Sunday, November 30, 2014

CENSUS SUNDAY–WHO WAS LIVING NEXT TO WHOM? AND WHAT DOES THIS RECORD TELL ME?


I know you’ve all seen it.  You find a census record for someone you are researching and lo and behold, on the same page is another familiar family. 
This has happened to me more than once during my research.  Sometimes, I don’t see it the first time I view the census. 
  • Maybe because I didn’t know about the other family?
  • Maybe I learned later on who that one daughter married?
  • Maybe because I was careless and didn’t take the time to look at other entries?
Whatever the reason, it’s fun when you do find them.  Here’s one that I found early in my research.

1860 census – Armada, Macomb, Michigan
 
1860_GOULD_John C and Sarah_Image_next door to Harts_ArmadaMich

Here is a close up of my two families.  Henry Hart and John Gould

1860_GOULD_John C and Sarah_Image_next door to Harts_ArmadaMich_outlined_cropped

Who are these ancestors to me?

Henry Hart & his wife Olive are my 3rd great grandparents

John Gould and his wife Sally are my 2nd great grandparents. Sally is Henry Hart’s daughter.  She and John were married in 1858.  And now have a young son, Vivaldo.

1860 census – Town of Armada, County of Macomb, State of Michigan
Enumerated on 13 day of July 1860.
Lines 3-12, dwelling number 1111, family number 1128
  • Henry Hart, age 65, male, farmer, value of real estate $6700, personal estate $570, born in New York
  • Olive Hart, age 55, female, born in Vermont
  • Noble Hart, age 21, male, farm laborer, born in New York
  • Betsy Hart, age 20, female, domestic, born in New York
  • Arminda Hart, age 18, female, born in New York
  • Simeon Hart, age 16, male, farm laborer, born in New York
  • Olive Hart, age 14, female, born in New York
  • Leonard Hart, age 12, male, born in New York
  • Monroe Knapp, age 2, male, born in ?
  • Hannah Burrell, age 69, female, born in Massachusetts
QUESTIONS:  Who are Monroe Knapp and Hannah Burrell?  Are they family?  Are they boarders?  I have yet to figure this out and I’ve tried many times over the past 10 years.

Lines 13-15, dwelling number 1111, family number 1129
  • John Gool [should be Gould], age 28, male, day laborer, value of real estate $500, personal estate $100, born in Michigan
  • Sally Gould, age 23, female, born in New York
  • Vivaldo Gould, age 8 months, male, born in Michigan
OBSERVATIONS: 
1.  Because the dwelling number for both families is the same, it appears they were living in the same house or on the same property. 
2.  Both Henry Hart and John Gould own real estate.  They should then be listed on the agricultural census for 1860.  Are they? 
3.  There is a family directly next door named Stone.  I know that John Gould, bought land from Hannibal Stone in 1863.  Is this Stone family related to Hannibal?
4.  The enumerator lists New York as the birthplace for Henry Hart and his children.  However, this conflicts with other records I have for this family.
5.  Can I locate the land records for the real estate owned by Henry Hart and John Gould in 1860?

Reviewing this census, that I have looked at so many times, has given me some new ideas.  It never hurts to take another look at even the most common of records, such as our wonderful census records. 

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl


Copyright ©  2014   Diane Gould Hall
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

6 comments:

  1. Totally just had a census connect two siblings for me and helped me figure out who their parents were! Never thought that would happen to me! :)

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    1. Isn't that fun? It's happened to me a few times and it's always just as exciting as the first time.

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  2. This has happened to me several times. Sometimes I notice the related families on the first look, but other times, it's years later that I realize that a related family is on the same page (sometimes a sister with a recently-discovered married name). Always fun!

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    1. Elizabeth - Me too, noticing them years later. We don't realize how much information we store about our families until something like that jumps out at us. That's why it's so important for us to review all our records. I'm guilty of not reviewing all of them often enough.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Diane,

    I want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/12/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-december-5.html

    Have a great weekend!

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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.