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While trying to trace my family back through and out of the US, I came to a dead end on both sides of the family.
Now that we can look at the actual census records, I eventually found that the census takers had misspelled first and last names. These were not trivial errors, as new family lines resulted in the record stream.
Once I realized this, I spent a great deal of time accounting for census errors and eventually all cross checked and I got back to Europe.
My question is, what do you do about these errors? You cannot change the census documents. Is there anywhere that these errors can be documented?
I am the only one left that has the family knowledge to be able to understand and document the errors. Does anyone care other than myself?
While trying to trace my family back through and out of the US, I came to a dead end on both sides of the family.
Now that we can look at the actual census records, I eventually found that the census takers had misspelled first and last names. These were not trivial errors, as new family lines resulted in the record stream.
Once I realized this, I spent a great deal of time accounting for census errors and eventually all cross checked and I got back to Europe.
My question is, what do you do about these errors? You cannot change the census documents. Is there anywhere that these errors can be documented?
I am the only one left that has the family knowledge to be able to understand and document the errors. Does anyone care other than myself?
I found the same things. I don't think there's any way to make changes but I think it's important that we keep our OWN records accurate. I've found everything from misspelled names to the wrong birth states listed. Out of four different census records my grandad's birthplace was accurate only ONCE. I suppose that could've been the fault of the person giving the info. but it was usually my grandma and she KNEW where he was born. Another thing that surprised me was finding family in entirely different states than where they actually lived. I'm thinking they might have just been visiting when the census was done so that's not entirely correct either. For instance, my grandparents lived in CO from 1895 to 1925 but they were included in the 1910 KS census living/visiting with (?) my grandmother's sister's family. My great grandma lived in San Diego, CA but is listed in AZ in the 1930 census. That WAS a case of being a visitor included in the census. These cases aren't because the census takers were wrong though.
For the record, I care, but also know there's nothing we can do about it.
Census data is notoriously unreliable and accounting for errors is just a part of research. Ancestry.com allows members to enter alternate indexing so corrections can be listed too - and you can leave comments on records. But if you want to preserve your research for future generations, make copies of all your records and sources and pass all of it along to someone who cares.
Misspelled names are the least of your worries. Wait until you get an incorrect gender! Or an age that's 10+ years off. Incorrect marriage statuses. There's occasionally some people listed twice on the same census. I'm still trying to figure out how my 2nd great grandfather was recorded on the 1930 census when he died in 1921!
My families records are highly accurate from one listing to another, IF you can find them all throughout the name errors.
Speaking of gender, one of the errors was on my mothers fathers first name. You can see on the census form where it was changed to "Guy". His name was "Fay" and I believe that someone decided "Fay" was a female name and changed it.
I found my fathers side of the family and all was OK. I then looked for my immediate family of six and we were nowhere to be found! None of us existed in the 1940 census and yet my fathers side of the family, from the same county, were all there. Well, our perfect records were all there but under the wrong name!
So I guess I'll document all the corrections just for giggles.
...There's occasionally some people listed twice on the same census. I'm still trying to figure out how my 2nd great grandfather was recorded on the 1930 census when he died in 1921!
LOL PA2UK...I think trying to figure THAT one out would definitely keep me awake at night!!!
I have found on at least two occasions that I remember, that people were listed twice. In one instance I believe it was because they moved from one home to another and the census taker did not get to their new location until after they had relocated. In the other instance, it involved an ancestor's husband who was also recorded as living alone in an apartment building. Hmmmmmm....gotta wonder about that one!
And errors?...don't even get me started! I spent 3 hours last night searching for ancestors and ended up submitting at least ELEVEN corrections to census records on Ancestry...and that is just for MY lineage! Good grief! Can you imagine how many errors there are for lines not being tracked?!?!
The key thing to distinguish is between errors on the actual census record... where the census taker wrote down the wrong information... and errors on the index to the census. Errors on the census record cannot be changed, period. But errors on the index, because it is contemporary work, and is computerized, sometimes can be corrected, especially if it involves typographical errors in transcribing the original hand-written records. Whichever index you are using, check to see how errors can be reported.
I was fortunate to check both lines of my family in the 1940 census shortly after the indexing was completed by the County Historical Society. On my father's side I found my grandfather's household by last name. On my mother's side I did not. Fortunately I knew the address, so I found them that way, and discovered the indexer had read the name wrong. I reported it, with corroborating details, including my relationship with them, and reference back to the 1930 census, and the index has already been corrected.
I was really lucky with the errors because when a major one was discovered I was a member of an online UK genealogy group based in the area I was researching. I had asked for a census lookup for my grandfather and I got an answer: Sheffield, England. wrong.
Although that's what it said on the census, it was corrected by someone in the group who still lived in the area. When he looked on the census records he realized that the district and "Sheffield" didn't match, couldn't have existed. He provided me with the name of the tiny village that probably sounded like Sheffield to the census enumerator. Real live people who still lived there---Ancestry.com couldn't have done this.
I don't want to change it but I would agree that if there is an index to the census, that should and could be changed. I hadn't thought of that.
Errors on the census record cannot be changed, period.
They can't be changed on the actual record but as I said, Ancestry.com allows you to add alternate indexing and gives you the option to choose either "Transcription error" (incorrect index) OR "Incorrect in image" (original document incorrect enumerated). This does not change the indexing, just adds an alternate and notes that it's an error on the original record. Of course this is only beneficial to Ancestry.com users but I still find it a very effective system to noting enumeration errors.
In one census, my Grandmother and her siblings were listed as living with the neighbors as their step-children. Their parents were clearly listed as living next door. Perhaps they were just over there playing when the census taker came by.. who knows, but I know it is not correct.
In one census, my Grandmother and her siblings were listed as living with the neighbors as their step-children. Their parents were clearly listed as living next door. Perhaps they were just over there playing when the census taker came by.. who knows, but I know it is not correct.
OK...now that's just too funny...
RVcook
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