Here she is, all dolled up for Easter, in a 1913 photo that I've colorized using My Heritage's photo enhancement tools. What an adorable face (made clearer by My Heritage)!
Shown at left is the postcard from his aunt, "Nellie" Wood Kirby (1864-1954) and her husband, Arthur Kirby (1860-1939).
Nellie was an older sister of Wallis's father, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939).
Nellie was living in a nursing home when she died, and I haven't found her there in the 1950 Census, nor at the address where she lived in 1945, according to the city directory. I'll keep looking!
By 1920, Ada and her husband, James Sills Baker (1866-1937) were living in Cleveland and most likely visited with Wallis and his family quite often.
Ada was the older sister of Wallis's mother, Mary Slatter Wood (1869-1925).
Now 108 years later, these postcards live on in the Wood family's collection!
Mounted on a boulder and visible from a winding state road, the memorial says:
Erected in honor of those from Oxford who served their country
in the World War, 1917-1919
Albert E. Arnold
Maurice C. Barry
Carl Benson
Frank W. Carlson
Ole S. Christensen
Albert G. Dahinden
Ralph E. Davis
Thomas F. Derry
Alfred S. Donahue
Henry D. Field
Albert H. Graf
Albert G. Hansen
William R. Houlihan
Reid P. Hubbell
Frederick Knapp
Maurice Levy
Samuel Levy
Arthur Lundin
Frank D. Marshall
*Thomas Marshall
Clarence McConnie
Walter J. Mitchell
Albert J. Mitchell
*Homer Olmsted
Edgar C. Palmer
Frederick W. Pfeiffer
Clarence F. Roberts
Herbert Roberts
Ben Salvesen
Chauncey B. Sanford
Clifford H. Smith
Herman Sonnenstuhl
August J. Tilquist
Frank Trevelin
John H. Townsend
James F. Townsend
Edward N. Williams
* = Lost their lives in World War I
I've been most successful in locating ancestors when I try my search by inputting the state, county, Enumeration District, and surname of head of household.
Searching for Carrie
Above, results of my search for hubby's great aunt in ED 88-26 of Wyandot County, Ohio. Her name was Carrie E. Traxler. My search was for Traxler Carrie because the automated systems transcribed what they "read" on each line, and head of household was listed Surname Given.
NARA's system can match on creative spelling, and the first result was the ancestor I wanted--even though the transcription wasn't perfect. Her name was NOT Traller Carriee, as the system read the enumerator's handwriting. But it's close!
Adding a transcription
NARA welcomes the public's assistance in adding correct transcriptions. It will accept both transcriptions that correct what the automated system says AND transcriptions that correct what the enumerator wrote. Note that this will not alter the actual Census in any way. It will improve the search system so others can find ancestors on the NARA 1950 Census site.
After I made a note of the line number where my husband's great aunt appears, here's how I added a transcription to correct her name as transcribed by the automated system.
First, I clicked the button to "Help Us Transcribe Names" and entered my email. NARA sent me a six-digit verification code, which I entered so I could begin my transcription.
Next, I used the NARA drop-down menu to indicate line number...which took me to a blank of the screen shown above. I typed "Traxler" for last name, "Carrie" for first name, and "E" for middle name--all of which are shown in cursive handwriting on the Census form, but not accurately read by the automated system.
Other family members with same surname in same HH?
If Carrie Traxler's household included a husband or child or anyone with same surname directly below her name, I would click to add their surname.
This is a key step for families that share a surname and were enumerated in the same household. I didn't do it for Carrie, but I did do it for many other ancestors who had folks with same surname in that HH.
Otherwise, the search system can't find these people by their full names. Remember, they would have been enumerated with a dash for surname, followed by a given name. My transcription replaces the dash with the actual surname.
"How do you spell that?" is the #52Ancestors prompt by Amy Johnson Crow for week #15.
The index isn't perfect, but it works surprisingly well. Do check it out!
At a minimum, search by city and state, then enter the head of household's name in this order: Surname Given.
Ideally, first input city, state, and Enumeration District, let the ED load, and then enter the HH head's name.
In 90% of my searches, the NARA results show me the exact page where my ancestor has been enumerated.
If not, I then look carefully at the index summary for the top result before moving on.
Shown above are the extracted names for a Census page in Jackson, Michigan. My search was for Farkas Fred (Surname, Given).
Two names are in bold in this search result. The first is FREDE (not my guy). The second is FARKAS. But wait, who's this Arthur Farkas? Um...
Before I rejected this result, I checked out the names of other people in that household and hooray! This is the correct family. It was recorded on a call-back sheet (meaning the family wasn't home when enumerator originally visited) and all the other names in the household are correct, as is the occupation of the head of household.
My guess: neighbors supplied as much information as they could remember. They just didn't remember this ancestor's first name correctly. Everything else matches. Did I learn anything new? Well, the address was different from what I expected. And my search technique turned up the ancestors I wanted to locate. All I had to do was check it out thoroughly before moving to the next result.
"Check it out" is this week's #52Ancestors prompt from Amy Johnson Crow.
In most cases, the notes mentioned where a missing resident might be enumerated elsewhere in that ED (sheet number, line number). At least two of my ancestors, living in big city apartments, weren't home on the first call--and were never actually interviewed. The notes said something like "Superintendent provided information after 4 calls."
Enumerators occasionally noted that they had left income forms for residents to fill out and return confidentially. Others noted the presence of more than one apartment at a dwelling or the fact that an address was a vacant dwelling.
You just never know what little details you'll learn if you read the notes! Some interesting notes I've found so far:
Why isn't my ancestor shown in the right place?
If the person wasn't home, the enumerator would usually note on that address line, sending you to "sheet 71, line 3" or something similar to find the person who would ordinarily be at that address. Always check pages at the end of the ED.
Starting with sheet 71, enumerators listed people who they interviewed on a subsequent visit. I've seen as many as 10 additional pages for callbacks in a single large ED. Check the end of every ED if you don't find your ancestor where expected.
Download the page
Once the page downloads, rename that page so you know what it is. In this case, I named the file Hanes_Bernard_1950Census.jpg. Then I put it into a dedicated 1950 US Census folder on my desktop. Later, I'll copy it into my "Hanes" genealogy folder and upload it to my various family trees.
Happy hunting! I'm still looking for more ancestors and then will widen my search for FAN club members.
PS: Here's what blogger Amanda Pape suggests: "If the ED that Ancestry's 1950 Census District Finder tool turns out to be the wrong ED (and that has happened to me a lot, particularly in large cities like Houston and Chicago), then use the Steve Morse tools (that you've blogged about before). I've also had some luck, when the Ancestry ED is wrong, just searching by state, county (or city/county), and just the surname (if unique enough) or the HOH surname & first name combo. I'll usually try that first before moving on to Steve Morse."
Search example
Shown above, one of the search screen examples provided by NARA. I added the title to the slide, the thunderbolt (to show the name "John Doe" being searched), and the red boxes (to show two of the results that match the search).
We can search by surname only, by given name only, or by both. We can add a location (state, county, city, and/or Enumeration District number) to narrow the search.
We can view the results as a list or in a grid...we can view more than 25 results on one screen...we can click on the "Population Schedules" button to view that ED's pages for a result that looks promising.
You can watch the NARA video here -- and don't miss the comments in the chat, where we learned two absolutely key details.
Name index not available for bulk download!
NARA will not make its basic name index available for bulk download along with the population schedules. As a result, Family Search, Ancestry, My Heritage, and other genealogy groups that download the entire 1950 Census will not have access to NARA's name index as the foundation for creating their own.
On April 1, all of these sites will have the 1950 US Census available for browsing. However, they will have NO index for some time (weeks? months?).
Bottom line: If you want to try a search instead of browsing for ancestors, NARA's site will be the only game in town for now.
Improve the index by adding surnames!
NARA will allow members of the public to improve the index in various ways. Of course, we can correct names that are not spelled correctly. But we can also add surnames to household members who only had a dash, because their surnames are the same as the head of household.
Here's why that is a big help. The automated indexing transcribed each line as it appeared. Let's say one household, a mother and two children, looks like this:
Smith, Mary A.
_____, John
_____, Tessie
Neither John nor Tessie will have a surname transcribed, because their surname is the same as the head of household and therefore the enumerator was told to only put a dash. The technology used for indexing doesn't read the dash, only the names "John" and "Tessie."
Now NARA will allow members of the public to add the surname to those two children. This will help anyone looking for John Smith and Tessie Smith to find them by their surname AND given name. Otherwise, we'll need to use NARA's recommended strategy of searching for head of household to find Mary A. Smith and then look in her household for the children.
My plan for April 1st and beyond
I can browse images on NARA or on any of the big genealogy sites, but I can search only on NARA in the beginning.
I've also signed up with Ancestry.com to be notified when it has completed indexing states in which my ancestors lived. Take a look at the Ancestry page for more info here.
Plus I'll be keeping an eye on MyHeritage's 1950 US Census plans as they develop. The company just announced its Census Helper tool, which will identify ancestors on your family tree that are likely to be included in the 1950 US Census.
Want to help index this Census? FamilySearch is inviting volunteers to join the project and speed the process along. Thousands have already signed up. Read more here.
I used MyHeritage to enhance and colorize this tea party photo, which now looks quite eye-catching. Then I used MyHeritage's new LiveStory feature to pretend that one of the sisters was telling a brief story about the family (click here to view). I recognize that not everyone is crazy about these technologies, but I like experimenting and seeing how they work--while retaining the original photo intact, not colorized or enhanced in any way.
Sorry to say, only two of these Steiner sisters will be found in the 1950 US Census. Both Etta Blanche Steiner Rhuark and Carrie Steiner Traxler will be in Enumeration District 88-27, because they lived around the corner from each other in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. They were my husband's doting great aunts and I really want to show him their names in the Census on Friday.
This is my "sisters" post for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors genealogy challenge.
It would be a stroke of luck to have an ancestor selected as part of the "sample" to answer additional, detailed questions about 1949 residence, 1949 income, parents' birthplaces, school attendance, and military service.
Six out of 30 answered sample questions
This sample consisted of 6 people out of the 30 enumerated on every page of the Census. Truly a treasure trove of family history if one of my ancestors is included.
From those who answered the sample questions, one was asked a few "sample of sample" questions. As shown above in an excerpt from the US National Archives page listing all the Census questions for 1950, these questions were for people aged 14 and up.
More details about marriage and children
If one of my ancestors is listed on a line selected for the "sample of sample" questions, the answers will illuminate his or her marital history. Was the person married more than once? How many years since marital status changed? Wonderful genealogical clues for me to follow up and search for marriage or divorce documents!
If I'm really lucky, that person will be one of my women ancestors. Why? Because the final question asks how many children this woman has ever borne.** This will give me hints about whether I've missed an infant death, for instance, and improve my family tree's accuracy for the sake of future generations and future researchers.
1910 vs 1950 question about children
The last time this kind of question was asked was in the 1910 US Census (and before that, the 1900 Census). In 1910, the enumerator first asked how many children the woman ever had borne, and then asked how many were still alive. That's how I knew to look for children who died young or in between Census years.
Did my paternal grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954) have any children who died young? In 1910, she told the Census she had 2 children and both were alive. Now when the 1950 Census is released, if this ancestor was asked the "sample of sample" questions, I hope to learn whether there were other children I never knew about.
My great-grandma Tillie Jacobs Mahler (185?-1952), reported 9 children in all and 7 alive in 1900, then 10 children in all and 7 alive in 1910. What about in the 1950 Census?
My maternal grandma Henrietta Farkas Schwartz (1886-1964) got married and had her children between 1910 and 1920 and never answered this question before the 1950 Census. I don't expect any surprises, but who knows--let's see if she was asked the "sample of sample" questions.
**Note the assumption built into this final "sample of sample" question: If a woman said she was never married when answering question #12 on the Population Schedule, she would not be asked question #38. On the other hand, if she answered that she was married, separated, divorced, or widowed, she would be asked this question if she was recorded on the line chosen for "sample of sample" questions. This assumption didn't apply to the 1910 or 1900 question, apparently.
To see all of my 1950 US Census posts, please go to my summary page here.
Twins also appear in my paternal line. Among my Dad's 1st cousins on the Mahler side were Harvey Smith (1916-1996) and his twin brother Jules Smith (1916-1996). They died within five months of each other and are buried near one another in Florida.
My husband's family tree has twins, as well. Born on the eve of New Year's Eve in 1854, twin sisters Amanda "Callie" McClure (1854-1887) and Anna "Addie" McClure (1854-1928) were great-great aunts of my husband.
Interestingly, these McClure ladies had cousins who were fraternal twins: Jesse McClure (1875-1952) and Bessie McClure (1875-1959), born on January 31, 1875. This brother and sister were 1c2r of my husband.
"Joined together" -- in this post, about twins together -- is the #52Ancestors prompt for week 12 of Amy Johnson Crow's genealogy challenge.
There were many excellent sessions, and I still have dozens more to view, waiting on my playlist.
Here are five sessions that provided food for thought and encouraged me to dig deeper into genealogy and family-history questions. If you haven't seen them, please consider adding them to your playlist!
If you, like me, suspect some ancestors were in a hospital, hotel, or another facility on April 1, 1950, let me suggest something to try as you prep for the release of that year's Census.**
Check the Enumeration District maps for the county, town, or city where that institution was located. You might be lucky and find a listing of special EDs at the top, bottom, or elsewhere on the map where those buildings are shown.
Above, a partial listing of special EDs from an ED map of one section of the Bronx, New York, showing convents, an orphanage, a reformatory, a monastery, hospitals, schools for the deaf, even a large apartment house. This is an unusually long list--but it's not unusual to find special EDs marked on an ED map. Take a look!
Knowing the specific ED for the institution or facility gives you a head start on April 1, when the Census is made public. You'll be able to either browse the handwritten Census sheets for that one ED or use NARA's initial index to search by name and ED.
I'm not 100% sure where all of my ancestors will be, or which will be away from home. One ancestor lived for years in a residential hotel and that's where I'll look first in the 1950 US Census. Another died weeks after the Census was taken so she might actually be in a nearby hospital, not at home. In each case, having the ED number for the facility can help me find those ancestors more quickly before full indexing.
The big genealogy sites are gearing up to the 1950 US Census fully indexed sooner rather than later. FamilySearch.org has an update page where you can learn more about the release and about indexing. If you want to help FamilySearch index the Census, I recommend watching Devon Lee's Family History Fanatics video about indexing.
IMHO, since indexing can't be done until April 1st, there is still time to prep by finding EDs and being ready to look for top priority ancestors when the Census is made public!
**To see how to turn a street address into an Enumeration District, I have a case study here. To see how to use Enumeration maps and descriptions, see my case study here.
For even more posts and links related to the 1950 US Census release, please see my summary page here.
The 1950 US Census will be released on April 1st!
Recently, the US Census Bureau hosted a webinar at which Census and US National Archives experts talked about the background of this Census and what will be available on the day of release. That webinar is posted on YouTube.
Claire Kluskens of NARA discussed the basic name and location index that will accompany the 1950 US Census release. It could very well give us a head start on our searches!
My key takeaways from her comments are shown in the image at top.
Use all your usual search strategies but be prepared to browse by ED if your search doesn't lead you to your ancestors.
Meanwhile, Ancestry and Family Search and MyHeritage will all be working hard to index the Census.
For more 1950 US Census tips and info, see my summary page here.
Rezi Regina Schwartz Winkler was the oldest sister of my grandpa Theodore Schwartz. Sorry to say, Rezi and too many other family members were killed in the Holocaust. As I learn more, I've been adding their names to my online family trees, to honor their memory and not let them be forgotten in the future.
Also I'm specifically identifying the cause of death for these ancestors where they appear on my family trees.
Prior to World War II, most of my grandfather's family lived in and around Ungvar, which is now Uzhhorod, Ukraine. One way I'm supporting relief efforts in Ukraine is by attending the all-virtual Jewish Roots in Ukraine workshop on April 3d. The four experts will be talking about research strategies, sources of information, and understanding Ukrainian ancestors in context. I'm registered and ready to learn as well as to aid Ukraine.
