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A FEW ANSWERS TO CENSUS QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE BEEN ASKED IN THE PAST
(There may be other answers, but these are the most common explanations I’ve found)
SOME CENSUS RECORD FAQ’S
WHY DID MY ANCESTOR CHANGE HIS NAME?
He probably didn’t.
Most people couldn't read or write and here's what usually happened.
A census
taker, land office person, Justice of the Peace, etc., would ask,
"What's
your name?" The person responded. Then the official wrote down what
he thought he had heard. When a child started school, the teacher asked his name
and the same thing happened. Only this time, he learned to spell it that way so
the family used that spelling from then on, since the parents couldn’t read or write.
As an
example, one of my ancestors was Ransom Waldrope. He went from N.C. to KY about
1810. A teacher in KY taught his children to spell their name Wardrip, and every
Wardrip I've found in this country is descended from him. The Kerstaetter family
became Castator for the same reason.
WHY DID MY ANCESTOR LIE ON THE CENSUS ABOUT WHERE HE WAS BORN?
He probably didn’t. Census takers seem to have often asked, “Where did you come from?” instead of asking, “Where were you born?”
The person often gave his last place of residence. This can be a great find. You may have an ancestor living in Missouri who was born in Kentucky and you’ve found him on one census in KY and the next in MO. If his answer was “Indiana”, you may have just discovered that he spent a few years in Indiana between census years, and between Kentucky and Missouri.
WHY ARE THE CENSUS NAMES AND AGES FOR MY ANCESTOR’S FAMILY ALL JUST SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THEY SHOULD BE?
It was often miles from one farm to the next. If the census taker arrived and no one was home, he sometimes tried to get the information from the next neighbor he visited, so he wouldn’t have to return. They gave the information, as they remembered it. Mary Jane might become Nancy Jane, Obadiah might become Oliver, etc. They guessed at the ages.
WHY ARE THE CENSUS AGES RIGHT FOR THE CHILDREN AND WRONG FOR THE PARENTS ON MY FAMILY?
Sometimes the parents were in the fields and the kids gave the information. This is usually obvious. The kids’ names and ages are correct, the mother’s age too young and the father’s age too old. Kids know each other’s ages, and usually think their mother is young and their father is old.
OTHER COMMON CENSUS DISCREPENCIES
People often simply misunderstood the questions. One woman in 1900 answered the question,“Number of children born to this woman?” with “none”. She had five, all grown and married.
The man probably said, “Do you have children?” and she thought he meant children living with her so she said, “No”.
Children often didn’t like their names, so as soon as they were old enough, they changed them. I have several named Susannah. All of them were Susannah on the census as children, but on their marriage records and later census records, they were “Susan”.
One girl was
Rosanna in the family Bible. She was married as “Rose Ann”, and was just Rose
from then on.
Several girls in my families started using their middle names as first names after they were married. They just changed their names around. Mary F. became Frances M., etc.
One member of my family was named David Peter Baker. On one census he was David P., on the next Peter D., and the next back to David P. I can only assume that the census taker misunderstood what he said.
Sometimes census ages are outright lies. One female that I’m aware of, during the late 1800’s, was listed as 48 years of age on two census records in a row. She kept the ten years off her age until she died at age 93. Her obituary and tombstone both say 83.
Some census takers seem to have been lazy or were just unsure of their spelling. When a woman said her name was Prudence Ann, he might write “Ann”. Some just put down initials.
Some census takers could barely read and write. When using a search engine, be sure to use all possible variations of the name, no matter how silly they sound. I’ve even found Priscilla spelled “Cillar” on a census record.
One census taker in Kentucky was probably a recent German immigrant. He gave everyone in his township a German name. Smith became Schmidt, etc. My Wardrip family became Wardrupt.
Good luck in your searching!
James R. Baker, Jr.
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