Finding Missing People in the Census | Ancestry

[@rjb6327]

Just filled out my 2020 Census. I feel sorry for the person, 70 years from now, looking to get information for the Family Tree.

[@Ratchet4647]

Kind of like browsing a community: My dad knows what his grandpa's birth home in the old country looks like but not the address. He does remember the village. In the past he's looked up the village on Google Street view and walked the neighborhood and found it. I'm going to ask him to do that again sometime soon so we can have that address in our records!!! He knows the village from writing the address for his mom's letters to an aunt there as a younger man. He knows the house from the time his now-deceased sister went to visit and took pictures.

[@LindsaySweetnam]

Just got hooked on this series of videos/podcasts recently and am loving them. Wish you were still making them! Anyways, wanted to say that I appreciated this video. I tried out some of your search tips and FINALLY found my great grandfather in the 1910 census in the city I KNEW he was in. Finkelstein was transcribed as Faueklelien, which as you might imagine was not one of the alternative spellings I tried. Now if I could only find him in the 1905 Minnesota State Census. I'll keep searching with some of these tips. Thanks!

[@AncestryUS]

Lindsay - I'm so glad you are finding these videos helpful. I am still making them. We upload a new one (almost) every Tuesday. If you subscribe to the channel, you will be notified via email when a new video is uploaded.

[@LindsaySweetnam]

Awesome! I've been downloading them on itunes and it doesn't show me any past 2015, so I didn't realize you were still making them. That's great to hear :)

[@LindsaySweetnam]

I can't see the comment anymore, but for the person who asked, I'm looking for Charles Abe Finkelstein (sometimes Chas or C A)

[@TheChrisEMartin]

Even in a British context these comment are relevant. The census taker showed up at the door of a house and asked the names of the people inside - quite often in the 19th Century people couldn't read or write and often they would speak with a strong accent or dialect and so the census taker just had to write down what he/she heard! I have found plenty of examples where names differed radically between censuses for that reason. Even in official documents like marriage and birth certificates you are reliant on how the official who filled out the form heard the person say the name. Also remember that often the transcripts of the actual census pages is done by machine/automatically and the handwriting of the census taker may have been poor or illegible - so sometimes ancestry web-site has a very different 'name' on the computer screen transcript compared to the actual census page. I have found a relative with ancestry transcript showing the surname as 'chowen' - it was actually ebourn !!!!!

[@bettygrindrod8556]

I browsed through the 1910 census and found my family ...Grindrod listed as Gunrath!

[@jennar3319]

I had bissonette listed as bismuth

[@pattyh2410]

Great tips. I have been looking for my great aunt in the 1900 census - she would have been about 11. Her mother and younger sister (my grandmother). My grandmother's brother is also not found (about 15).

[@beatricecontreras9649]

I was able to find my family but the last name was spelled without the A for Apolinar so they are under Polinar

[@SolSkinn]

I hear you on that accent! My great grandpas were Ingvald and Seier. So, I have found them as ingwald, ingual, enual, and Sye.

[@dotsie09]

hezzi vS

[@bigonegeorgegrace]

Your comments are so clear and helpful. Thank you so much.

[@AncestryUS]

We hope you enjoyed the clip, Heidi - thanks so much for stopping by!

[@catherineholcombe4701]

I can only listen to your presentations because the blurriness of the videos bothers my eyes. However, I understand it is to protect your privacy and I respect that. Regardless, I love the great information and tips you pass along.

[@AncestryUS]

Sorry about that. As the years have gone on, I've figure out some better ways to do that and we have improved the video quality.

[@yahccs1]

I wonder what the strangest name spelling mistake there has been...? I think Launders instead of Saunders is rather funny. Today I found a Cook family transcribed as Calk. Actually 'Dito' was the funniest surname because it wasn't their name but 'Ditto' with only one 't'! There might be loads of people in the 'Dito' or 'Do' family! Perhaps one of the hardest times is finding people on the census when they are in between leaving home as teenagers and getting married. They could be with other families or communal places with lots of random housemates. There are few clues to check they are the right person if there's no parents, siblings, spouses or other relatives and they might not know their exact birthplace.

[@MrHarryreed]

Across the board, I only have trouble finding my ancestors in the 1840 and 1860 census'. Why is that?

[@wannaberocker3057]

I have a good one for you. On 1880+ records my family was "Carroll". 1850-1870 census, my ancestor and family was "Bartholomew". In 1880, for some unknown reason, ancestor and entire family began using "Carroll" as surname. Carroll surname is what I knew going into searching. I finally discovered it due to certain marriage records of people I knew were Carroll but married using Bartholomew. Many theories but none logical. Bartholomew used intermittently after 1880 in certain records also, but mostly Carroll. I only knew because all family members first names in 1880 as Carroll were same as 1870 Bartholomew and due marriage records using Bartholomew prior to 1880 and some using it and some using Carroll afterwards. Strange and still looking for answer after 15 years.

[@AncestryUS]

Wow! That is a head-scratcher. But, if you can explain the conflicting evidence, you've got a solid genealogical case study there.

[@LarryNathanielPhoto]

Maybe distancing themselves from Lewis Carroll?

[@Wahian1]

@@LarryNathanielPhoto except his real name was Charles Dodgson.

[@vadaoliver2849]

Vada Lucille olivier

[@Charlotte-dc1xo]

My great grandmother was born in 1881. The 1890 census was burnt up. By the time 1900 rolled around, she was already married to my great grandfather. 😩😩

[@AncestryUS]

Grrr! The missing 1890 census strikes again.

[@Charlotte-dc1xo]

I know 😭😭

[@marshaverduzco2859]

Yep, Thelma Drucilla M. Became Rosalie M.

[@andyhawkard1394]

Hi you did a video it’s two computers and Ancestry and FTM but I cannot find it can you advise

[@lamarriere]

I have the weirdest situation. In both the 1899 and 1901 Worcester, MA city directories my ancestor is listed as living at 6 Douglas street. I've done both broad and narrow searches in the 1900 census and even tracked down 6 Douglas, and another family is listed as living there! He and most of his children are missing from this census and I'm completely at a loss for how to find him. Is it possible they were somehow skipped or overlooked, maybe if they were living with the family listed? Thank you for the tips! It's really helped with most of my other ancestors.

[@AncestryUS]

The 1901 city directory would have been compiled in 1900 and then published in 1901. It is possible that they moved from that address shortly before the census was taken. If you look in the 1901 city directory for the family that was living at that address in the 1900 census, what does it list as their address?

[@aquilaclark814]

Very good video ..thank you would you please do a video on the new beta thru-line and how accurate is it ...and what happens when the people that show up you’re related..potential ..etc.. the person is marked private” they inserted several ppl in my thru-line - automatically listing these people as a potential second third fourth grandparents ..and I can’t find any evidence other than the DNA says the same thing.: is it that accurate?

[@AncestryUS]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am planning on recording a video about ThruLines in the next couple of weeks.

[@darlenesye1609]

I Love this one! Especially tips 5-7, I'm going to try those tomorrow morning.

[@AncestryUS]

We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed the video Darlene, we wish you the best of luck as you continue on your Ancestry journey!

[@rjb6327]

Here's one for you. My GGGrand Parents , through the taking of the 1880 census, had 4 children. As the 1890 census for both the US and Maryland is non-existent, the next is the 1900 Census. In the 1900 census, it is asked "How many living children do you have?". My GGGrandmother states 5. OK! Now tell me, how do I find this 5th child? They are not in the 1900 census. I've looked everywhere and only found one person that could be the 5th child as she had the same surname and worked as a nurse in the hospital my GGGrand Father died. One problem is her given name is the same as my GGGrand Mother. This is a problem because there already is a child in the family with this given name. That's about it, after years of research through State, county and US records. Do you have an answer for this? Can you understand the frustration when searching for birth records. for your surname. in Baltimore Maryland and finding no one from your family in the results? And YES they are all born in Baltimore (info from Census records)

[@CristaCowan]

So, it sounds like your great-great-grandparents had a child sometime after April 1880. That child would have been out of the home by 1900 (possibly married or maybe working away from home). My strategy would be to search all birth, marriage, and death records for people with the known parents' names. Even if they were born in Baltimore, that does not mean that the child stayed in Baltimore once they were older. You should also consider finding obituaries for your great-great-grandparents. Those often list all children by name. I could provide you with more specific strategies if you provided more details about your great-great-grandparents but based on the information you shared so far, that is the strategy I would take if I was doing the research. Hope that helps.

[@rjb6327]

@@CristaCowan Thanks Crista. I'll give it a try. Been about 8 years of frustration.

[@heatherhj2011]

I was told about your vides by Laura Andrews on Facebook in the Genealogy Just Ask! FB community. I have been looking for a gentleman for a friend, a very elusive gentleman at that. I am going to put your tips to you and I will most definitely let you know if I find him. Heck I will let EVERYONE know! I can't wait!... Quick question though, is it common in all of your research and experience to have many many connections to famous people? I have found connections on my father's side and mother's side to people alive and dead, we just thought that it was strange, or maybe it is pretty common.

[@AncestryUS]

It depends on how you define famous. Historical figures (especially the further back you go) will be related to LOTS of people. Good luck in your search! (Crista)

[@markarnold933]

Grady Arnold my grandfather was missing from 1940 Salisbury, Rowan County until I found the family Gondy Arnal there I found Granny Virginia, Aunt Doris, Aunt Peggy and Uncle Henry.... how was the name Arnold misspelled so badly?

[@CristaCowan]

An inability to read/write, difficult to understand accents, bad handwriting. All of these things contribute to what we view as "spelling errors" in the records of our ancestors. But, you found it. Well done.

[@markarnold933]

Strange things happening.. and I can’t understand why Elizabeth and Bessie are sisters in 1900, 1910 census but their ages are swapped now which one is really which...? Mytlewood, Marengo Alabama.... this is crazy

[@CristaCowan]

Frankly, I'm surprised that they are two different people since Bessie is often a nickname for Elizabeth.

[@slade90210]

This worked!! Thank you! =]

[@truegeechie]

How do I make sense of conflicting ages of a person on different census years? This is a common problem that I am running into which is getting in the way of determining if the person is a relative.

[@AncestryUS]

Have you tried to use alternate sources like birth, marriage or death records to help prove or disprove the person in question? Remember census information was provided by the individual so they didn't always provide the most accurate information (welcome to the fun of genealogy!) so consider using different sources that may have required documentation to prove their birth date, for example. Also, if it's a male, consider looking into military draft records, if applicable to see what age they stated when they completed the draft record. Good luck in your search!

[@nygiantsfan6]

Bah. Still can't find a number of people. On one side of the family, there are Italian names, and on the other side there are Russian names. In the records I've found, very rarely are the names spelled or indexed correctly. I've searched with no surname, included family members, taken them away, used birth dates, changed the filters, and so much more to no avail. It doesn't help that all of them were living in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Putting specific places doesn't really help!

[@vadaoliver2849]

To late

[@margaretprescott3676]

My favorite entry that was indexed incorrectly was a index first name was Snobird,,,,in the image it was Ichobod!

[@vadaoliver2849]

I know who verlis rudolph Oliver

[@cristinacarandang237]

Copeland Surname

[@tabinelson4379]

What happens when you know 100% that someone who's listed as a child of someone in the census really isn't there child? I'm not so sure I'm clear about what I'm saying

[@berthaantoinettamason9207]

Were they adopted?