Finding All of Grandma Henrietta's Children in the 1920 US Census

Happy 143d birthday, Grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk, born on May 9, 1881 in Latvia. 

In January of 1920, the US Census taker listed you, Grandma, with your husband and one of four children in a big apartment building in New York City. I found you there when I was cranking microfilm to look at this Census maybe 20 years ago, before digitization and indexing made it faster and easier to locate ancestors. Neither you nor Grandpa Isaac had been naturalized at the time, as indicated by the "al" status in the column at right. 

Look at surrounding Census pages

Creative spelling for these names, but recognizable as you and Grandpa and your older daughter at the bottom of a page. Wait, what? The other three children were not on the next page nor on the previous page!? Puzzling, but I was certain the rest of the family couldn't be very far away. Luckily, I had already learned to check a page or two back and a page or two forward, so I kept cranking the microfilm.

Whew, your two sons and younger daughter were two pages away, at the top of the sheet. Here they are, shown as son, daughter, son. Harold D Berk [sic] is my Dad, so I figured out very quickly who these people were and who they belonged to, even though they were NOT the children of the last person on the previous page.

What did the enumerator do?

Today, with 26 years of experience in genealogy research, I can understand why Grandma Henrietta was not enumerated with all of her children. Here's the story as I pieced it together.

That enumerator stopped work early on Sunday, the 4th of January, 1920, before counting all the households at 1642/1644 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. He finished the bottom of your page and left. You and your husband and older daughter were listed as "number of family in order of visitation #62." Remember that number 62, which is shown before the surname on the Census sheet.

On Monday, the 5th of January, the enumerator returned to the area but didn't start with your apartment or even your building, I can see by looking at the page after you. Then, two pages after you, I found your other three children finally enumerated on the 5th of January. It's a good thing I recognized the names. 

But the enumerator did leave an important clue: #62, number of family in order of visitation. With that number, he was linking Harold, Miriam, and Sidney to #62 family in order of visitation, the household of Henrietta & Isaac, which he had enumerated two pages before at this address. I just didn't have enough experience and knowledge decades ago to decode his Census entry indicating these three names were actually the children of the parents at family #62.

Thinking of you, Grandma Henrietta, on this anniversary of your birth.

Instructions for 1950 US Census Enumerators: The Fine Print

In previous posts, I've highlighted elements of the Enumerator's Reference Manual that was the training guide for how the 1950 U.S. Census was conducted. You can read or download the main manual here.

Supplemental Manual

Today, I'm looking at the supplement to the main manual. You can read and download it here.

This supplemental manual includes detailed instructions for how enumerators should list people in five specific areas, as shown in the excerpt here. 

If you suspect you have ancestors who might be enumerated in one of these five types of areas, it's worth checking the instructions in this brief, 16-page supplement.

Reading the Fine Print

The fine print explains who should be enumerated as living at one of these areas, versus who should be enumerated at their regular residence. For instance, staff members who have living quarters at a hospital, mental institution, or prison would be enumerated there. Staff members who don't regularly live on-site would be enumerated at their usual residence, according to the fine print.

Knowing that enumeration of large institutions might require many hours, enumerators were instructed to determine which inmates might be leaving on April 1, and count them before they depart. Also, when new inmates entered an institution on April 1, enumerators had to determine whether they were enumerated at a different residence--and if not, count them as living at the institution. My guess is that there will be some overlap or omissions or both.

Patient, orphan, prisoner?

The supplemental manual tells enumerators what to label each person who lives in an institution, as shown here. The idea is to show the relationship of each person to the institution.

"Inmate" is only to be used if the other descriptions aren't descriptive enough.

Glance at the supplement if you think an ancestor might be enumerated in one of the five special areas, because the instructions will help you interpret what you see in the 1950 Census.

PS: For more about preparing for the 1950 US Census release in 2022, please see my special page here.

The Rinehart Brick Wall on Hubby's Tree

 

One big brick wall is going further back on my husband's family tree beyond great-great-grandfather Joseph Rinehart (1806-1888), who was born in Pennsylvania.

 By 1850, he is farming in Crawford County, Ohio, shown in the U.S. Census (above) with his wife Margaret Shank Rinehart (1807-1873) and their children. We know who they are--they were named by my husband's grandfather as ancestors, and the paper trail of genealogical evidence confirms this.

Looking at the household on this Census page, the final name listed is "Elizabeth Rinehart," age 76, born in PA. 

Is Elizabeth my husband's 3d great-grandma?

My working hypothesis (not a great leap) is that Elizabeth is Joseph's mother, living with him after being widowed. There is an Elizabeth Rinehart buried in Oceola #2 Cemetery, Crawford County, Ohio (where others from the same family are buried). She died on June 15, 1850, at the age of 74 years (and some months/days). 

Knowing that ages recorded in the Census aren't always accurate, and knowing how many other descendants are buried in this same cemetery, I'm strongly leaning toward accepting Elizabeth as Joseph's mother--making her my hubby's great-great-great grandmother. As of now, I have no clue about the name or dates for hubby's great-great-great grandfather, who left Elizabeth widowed.

Did Elizabeth die before being listed in the Census?

Note that the 1850 U.S. Census was taken "as of" June 1. However, the actual date on the excerpt above is November 5. Yet the Elizabeth in the local cemetery died in mid-June. Did the Census enumerator include her in Joseph's household anyway, because she was alive as of June 1? As wonderful reader Linda correctly notes, the enumerator was supposed to include her even if she died after June 1. Or is it possible that these two Elizabeth Rineharts are different people?

The Elizabeth in the Oceola Cemetery died on June 15, which means she will not be included in the Census Mortality Schedule covering the year June 1, 1849-May 31, 1850. 

Despite contacting the local historical society and the local town clerk, I was unable to locate any death certificate from Crawford County, Ohio to get more information about Elizabeth. No local news reports, no compiled obits. I doubt she had a will. It's more likely that her late husband left any property or valuables to their children.

In another attempt to pierce this brick wall, I'm going down the list of possible data sources in the Family Search wiki page for Crawford County, hoping to spot something I haven't yet searched or browsed.

--

"Brick wall" is this week's prompt for the #52Ancestors challenge!

One Year from Today: 1950 US Census Release!

Just a year from today, on April 1, 2022, the 1950 U.S. Census will be released! 

Are you ready?

Understand what enumerators were told to ask and how they were told to write down answers by looking at the "Urban & Rural Enumerator's Reference Manual" for the 1950 Census. You can access a free copy online through this link.

For more background about the U.S. Census, you can download a free copy of  "Measuring America" from this link.

Initially, no index or transcriptions will be available. Many groups are gearing up to tackle that monumental effort. So on the first day, you will be able to look for ancestors only by browsing images of the population schedule of the enumeration district (ED) where they lived.

For more details on how to prepare for the 1950 Census release, read the "Getting Ready" Steve Morse 1-Step page. And don't miss a single one of Joel Weintraub's informative, step-by-step videos here.

Also please look at my 1950 Census blog posts, which focus on issues such as how enumerators were told to record answers to the question "where were you born?" and other unique quirks of this mid-century Census.

One year from today, I'll be glued to my computer screen, diving into the first Census where my parents were enumerated as a married couple! Who will you be looking for?

Census Day Wasn't Always April 1st

Who cares when the Census was taken? 

Turns out, knowing when Census Day falls can be helpful in narrowing down possible birth, marriage, and death dates.

One New York ancestor was enumerated with her parents in the 1900 US census, then with her husband in the 1905 NY state census, taken on June 1st. By searching between June, 1900 and May, 1905, and using creative spelling, I was able to find her marriage in early 1905.

By the time of the 1910 US census, she and her husband had one daughter...later that year, after Census Day, another daughter was born who wouldn't show up in a NY state census until 1915.

For the upcoming release of the 1950 US Census, I was particularly interested that enumerators were required to fill out a separate Infant Card for every baby born in January, February, or March of that year. If someone was born in the census year of 1950 a few days or weeks before the Census Day of April 1st, there will be an Infant Card for that person, loaded with extra details about the parents and the baby! Unfortunately, Infant Cards were not retained so we never saw those. Darn it.

Census Day Was Not Always Fixed

As shown in the graphic at top, Census Day wasn't always one fixed date. Early in the nation's history, enumerators visited households to record information as of the "first Monday in August." The idea was to avoid taking farmers out of the fields during planting or harvesting.

In 1830, Census Day was standardized as June 1st, another date that didn't conflict with agricultural responsibilities.

In 1910, the date was changed to April 15th...in 1920, the date became January 1st...and then, in 1930, the date was fixed as April 1st, where it remains.

I like to keep this list of Census Day dates handy so I can correlate with other clues as I research my family's past.

What Future Genealogists Will Learn from the 2020 US Census

Page 1 of the 2020 Census questionnaire

Attending a presentation by local representatives of the 2020 US Census, I learned that in the year 2092, when the records are publicly released, future genealogists will be able to see some very valuable pieces of information. (You can browse the entire 2020 questionnaire here.)

Page 2 of 2020 Census

One key piece of info is the month, day, and year of birth for each person in the household, to be entered on page 2 of the Census questionnaire.

Future genealogists will be able to look for a birth cert, compare with age shown on other documents, match someone to a marriage license or other vital record, and so on--with more confidence because they will have the complete birth date, not just "age" or birth month and year.

I was surprised but interested to learn that another question (on page 1) is about whether a person in the household (1) owns the residence clear and free of a mortgage, (2) has a mortgage, or (3) is not paying rent. Clues to seeking deeds, taxes, and other records!

2020 Census questions about usual residence
and relationship to head of household

Happily for future genealogists, the 2020 Census asks specific questions about whether each person usually lives in this residence AND about exactly how each person in the household is related to the head of household (Person 1).

Look at the many answer alternatives shown in the excerpt above! 

These two questions will elicit incredibly valuable information for future genealogists. Question #2 will point toward where the person's usual residence is (such as with another relative or in the military). Question #3 will tell, with great precision, how each person is related to the head of the household--clues to filling in gaps in the family tree!

Future genealogists, there may not be many questions on the 2020 Census form, but there will be several top-quality clues to be followed up. Yes, I'm going to answer the Census as fully and completely as possible. You'll be able to find me and my family in 72 years, I promise.