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This man is a ghost. His name is Benjamin Harrison Jeffries b.1888 in Marshall, Fauquier County, VA d. 1955 in Marshall. His wife's name was Bertha Dudley b.1891 in Marshall, VA. I've found everything on him except the 1900 Census. I've exhausted all of my resources, no one was able to find anything.
Yep...this is a tough one for sure. Theoretically, he should reside in Fauquier Co., VA in the 1900 census, but there are no guarantees that the family actually lived there during that time.
So there are a couple of things you may be able to do:
1) Loosen your parameters and think more broadly. Instead of sticking to 'Benjamin' as a first name, he may have been known to his family as Harrison or even Harry.
2) You note that he was born in 1888, while his WW1 and WW11 draft registration indicate a birth date of May 1889/90. You could search using wildcards (*) and just look for someone with the first name as Ben* or Har* and last name of Jeff* born May 1889/90 in Virginia.
3) You could hand search the entire Fauquier Co., VA census for 1900...I know...I know...
4) I did a cursory glance of the those names in just Fauquier Co., VA and came up empty so looks like a hand search may yield better results.
5) I'm assuming you don't know who his parents were, but if you can obtain a copy of Ben and Bertha's marriage return, it may have that information on it since they were married after 1900. Once you have their names, you could try to locate them using the names of his siblings or parents.
Sorry I don't have many more suggestions, but there is also the possibility that they were missed. I was researching for a friend and found the family living in the same place in the 1850, 1860 and 1880 census years, but even a hand search didn't turn them up. My guess is that they were missed.
Also, it's possible that he just didn't get enumerated in the 1900 census. I've have a few cases like that. In fact, my one set of grandparents didn't get into the 1940 census, but I'm 100% certain of where they lived at the time, and I found their neighbors on either side listed. They weren't home at the time, and I guess a lazy census taker just didn't go back.
So your guy isn't really a ghost. You evidently have lots of info on him, just not a record of him in the 1900 census.
If he was 12 at the time, he could have been sent out to live and work at a nearby farm. I've had lots of ancestors that farmed out the boys over 10 years old to nearby farms, where they lived and worked as farmhands. In some cases, both the parents AND the farmer/landlord listed the kid, so he's in the census twice. In other cases, neither party listed the kid, probably thinking that the other did so.
Also, it's possible that he just didn't get enumerated in the 1900 census. I've have a few cases like that. In fact, my one set of grandparents didn't get into the 1940 census, but I'm 100% certain of where they lived at the time, and I found their neighbors on either side listed. They weren't home at the time, and I guess a lazy census taker just didn't go back.
So your guy isn't really a ghost. You evidently have lots of info on him, just not a record of him in the 1900 census.
If he was 12 at the time, he could have been sent out to live and work at a nearby farm. I've had lots of ancestors that farmed out the boys over 10 years old to nearby farms, where they lived and worked as farmhands. In some cases, both the parents AND the farmer/landlord listed the kid, so he's in the census twice. In other cases, neither party listed the kid, probably thinking that the other did so.
So how would I find him? I can't find him as a child.
So how would I find him? I can't find him as a child.
Do you have an obituary? If you know when and where he died, try a local newspaper for that area. The local library might have it.
A death certificate might have place of birth. If you are not finding him where you think he ought to be, maybe he was born and lived somewhere else before Marshall.
A manual search of the census, as suggested above, might find him, though it's a pain in the neck to do it. Start with where he was in 1910 and search the same part of the county first. RVcook suggested alternate ways to search for different names, but the surname may be misspelled in the index. If it's really mangled, the search function may have a hard time finding it. Ask me how I know!
It would help us a bit knowing exactly what you're looking for, does "I've found everything on him" mean you know all about him except that one elusive census or do you need his parents, grandparents, etc.
If you're looking for his family, it helps to broaden your search. I don't mean by terms, I mean by looking for other family members and whose living with them.
Like he's here with his grandparents in 1910 as a young married man with his wife and children:
If you're just looking for the Census record, considering he was living with his grandmother in 1910, it wouldn't hurt to look through that branch of the family and where they were living. Chances are people are enumerated at home, but you just don't know where they're going to end up. I have one ancestor whose brother was enumerated twice one year because he was away on business.
It would help us a bit knowing exactly what you're looking for, does "I've found everything on him" mean you know all about him except that one elusive census or do you need his parents, grandparents, etc.
If you're looking for his family, it helps to broaden your search. I don't mean by terms, I mean by looking for other family members and whose living with them.
Like he's here with his grandparents in 1910 as a young married man with his wife and children:
If you're just looking for the Census record, considering he was living with his grandmother in 1910, it wouldn't hurt to look through that branch of the family and where they were living. Chances are people are enumerated at home, but you just don't know where they're going to end up. I have one ancestor whose brother was enumerated twice one year because he was away on business.
I thank you for your help but except for the 1910 census, that's not my family. Jennie C. was Bertha's grandmother, not Ben's. I should've made that more clear. I'm just looking for his parents and that 1900 Census.
The death certificate will very likely give you the names of his parents. That may help you find the census record.
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