The Whole is Greater

We’ve talked a little in the past about looking at the censuses during your ancestor’s lives as one collection.  Let’s take a closer look.  This is where the old saying, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” holds true.

Questions Yield Results

Since each decade’s census, for the most part, asks different questions, we end up getting a lot of hints that direct us toward further research.  Individually these may not be earth shattering, but combined they can help you build a full picture of your ancestor’s life.  Details like the number of children born and still living on the 1900 census, immigration status on the 1910 census, or property value on the 1860 census can point you in the direction for further research to discover your ancestor’s financial situation, how healthy their living conditions were, or if they were among the thousands of immigrants that decided to make America their home.  It’s like a jigsaw puzzle where not only do you have to fit the pieces together but you also must find the pieces!

Timelines

Perhaps one of the best reasons to evaluate all the U.S. census returns for our ancestor together is a timeline.  A timeline is one of our best tools because it gives us the opportunity to view the events of their lives as a whole unit instead of the individual parts of a single record.  Even if you don’t have the census for every decade of your ancestor’s life, using the returns that are available can give you an accurate picture.   When you add additional records that you have found along with important local and national dates, you get a total picture.

A Family Secret Revealed

Let’s take my grandfather for an example.  He was born in 1893 in Pike County, Mississippi.  I quickly found him in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses in the same place in Mississippi.  I also found soon that he was buried in the family cemetery in Mississippi in 1947.  It would be easy to assume this was a man who spent his entire life farming in southern Mississippi.  Had I not been persistent in looking for him in the 1940 census I would have never found him living in Bowie County, Texas.  This immediately raised red flags-why would a man that had spent his entire life in Mississippi suddenly move to northern Texas, especially when his family was still in Mississippi!  Doing further research and entering more facts on my timeline showed that granddad had died in west Texas and was brought back to Mississippi for burial.  More research revealed the drinking problem he developed in his forties, the plot his family had to take his land from my grandmother and his children, and the nasty divorce that ensued.  No wonder my family never talked about him!  And yes, it all started with the census. 

Does the census answer all your questions?  No, but it can be a valuable jumping off point.  It can also direct you to other records that will answer those questions. 

Next time we will start on the actual document itself and learn what that often overlooked first column tells us and where we go to complete the story!

If research doesn’t sound like fun to you, that’s OK.  It is fun for us.  Contact us today and we will get started researching your family history!