US Census Records Can Fool You
The most common problem I’ve heard from genealogists throughout the years is, “I can’t find my ancestor in the census.”
Though censuses might have missed a family, we often find ancestors “hiding” in the census using alternate search strategies. But when we see our ancestors in censuses, should we assume all the information recorded there is accurate? Federal censuses are so common that we sometimes take them for granted. But no researcher is immune from being fooled into thinking they’re inherently correct. And census records are plagued by problems that confuse even seasoned genealogists.
Ages - You’ve likely noticed that some ancestors didn’t age precisely 10 years
between the decennial enumerations. For example, an ancestor that’s 24 in the 1900 census (birth year, c. 1876) might be 36 in the 1910 census (birth year, c. 1874).
This is partially because earlier generations (especially those in an agriculturally-based society) didn’t need to know their exact birthdate. Only in 1935, with the advent of the Social Security program, did that level of detail become relevant. Respondents may have also had reason to fib about age—for example, to avoid military service or to appear older or younger than their spouses.
Names - Census enumerators often spelled names phonetically. These variations
can cause us to miss our ancestors entirely, especially given our increasing reliance on keyword-searching to find records.
To help remedy this, review the actual census images in the neighborhood where you expect to find your ancestor. I’ve lost count of how many “missing” ancestors I have found this way.
You could create a list of all the spelling variations of your ancestor's surnames you find in censuses to help you search for the same variations in other source types.
Ancestor Search has a very good Soundex converter to help with this. http://www.searchforancestors.com/utility/soundex.html
Relationships - As the meat and bones of genealogy, family relationships should be
correct lest we attach ourselves to families we aren’t related to. Beginning in 1880, censuses recorded the relationship of everyone to the head of the household. Like all the information we find in censuses, we should verify those relationships using other reliable sources such as probate, court, tax, and deed records.
Your assumptions - In addition to the common errors within the records themselves,
we also bring our assumptions, which could cause errors as well.
Ways census records can fool us!
Relatives are recorded as boarders, roomers, or lodgers.
Divorcees were recorded as widows.
Assuming the wife is the mother of all the children.
Inconsistent use of first names, middle names, nicknames, and initials.
Always analyze your research before adding it to your records. Remember to include nicknames in your research and record them for future reference. A Source Summary sheet will create a quick reference for your research. Ancestry.com offers free forms at https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Free-Charts-and-Forms?language=en_US.
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