SNGF -- Are Your Ancestors Missing in the Census?

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

It's Saturday Night again - 

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Our assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings is to:

1) Which of your ancestors or relatives have you NOT found in the Census records and what have you done or are doing to try to find that person? Can AI help?

2)  Identify one or more of your ancestors that are inexplicably missing from one or more census collections.  Why do you think they were not enumerated?

Thank you to Marian B. Wood for this SNGF idea.

Here's mine:
In 1900, I should be able to locate my great-grandfather, George Warren Lancaster, and my 2x-great-grandparents, William Carlton “Carl” & Martha Jane “Dollie” Lancaster, in Erath County, Texas. George would have been 7 years old. His brother, Willie, 5, and sister, Josephine, 3, would also be in the household. The next daughter, Margaret, was born in August 1900.

I have searched using all kinds of name variations. I have searched line-by-line. It just occurred to me that Dollie was 7 months pregnant. I doubt they would be traveling and her parents were deceased. She did have 4 brothers and a sister living in the area, but the family was not enumerated with any of them.

Following Carl before and after the census, he is clearly living on a farm in Erath County. He made land purchases in 1896 and 1899 from R. L. Henry.[1] He was also listed in the tax rolls from 1895 through 1899 and 1902.[2]

A. S. [Albert S.] Pair was listed as a neighbors listed in the 1899 land description. D. K. [Daniel K] Coor was listed as a neighbor in the 1896 purchase.

D. K. Coor has not been found in the 1900 census. I found Albert S. Pair, living next door to his parents, both owning their farms.[3] However, when going page by page forward and backward, I do not find Carl or Daniel Coor.

I sometimes image the farm having a big barking dog that scared the enumerator away. But most likely, the enumerator must have missed a dirt lane that led to these two farms.


[1] Erath County, Texas, deeds, v. 47, p. 330, RL Henry to WC Lancaster, 1896; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C371-1SLG-4), IGN 008592588, image 385 of 823. Also, Erath Co, Texas, deeds, v. 63, p. 390-91, R.L. Henry to W.C. Lancaster, 1899; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C371-BHSY), IGN 008592603, item 2, image 198 of 325.

[2] "Texas County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/1827575), Erath County, 1895, p. unk, line 38, WC Lancaster, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-4B9D-36); image 154 of 362. Also, Erath Co, Texas, tax list, 1896, p. 86, line 29, WC. Lancaster, 1897, p. 81, line 13, W.C. Lancaster, 1898, p. 85, line 16, W.C. Lancaster, 1899, p. 88, line 12, W.C. Lancaster, and 1902, p. 97, line 34, W.C. Lancaster; Smith Library, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas.

[3] 1900 U.S. census, Erath Co, Texas, Prec. 2, ED 21, p. 11b, dwelling 199, Albert S. Pair.


Copyright © 2011-2026 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

Comments

Post a Comment

All comments on this blog will be previewed by the author to prevent spammers and unkind visitors to the site. The blog is open to other-than-just family members particularly those interested in family history and genealogy.

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Blogiversary & Happy 100th Blog Post!

Image
Today is a big milestone. This is the 100th blog post I have written and the 6th anniversary of the beginning of this blog. I began the blog on January 15, 2011, through a blog writing class I took at California Genealogical Society, taught by Craig Siulinski. It was something I wanted to do but wasn’t really sure what I would focus on. I finally settled on writing about my grandmother, Pansy Louise Lancaster’s family and this was my first post . In the beginning it was hard to get started. I learned from the Geneabloggers website, that there were blogging memes I could use and I have done that off and on, especially at the beginning. But I finally learned that what worked best was to write about my discoveries as I researched my grandmother’s family. So what have I written in six years? I discovered I have only written four posts specifically about my grandmother: “Mam-ma was a Tomboy” “Fearless Females – Day 12” “Mam-ma 1913-2013” “My Grandpar...
Read more

George Wilson Lancaster Goes After Government Land in Arizona Territory, Part II

Image
In the first installment , we learned that my 3x-great-grandfather, George W. Lancaster (1839-1919), received a land patent from the federal government for forty acres located in Maricopa County, Arizona Territory, on 15 July 1890. [1] He filed for the land on 8 June 1886, and made his final proof on 4 February 1887 before the clerk of the District Court in Phoenix. [2] He was to complete an affidavit describing the improvements made to the land and to bring two witnesses, who also gave affidavits. His witnesses were to be two of the following: George H. Trook, Isaac B. Hand, James P. Moffatt, and Legh R. Shaw. [3] George’s Testimony The affidavit is four pages long, and the questions were asked by J. E. Walker, clerk of the 2nd Judicial District of the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. George was first sworn in and gave testimony to numerous questions. [4] He stated his name was George W. Lancaster, that he was forty-seven years old, worked as a farmer, and was not employed by an...
Read more

52 Ancestors -- Week 9: Melissa Ann Welch Coor

Image
Amy Johnson Crow of  No Story Too Small  has created a new theme called  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks . I think it’s a great way to write about one person. This will help me see what I have and what I’m missing for additional research. Melissa Ann Welch was born 8 May 1840 in Crystal Springs, Copiah County, Mississippi. [1] Her parents were Dempsey Welch and Elizabeth Rebecca Young. She was enumerated with her parents in 1850 in Copiah Co, Mississippi. [2] She was 10 years old with three older brothers, Jenkins, Thomas, and Augustus and one younger sister, Martha. Dempsey was a planter from Georgia and had $2400 in property value. All of the children had attended school in the past year. Melissa Welch with family in Copiah Co, Mississippi, 1850 From this record it appeared that her father, Dempsey was well off. The 1852 tax list confirmed it, when it showed he had 37 slaves under the age of 60. [3] This was way more than the other men listed on the same page. On 3...
Read more