Tuesday's Tip: Finding All our grandmothers, Part 2

Census Records

The 1850 through 1930 U. S. Census  reports recorded the names of every member of the household. From 1880 forward, the relationship of each person to the head of household was also recorded.  Look very closely at people in the household who have different surnames.  An aged or widowed parent of the woman of the house may be living with the family, or they may have taken in a deceased brother’s child. 

 Example: The 1850 U.S. Census of Stewart County, Georgia, shows 21 year old Reason Jerkins and his new bride Mary (note that the married within the year columns is checked). My goal is to learn Mary's maiden name.

By 1860, Reason and Mary had moved to Mississippi; the 1860 and 1870 Census reports there record only themselves and their children in the household.  But on the census of Hinds County, MS, we find that the now widowed Mary Jerkins has her widowed mother, Elizabeth Bates living with her.

If we look back at the 1850 Census of Stewart County, Georgia, we notice that the family recorded just above Reason and Mary Jerkins is that of  William Bates, age 21 - of an age to be Mary's brother. And just before William, we find Elizabeth Bates who is likely the same Elizabeth Bates living with Mary Jerkins in 1880.

Tuesday's Tip - Census Spotlight

Immigration and Naturalization

Immigration and Naturalization records can provide substantial information about our ancestors. As with most records, the information collected became more detailed and valuable to the genealogist in later years. Many people do not recognize that the U.S. Census provides clues as to the existence of these records.

1820 - 1830 Census - Both of these census reports had questions about the number of "Foreigners not naturalized" in each household.

These censuses do not identify the person or persons in the household who are aliens, but this clue certainly notifies you to look for known household members in ship’s passenger manifests - beginning in 1820, ship's masters had to provide a list of passengers. They also suggest watching for household members in naturalization records which were usually handled by the local courts during this period.

1870 Census - This census has a column (far right side of the page) for "Male Citizens of the U.S. of 21 years of age and upwards." If you have an immigrant ancestor who has this column checked, it suggests that he had been naturalized - again, check the local courts for naturalization records.  This census also has a column to indicate whether or not the individual's parents were of foreign birth.

1880 to 1930 - All list the birthplace of the person's parents. Foreign births are clues to the existence of passenger lists and naturalization records.

1900 to 1930 - All have columns indicating a foreign born person's natualization status. "AL" indicated alien, not naturalized. "NA" meant that the person had been naturalized, and "PA" indicated that first papers had been filed - the naturalization process was underway but not complete.  The 1920 Census has a column that gives the year of immigration.






 

The "Bad" Census Years

I was talking to a member of my local genealogy society about how his research was going, and he started grumbling about not being able to find his ancestor anywhere but in the bad census years.   He was talking about the pre-1850 census reports, of course, and specifically about the 1840 census report.

A lot of people feel that way about the pre-1850 censuses - since they don't name all of the people in the house, and since they don't give specific ages or other personal details about the members of the household, they are seen as having very little value.  I disagree.

The 1840 census, for example, has this wonderful column in the middle of page two that lists the name and exact age of any Revolutionary War pensioner. These pensioners include the soldiers who served or their widows who received pensions after their husbands' death.

This column, taken from the 1840 Census of Edgecombe County, North Carolina, shows a neighborhood with a high percentage of surviving Revolutionary War vets. The youngest of these pensioners appears to be age 75 - not too surprising when you consider that this is the 1840 census and that the Revolution ended in 1783:

If you find a pensioner living in the household of one of your ancestors, you now have a brand new research tool - the pension file for the Revolutionary War pension that qualified him or her to be recorded in this column. These can be found at the National Archives, at Footnote.com, and at Heritage Quest. Your local State Archives may also have microfilmed copies.

Consider, too, that while it is possible that the pensioner is simply a boarder in the house, it is far more likely that he or she is related to someone in the household.

There is no such thing as a bad census - just some that are preferable to others.