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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?
Have you found anything similar?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Paul Drake on -
Yours is an unusual problem. I have but one similar problem in many years; in that instance after a lot of detective work, I found that the family moved just as the census taker was on the route. I could/can only guess that either on the old residence site a neighbor or even a family member was but answering the questions of the census man, and when he or a different enumerator came by the new residence, the family told the census man that they lived there, perhaps because they were moving or had been there for a few days.
In the census records, was the enumeration done on 2 different days ?
Paul
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Permalink Reply by Seán Duggan on -
I have several cases, some in Wales and some in the United States. Apart from the cases where I am certain there was double counting there are others where I think it probable.
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Permalink Reply by J. Moore on -
I've seen it a number of times. Its not terribly common, but if you trace enough people through the census you're guaranteed to run into it eventually. In the two cases (an ancestor, and an x-times g-granduncle) where I remember bothering to figure out what was going on, it was what you'd expect, namely that the census had been conducted a few months apart in two different counties, and the family had moved from the earlier census county to the later one between the dates.
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Permalink Reply by Marilin Meghan Dunsmore on -
The enumeration date isn't entered on one of the records [Newburyport], but it is stamped as received on July 17th. The Salisbury enumeration date is the 15th of July. So I guess it may be possible they moved that year.... strange that not everyone is listed in Salisbury if that's the case, though. More digging is required! I'm glad I'm not the only one who's seen this.
Interesting problem to unravel, though.
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Permalink Reply by J. Moore on
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Also, as others suggest, it could've been some variation on the "nobody was home and neighbor reported present occupants incorrectly" thing. You may be able to take a guess at that by looking to see if either entry is a bit wacky (slightly strange birth years, places of birth, order of children, etc). The extra Isabel of the Salisbury enumeration kinda sounds like that's a possibility, but who knows.
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Ward "Tom" Humphrey on
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I have found this a few times. One time was when the family moved from one part of the county to another. The census was taken at their old home in April and then they moved and the census was taken at the new home in June. Another time, the husband/father was working away from home and the family was listed in both places -- in fact, in two different states. I have also found children listed with both parents and then grandparents - visiting I guess.
TOM
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Permalink Reply by Elyse Doerflinger on -
I've never found anything with two homes, but I have found two enumerations of the same people in the same year.
I have one of an ancestor who was living next door to his parents, and then the next enumeration, they were living farther away (but in the same town). I still don't understand.
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Permalink Reply by Phil Wood on -
Surely the most common cause of multiple entries is that they were visiting one house - and correctly enumerated there - while someone at their normal home entered them there (incorrectly) on the asssumption that the census wanted to know about the family who normally resided there.
Could the Salisbury entry be his grandmother's house (the mysterious Isabel).
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Permalink Reply by Marilin Meghan Dunsmore on
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Thanks for the suggestions! I'm waiting for a volunteer to get back to me (he's supposed to look at land stuff), so hopefully I'll get it cleared up. The mysterious Isabel is listed as 14, so I don't think it's another relative's home.... BUT now that you mention it, the mother is listed as 36 in Salisbury and 53 in Newburyport (the same age as James), all other Census' list her her as always younger than him (by about ten years). Both ages would appear to be wrong, so maybe they weren't actually there for either census!
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Permalink Reply by Donna Atkinson on -
Sometimes people moved between times of the census. Check the dates each was taken. I have found them listed in multiple counties. The family information was taken in one county, the family moved to another county and they got enumerted again. Not real unusual.
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Permalink Reply by Jeanie McCully on -
I've seen it in my tree a couple times. Most recently, in 1930 my great-aunt and her baby sister were living in San Francisco, and they listed their uncle (only about 10 years older than her, and all 3 of them far away from their family in Michigan) in her household; he was active duty Army, so he was also listed as residing at his duty station at The Presidio. He probably did spend a lot of time at their apartment, but his official residence was the enlisted mens' quarters - a lot of soldiers do that even now.
I can't recall the exact details of the other incidence, but I do remember that it involved the family moving from one place to another. I suspect that one location recorded them as of the date visited, rather than the official census date, and the other one used the correct date. I think there may have been a new baby named on only one of the two.
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Permalink Reply by CaryAnn Turner Hess on -
I hope you don’t mind, but I did some looking at census for both Sailsbury and Newburyport for your family. I pretty sure I found them, but will not reveal their last name. I do this for a living, so I’m pretty good at snooping.
I believe the family was in the process of moving as the Sailsbury census taken on 15 June 1880 does not list James, but only Isabel and some of the children. On the Newburyport census the census taker listed the date as 1 June 1880 on the very last page for the whole district. Very sloppy! Also, on the 1900 census they owned their home, so it is possible the reason for the move was they were buying a house.
Anyway, on the Newburyport census, James is listed along with Isabel and seven children, of which one is an Ellen I. … age 14, daughter, at school… On the Sailsbury census Ellen is listed as Isabel, age 14, daughter, at school. Ellen I. is listed on the 1900 census living with her parents. It is not uncommon for children to be listed by either their first or middle names on a census.
Also, if you look again at both census’ you will find that three of the older children work in a cotton mill, the same type of place where James works, and one works on a farm. You might find some records for the mill, tho I don’t know what information they would have. He still worked there in 1900, so maybe some records are available.
I hope this helps.
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