All Those Conflicting Clues in Census Records

 As a baby genealogist, I had no idea what to do with all the conflicting clues I found in census records. Over time, I learned that these things should be noted, highlighted, and eventually resolved. I also started to understand how these conflicts occurred in the first place. 

AGES

How could someone age only five years within a ten-year period? People didn't always know exactly when they were born or how old they really were. The person providing the information might have been a child or a neighbor who was just guessing at the ages. And of course, there were times when people just lied. Perhaps a woman didn't want everyone to know she was ten years older than her husband. All these things get noted and can provide clues to one's actual age.

PLACE OF BIRTH

How could someone be born in Pennsylvania on one census and in Ohio on the next? This was a bit trickier. Since we don't know who provided the information (except in the 1940 census), they may be only guessing. Sometimes people don't realize they may have been born in Pennsylvania because they moved to Ohio when they were very, very young - and Ohio was the only home they knew growing up. Sometimes a boundary may have changed. There are lots of reasons for this confusion. 

Sometimes the names of countries change. For example, on one census, a person might be listed as born in Germany. In the next census, they could be listed as born in Austria-Hungary. Clues are noted and eventually dealt with — in this case by understanding history and boundary changes and by looking at maps.

NUMBER OF CHILDREN

Another conflicting clue in the census is in the 1900 census, when a woman was asked how many children she had given birth to. What if they say seven and you are sure it was only four? That's a great clue because it means you should be looking for additional children that were born and likely died before the census was taken. 

YEARS

Sometimes you have to look at a date as more of a range. For example, on the censuses that provide an immigration year, it could be off by one year or five. The person giving the information might be guessing. Or the person just forgot exactly what year it was. The farther they get away from the event, the more likely errors can creep in. 

RESOLVING CONFLICTING CLUES

Census records can be a gold mine for genealogists. They are typically the low-hanging fruit that enables you to track where a person was every ten years. But they can't be taken as the gospel truth. 

Enumerators were human. They made mistakes. They had to make copies of the information they gathered, so there is a risk of errors. Reading the enumerator's instructions can help you understand why they might have written something puzzling to you.

Make sure you are pulling out every piece of information from the censuses. Spend time correlating the pieces, resolving any conflicts you encounter.

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This Week's #52Ancestors Prompt is CONFLICTING CLUES.

Those Big Decisions That My Relatives Made

This week's #52Ancestors prompt, Big Decisions, got me thinking about 

decisions made by relatives that impacted their lives.

My maternal grandmother, Stella Edwards Butzek, made the decision as a young woman to move to Chicago to find work. This turned out to be a good decision as she met and married my grandfather, Anthony Butzek. As a young married couple with a young child, they made the decision to move to southern Illinois, where Anthony farmed and worked the coal mines. After Anthony's untimely death in a mining accident, my grandmother made the decision, yet again, to move to Chicago where she spent the rest of her life.

My paternal grandparents, George Michael Martin and Florence Halliday Martin, made the decision to move from Albia, Iowa, to West Frankfort, Illinois, as newlyweds. It's not clear what prompted this decision, but I suspect the coal mines in Iowa were close to being played out, and they saw a better financial future in southern Illinois. They raised two children and spent the rest of their lives in West Frankfort.

I had several relatives who made the big decision to immigrate to the United States. These included my grandfather, Anthony Butzek, who came over in 1909 with his family. He was just a toddler and obviously had no say in the matter, but his parents made that decision. Perhaps it was for a better life; perhaps there were legal issues in the old country, as the family stories suggest. 

My paternal Halliday great-grandparents moved from County Durham, England, to Iowa, from one coal-mining area to another. And it was a successful move. My paternal Clark great-great-grandparents moved from Lanark County, Scotland, to Iowa, stopping first in Ohio. Despite the challenges, life was reasonably good for them. 

Further back in time, I had relatives who decided to move westward. They moved from North Carolina to Tennessee and Kentucky, finally ending up in southern Illinois, although some ended up in Texas and Oregon. 

What caused all these people to pack up and make these moves? More land, better opportunities, anti-slavery sentiments, or a combination of things that made the decision easier? Did they have so little that packing up and moving wasn't a big deal? I can't answer these questions—I can only speculate. Whatever the reasons, I am grateful for these moves. Because in the end, it gave me a better life!

What The Census Suggests??

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

Favorite Photo - with Grandma and Grandpa Martin

One of my favorite photos has always been this one. It was taken in early 1952. The photo is of my grandparents, George Michael "Mike" Martin and Florence Halliday Martin, holding their first grandchild - me!!

My grandparents were a handsome couple. They were in their early 50's in this photo. It was likely taken in front of their home in West Frankfort, Illinois, and based on the way we are dressed, it was likely in the spring of that year. I think they both look proud of their granddaughter, and I hope I've made them proud over the years by telling their stories!

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This Week's #52Ancestors Prompt is Favorite Photo.