Multiple census listings?

I'm wondering if anybody else has come across something similar.... I.E. multiple census listings for the same people? In 1880 my great grandfather is listed (aged 9) as living in his father's (James) house in Newburyport, MA, along with six siblings and his mother, Isabella. Also in 1880, but in Salisbury, MA, he is listed again (aged 9), with all of his brothers, a mysterious Isabel and his mother listed as Isabel also. I know from a 1900 census that James, Isabel/Isabella, and one of their younger daughters were living in Salisbury in a house James may have owned. Now there are a ton of questions, mainly, why two homes?

Have you found anything similar?

Tags: census, findings

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Permalink Reply by Jean Hyde on October 9, 2009 at 1:03pm

Yes, I have with my great grandfather family. It was the 1900 census, he is living with his wife and four children. Later, I see his wife on the the same 1900 census with her parents and her children, but my great grandfather is not there. I think she was visiting her parents at that time and they were counted twice.

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Permalink Reply by lookingforanswers2009 on December 27, 2009 at 9:27pm

I thought i was the only one with this problem, i do see multiple census listing for the same people, but living inn different households

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Permalink Reply by Connie Bunte on December 31, 2009 at 6:17pm

I've come across a couple of different entries like that. In theory, everyone was supposed to give the information as it existed on the census date. What works in theory doesn't necessarily work in practice. In the one case a child was in school on June 10 when the school was enumerated and at home on June 20 when the family was enumerated. There was a case where the family was enumerated in one location in January and in another location in February. The census page should give the date the enumeration was actually conducted.

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen (Sutton) Diaz on January 1, 2010 at 6:36pm

I've come across it once.. great,great grandparents living alone as a couple in Alaska in 1930. Later that year they are living with one of their children in Washington state. I'm assuming that most of the time it's nothing more than having moved and encountering census takers twice!

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Permalink Reply by carol bartholomew on May 18, 2011 at 1:49pm

My father is listed twice in the 1930 census, one at home in Colorado. and One in New York City. He was away at school. I am most likely listed twice in the 1970 census for the same reason. One at home in Denver, which my mom filled out and I recieved one on campus in Greeley, Co. The reasoning behind the 1970 count was that college students weren't being counted, and the college towns were not getting monetary help for there numbers, so a compromise was reached for counting a percentage of students so the towns could get financial help.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Spencer on May 20, 2011 at 10:31am

I have. My Baldwin ancetor was listed in Fayette County, Tenn in 1850 and also 1850 Independance County, Ark. If they have lived in a certain place before the June 1 deadline, they are usually counted. No matter if the census taker didn't get to them until Sept or October, it is where they were living before June 1st that is important. So they may be counted twice if they move.