Tuesday, January 14, 2014

TUESDAY’S TIP–THOSE “EXTRA” PEOPLE IN A CENSUS MAY BE IMPORTANT


Don't ignore the "extra" people in a census is something we have all been told, read about or learned ourselves, but it bears repeating.  

Yesterday I was researching the SHAVER family from Michigan.  Mostly up in the Macomb County area.  I began looking at one particular couple who had a daughter and I wanted to learn more about her.

Here is the couple:
Sherman Shaver fam grp sheet

They had one child that I know of, Ida May Shaver.  The information I had in my database listed two husbands for Ida.  The first being John “Jay” B. MAPLETHORP and the second one Burton CLOSS.

Ida had married John Maplethorp on 25 May 1891 in Richmond, Macomb, Michigan.  Their daughter Electa Fay was born in 1892.  By the time of the 1900 census Ida and her daughter were living with her parents Sherman & Mary, in Richmond, Macomb, Michigan.  Ida is still listed as married, but John Maplethorp is not enumerated with the family.  Did they divorce?

Here is the 1900 census:

1900_SHAVER_Sherman & Mary with Ida & Electa Maplethorp_RichmondMacombMichigan

And here is a close up.  Yes, the enumerator did write the last name as Shafer instead of Shaver.

1900_SHAVER_Sherman & Mary with Ida & Electa Maplethorp_RichmondMacombMichigan - cropped

Not only did I find Ida & her daughter on this census, but as I looked at the two men also listed in the household, I saw Bert & Duncan Closs, listed as Servants/Farm Laborers.  

Why was that significant?

Because I had already found a marriage record for Ida Shaver to Burton Closs on 17 Jul 1900 in Armada, Macomb, Michigan.  This census enumeration was taken on 18 Jun 1900.  This means that Ida & Burton “Bert” married just less than a month later.

SHAVER_Ida marriage to Burton CLOSS_1900_Mich

QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF…
  • WHEN DID IDA & JOHN MAPLETHORP DIVORCE, SINCE SHE IS STILL LISTED AS MARRIED ON THIS CENSUS?
  • HOW DID IDA MEET BURTON CLOSS?
  • DID THEY MEET WHEN HE CAME TO WORK AT HER FATHER’S FARM OR DID THEY ALREADY KNOW ONE ANOTHER?
  • WHERE CAN I LOCATE THE DIVORCE RECORD FOR IDA & JOHN MAPLETHORP?
  • DO I REALLY NEED OR WANT MORE INFORMATION SINCE IDA SHAVER IS A STEP 3RD GREAT GRANDFATHER’S WIFE’S BROTHER’S WIFE’S NIECE? (Thank you Legacy for figuring that out so I didn’t have to)
WHY DID I EVEN FOLLOW IDA THIS FAR?

I saw a shaky leaf on my Ancestry tree for Ida Shaver and I looked at some of the hints.  CONFESSION:  Sometimes I can’t help myself when it comes to those shaky leaves.  I admit it.  It’s the hunt and the reward of the find that is so appealing to me in researching my ancestors.  Oh, sure I want to learn as much as I can about those directly related to me.  But, sometimes just a good hour of finding records and entering them in my database is rewarding all by itself.

In answer to the question as to whether I will follow up and try to locate a divorce for Ida & John Maplethorp.  No, I won’t.  If I run across it, great.  But, I am not going to spend time looking for it.

WHAT DID I LEARN OR REINFORCE FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?

1.  Never ignore the other people listed in a household just because you don’t know who they are.

2.  Sometimes it’s just fun to follow one of the “shaky leaf” leads on Ancestry.

3.  It’s good to know when to STOP researching a particular person or family.

One more thing that I found on that 1900 census.  Two doors away from the Shaver family was the Benjamin & Sarah Sumner family, who are also in my database.  I was able to add three more children to their family from this census.  But, because they too are distantly related, I won’t pursue them further.  

Keep following those leads, but remember not too go too far off the tree….unless of course you just feel like it.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl


Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall

4 comments:

  1. The Macomb County Genealogy Group is indexing the Macomb County Circuit Court Records and as volumes get done they are added to the Court Index http://www.mtclib.org/search/courtrecords.php in the Mount Clemens Public Library website. Included so far are two volumes of Divorce Proceedings covering the period 1890-1944. From Vol.1 pg.7 of the Proceedings is Ida Maplethorp vs John B Maplethorp along with the date & place of marriage which you already know. She filed in 1899 and it was finalized in 1900. The exact dates are in the volume as well as the cause in broad, not specific terms. The details including Ida's petition are in Case File. #1883 which is on microfilm at the Circuit Court. Ann Faulkner

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    1. Ann - thank you so much for that information. I went over to the Mt. Clemens Library website and found the index for the divorce record. Nice to have the file number etc. to add to my database. Also nice to know that information is available. I remember when I was in Michigan on my very first genealogy research trip in 2007 and I went to the Mt. Clemens Library. I spent nearly the whole day there looking at records. Great place!
      Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you'll come back soon.

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    2. Diane - I subscribed to your blog by email so I won't miss any posts. They are well worth reading and cover subjects I am interested in.

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    3. Ann - Thank you very much. I certainly appreciate your kind words. Makes me smile :)

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I look forward to reading your comments. If you have any connection to the people mentioned in this blog, please let me know. I write about mine and my husband's ancestors and would welcome new information or meeting a new cousin or two. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.