My grandfather, Anton, came to the U.S. in 1909 at age two, along with his mother, Maria, age 25; brother Gustav, age 4; sister Milada, age 10 months; and stepbrother or uncle, Kasimir, age 17 (he was listed as a brother-in-law but was going to his father Anton). They were on the way to join their father/husband, Anton Martinek, in Dillonvale, Jefferson County, Ohio.
I had difficulty finding the family in the 1910 census. But while searching for the children, I eventually stumbled upon the following family living in Jefferson County, Ohio.
- Menson, Andros, head, M, W, aged 37, Married 2, married for 4 years. B AustPolish, F & M B AustPolish, arrival 1909, Alien, Polish Language, Miner, Coal Mine. Can read but not write. Rents a home.
- ---Mary, wife, F, W, Age 25, Married 1, 4 years. B AustPolish, F & M B AustPolish, arrival 1909, Polish language.
- --- Gustava, son, M, W, aged 5, single, B AustPolish, F & M B AustPolish
- --- Andy, son, M, W, age 3, single, b. AustPolish, F & M B AustPolish
- --- Milada, daughter, F, W, aged 1 year 6 months, single, B AustPolish, F & M B AustPolish
- --- Albert, son, M, W, aged 0 months, B Ohio. F & M B AustPolish
- Butcher, Albert, Border [sic], M, W, age 32, single, AustPolish F & M AustPolish, arrival 1909, Alien, Polish language, Miner, Coal Mine.
- --- Cozina, Border [sic], M, W, age 17, single, AustPolish, F & M B AustPolish, arrival 1909, alien, Miner, Coal Mine.
Was this the family? And if it was, why were they using different last names? Did this provide evidence that the head of the family was always one step ahead of the law, or was there something else going on?
Analysis of the records
- The record is clear and easy to read.
- The enumerator was Wilbur Welday. He appears to be a 20-year-old, native born teacher. So perhaps he struggled with understanding the heavy accents of the people he was enumerating. This family had only been here a few months at the time of enumeration.
- The immediate neighborhood was full of Austrian, Polish-speaking coal miners.
- I found no other census record that provides a match for the names of the wife and children.
- The names of the wife and children all match except for Andy, who is likely my grandfather Anton. He may have been called Antony, and if you say that quickly, it may sound like Andy. This can't be said, however, of the last name Menson. There does not seem to be any way to pronounce Martinek that would sound like Menson.
- There is also a bit of confusion about Albert. His birth date was actually in 1911, and his brother Rudolph was born in March of 1910, but there's more mystery surrounding those two, which I won't go into here. Both were born in Jefferson County, Ohio.
- Because of the specifics of the names, ages, and other information, it seems unlikely that a neighbor provided the information.
- Gustava was listed as age five but Andros and Mary were married four years ago.
So, who are the two boarders? I suspect that Albert Butcher may, in fact, be Albert Butzek. In May of 1912, Mary or Maria divorced her husband, Anton Martinek, while living in Vermilion County, Illinois. In May of 1913, she and Albert Butzek would be married in Vermillion County.
In 1920, the Ivan Butcek family (yes, it's another weird census) was still living in Vermillion County. In the same household was a man named Charlie, aged 37. The age is off, but this might be the person listed as Cozina Butcher in the 1910 census.
Or perhaps Cozina was Kazimir, who came over with Mary and her children, and he was inadvertently enumerated as Cozina Butcher. This is yet another mystery in this family.
Do I have the right family? I think the answer is yes. But there is no answer to why they use the name "Menson" or why Anthony is "Andros". This man, who is my great-grandfather, remains a mystery. He disappeared after the divorce, and although there are a couple of possibilities for him, in 1920, I can't find an entry that I can definitively say is him.
This census entry raises more questions than it answers. But it suggests that Andros/Anthony might have been hiding his identity. There are all sorts of rumors about him -- this census just adds to the mystery.
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This week's #52Ancestors prompt is WHAT THE CENSUS SUGGESTS
