Have you ever “lost” an ancestor in the U.S. Census? I have at least two missing ancestors, a second great-grandfather in 1870 and an uncle in 1950. I know both were alive when the censuses were taken. but they are stubbornly hiding.
There can be several explanations for missing people in the censuses. The most common is that a copyist transcribing the census taker’s field notes to the official forms skipped a line. The census taker could also have missed a member of the household or failed to return to a home if the residents were out when he called. Sometimes they got information from neighbors which can open the door to errors occurring in ages and members of the household.
But if you have a nagging feeling the ancestor is in the census, there are a few tips you can try.
If you know they were living in a certain county, then read the census for the entire county, not just the town they lived in. If that doesn’t help, read the adjoining counties. Keep in mind that county and town lines change over time and that new counties can be formed from parts of others. Piscataquis County is a perfect example: It absorbed portions of neighboring counties when it was created.
And don’t forget that people moved around frequently. You may not realize a family member was living in a different community when a census was taken.
You can also search for in-laws, relatives, children’s names or any other person who might be hosting the missing ancestor. Watch out for stepchildren. They may be shown with their stepfather’s surname, not their birth name.
If an ancestor had a nickname, be sure you search under that as well as the given name at birth. John and Jack are an example, as would be Lottie and Charlotte. If an ancestor used their middle name, search for that as well. My Uncle Ben was known by his middle name, Aubrey, for years and is enumerated in some censuses under that name.
If you haven’t figured it out already, spelling years ago was a creative art in that officials often recorded a name by how it sounded, not how it was spelled. This often happened with foreign names but also more traditional English surnames. Think of Batchelder, Bacillor, Bachelor and other variations. So be creative when you search. Try different spellings and don’t skip possible hits because they aren’t exactly the spelling you use. This is a problem for new genealogists who don’t realize how spelling was often in the ear.
Also, keep in mind that indexers make mistakes. Old records can be difficult to read and transcribe as ink fades, the handwriting may have been hard to read, and an unfamiliarity with an area may make it challenging to differentiate between names such as Brown and Brawn, for example.
So, if you have a missing-in action-ancestor, try some of these tips. I hope they help.
Columnist Nancy Battick of Dover-Foxcroft has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UM. Reader emails are welcome at nbattick@roadrunner.com.
