louise was not the informant on her death certificate. Her father,
Peter Bieger, was actually born in Germany, although the exact location is not
known. Peter died when Louise was approximately three years old which could
easily explain the variant places listed for his place of birth. Louise probably
had little memory of her father.
Final Result
I made an assumption I should not have made regarding Louise's entry in the
1920 census. Of course it is the first census taken at the beginning of the
year and the slip is an easy one to make. The mistake was not intentional .
. . although a few readers thought I had inserted the comment to see how many
eagle eye researchers would catch it.
In the case of Louise, correcting the assumption lead to a source I had neglected
to use. In this case, the additional record (the 1920 census) did not provide
any "hot leads." However, in some cases correcting assumptions may lead to untold
discoveries. I should not assume either that the dead were never counted.
Did They Ever Count the Dead?
In this case, Louise was alive as of the date of the census. If your ancestor
died close to the date of the census he may have accidentally been left out
when he should have been counted or enumerated when he should not have been
listed. There are also some census years when there are censuses of the dead.
These mortality censuses list individuals who died during the census year. Federal
mortality censuses were taken in every census year between 1850 and 1880. Not
all of these records have survived to the present date. A mortality census was
to enumerate those who had died in the twelve months before the actual date
of the census (the 1860 federal mortality census was to enumerate those who
died between 1 June 1859 through 31 May 1860). Extant mortality census records
are readily available on microfilm and many have been transcribed and published.
End Result?
Check your assumptions and remember . . . dead or alive, they still may be counted.
Michael John Neill, is the Course I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute
of Mid America (GIMA) held annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also on
the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael is the
Web columnist for the FGS FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois
State Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts seminars and lectures on a
wide variety of genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several
genealogical publications, including Ancestry and Genealogical Computing.
You can e-mail him at: mailto:mneill@asc.csc.cc.il.us
or visit his website at: www.rootdig.com/,
but he regrets that he is unable to assist with personal research.
Copyright 2002, MyFamily.com.
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