Nativity

The last question that was asked on every U.S. census from 1850-1950 was where a person was born.  I, like many of you, lament the enumerator not asking the name of the county as well as the state.  After all, how hard would it have been?

Other Countries

Sometimes when a person was foreign born the census taker asked what state or province they were from.  This can be valuable information, since in many countries records are kept on a local level.  Even if they are digitized, they might be on that state or province’s website instead of where the nation’s records are held.

If the person you are researching was born in another country, that should send you to the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses.  All three of these ask when a person arrived in the United States.  Once you have that information, you can start looking for passenger lists and naturalization information that will give you an even better understanding of your ancestor’s story (more on that in a future post).

Migration

Looking at the birth locations for each member of a family can also tell you the family’s migration history.  As recently as last week I was researching a family that came from Scotland.  The first three children were born in Scotland and the last in New Hampshire.  This gave me a three year window of when this family arrived in the United States.  Not only did this make my search for immigration records much easier, but it enabled me to eliminate other families with similar names because they arrived at a time when I knew my family was living in Scotland. 

The location where a person was born, like many other columns that may not seem important at first, when examined can provide valuable information and help us find the evidence that will tell our ancestor’s story.  The next time you examine this valuable resource, look for clues that could help you break through your brick wall!

If this level of research is not for you, you are in luck.  At Heroes of the Past, research is what we do, and we do it well!  Contact us today to discover more about the Heroes in Your Past!