Genealogy Basics: The 1900 Census

It's another Monday and time for another post.  Today, we're continuing our recent discussion on census records, today we're looking at the 1900 census.  The 1900 census was enumerated beginning 1 June 1900.  Let's look at the actual census record to see what information can be extracted from this census.  Using my great-grandpa Edward's census listing, let's look at what can be discovered about his family: 

1900 Census record for Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family

Edward B. Conwell, Sr. is listed here with his wife, Zella.  Breaking the census listing down into three parts will help us view the information a little easier: 

Section #1 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1900 census record

The first three columns contain information on the location:

• Street and house number (in cities)
• Dwelling number
• Family number

 
The information isn't shown on my screen shot but the census record shows that Edward and Zella are living on Cherry Street.  So this is another address that I can go look up to see if the house is still standing.  Add that to my list of genealogy things to do.

Column #4 is the name of each person whose place of abode on June 1, 1900, was in this family (surname first, then first name and middle initial if there is one):

• Conwell, Edward B. - head
• Conwell, Zella - wife

Columns #5-#14 are personal description data:

• Relation to head of family
• Color
• Sex
• Month of birth
• Year of birth
• Age at last birthday
• Whether single, married, widowed or divorced
• Number of years of married
• Mother of how many children
• Number of these children living

This is pretty self-explanatory information, though it does bear mentioning that at this time Edward and Zella had no children together and they listed their number of years married as zero.  Right there, that is a great indication to look for a marriage record within the last year.

Great information to get off this census is the age at last birthday, their marital status and number of years of present marriage, the number of children born and number now living and probably the best information: month and year of birth.

Moving on to part #2 of the census record: 

Section #2 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1900 census record

Columns #15-#17 are nativity information:

• Place of birth
• Place of birth of father
• Place of birth of mother

This is also really great information because, if I didn't already have places of birth for each person and their parents, this census provides it.  Keep in mind this information is only as good as (1) the person giving the information and (2) the person writing the information down.  But it gives you a clue where to look.

This census enumerator has taken the time to list each person's birth location and the birth locations of their parents (as provided by the person providing the census information).  As you can see, everyone was U.S. born and most were born in the Midwest in either Kansas, Illinois, Indiana or Ohio. 

Columns #18-#20 are citizenship information:

• Year of immigration to the U.S.
• Number of years in the U.S.
• Naturalization

Again, by this time all my family was U.S. born so none of these columns apply.

Moving on to part #3 of the census record:

Section #3 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1900 census record

Columns #21-#22 are occupation information:

• Occupation, trade or profession of each person ten years of age and over
• Number of months not employed 

From this we can see that Edward Sr. was working as a collector of bills.  He worked the entire year so number of months not employed wasn't applicable.

Columns #23-#26 are education information:

• Attended school (months)
• Can read
• Can write
• Can speak English

Neither Edward Sr. nor Zella attended school but they both were able to read, write and speak English so they must have attended school at some time.

Columns #27-#30 are home information:

• Home owned or rented
• Home owned free or mortgaged
• Farm or house
• Number of farm schedule

In 1900 Edward Sr. and Zella were renting and they were renting a home.  That's not surprising considering they were newly married.

The 1900 census can contain some great information for genealogists.  There are several ways to access the census records, from using Ancestry.com (if you don't have a paid subscription to Ancestry, check out your local library or Family History Center for free usage opportunities) for indexed images to using some of the non-indexed sites and paging thru the census record pages one by one.  I prefer the indexed version, however, going through page by page can wield treasures of its own.  Additional family members have been discovered in this manner and it can also give you a picture of who was living around your ancestor.

Next week: the 1880 census!  But wait, we missed one didn't we?  Nope, unfortunately due to a fire in the Commerce Department building, most of the 1890 census was destroyed.  Some parts of the census did survive and information on what survived can be found here.

Genealogy Basics: The 1910 Census

Continuing our recent discussion on census records, today we're looking at the 1910 census.  The 1910 census was enumerated beginning 15 April 1910.  Let's look at the actual census record to see what information can be extracted from this census.  Using my great-grandpa Edward's census listing, let's look at what can be discovered about his family:

1910 Census record for Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family

Edward B. Conwell, Sr. is listed here with his wife, Zella, and children Edward B., Milford, Mildred and Frank.  Breaking the census listing down into three parts will help us view the information a little easier:

Section #1 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1910 census record

The first two columns are not numbered but they contain information on the abode:

• Street, avenue, road, etc. (name)
• House number (in cities or towns)

Columns #1-#2 contain additional information on the abode:

• Number of dwelling house in order of visitation
• Number of family in order of visitation

I see that Edward and his family are living on Cyprus Avenue (the street name got partially cut off but it does say Cyprus Avenue).  So this is another address that I can go look up to see if the house is still standing.  Add that to my list of genealogy things to do.

Column #3 is the name of each person whose place of abode on April 15, 1910, was in this family (surname first, then first name and middle initial if there is one) and column #4 is the relationship of the person to the head of the family:

• Conwell, Edward B. - head
• Conwell, Zella - wife
• Conwell, Edna M. - daughter
• Conwell, Edward B. - son
• Conwell, Milford R. - son
• Conwell, Mildred A. - daughter
• McCabe, Sarah A. - mother-in-law

Columns #5-#11 are personal description data:

• Sex
• Color or race
• Age at last birthday
• Whether single, married, widowed or divorced
• Number of years of present marriage
• Mother of how many children: Number born
• Mother of how many children: Number now living

This is pretty self-explanatory information, though it does bear mentioning that at this time Edward was 41 (Zella's age on this census is unreadable), married to Zella for 10 years and they had a total of six children, with four still living.  This tells me I need to look for some deceased children prior to 1910.  Using earlier census records will help me narrow down the years I need to check for those children.  Sarah's number of children is also listed so I know she had six but the number still living is unreadable.

Great information to get off this census is the age at last birthday, their marital status and number of years of present marriage, the number of children born and number now living.

Moving on to part #2 of the census record:

Section #2 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1910 census record

 
Columns #12-#14 are nativity information:

• Place of birth of this person
• Place of birth of father of this person
• Place of birth of mother of this person

This is also really great information because, if I didn't already have places of birth for each person and their parents, this census provides it.  Keep in mind this information is only as good as (1) the person giving the information and (2) the person writing the information down.  But it gives you a clue where to look.

This census enumerator has taken the time to list each person's birth location and the birth locations of their parents (as provided by the person providing the census information).  As you can see, everyone was U.S. born and most were born in the Midwest in either Kansas, Missouri, Illinois or Ohio. 

Columns #15-#16 are citizenship information:

• Year of immigration to the United States
• Whether naturalized or alien 

Again, by this time all my family was U.S. born so none of these columns apply.

Column #17 is whether the person is able to speak English or not and if they were not English speaking, the enumerator was asked to list what language they spoke.  The entire family was able to speak English.

Moving on to part #3 of the census record:

Section #3 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1910 census record

 
Columns #18-#22 are occupation information:

• Trade, profession, or particular kind of work done as spinner, salesman, laborer, etc.
• General nature of industry, business, or establishment in which the person works, as cotton mill, dry goods store, farm, etc.
• Whether employer, employee or working on own account
• If an employee: Whether out of work on April 15, 1910
• If an employee: Number of weeks out of work during the year 1909  

From this we can see that Edward Sr. was working but his trade and industry are mostly unreadable.  I'm going to have to see if I can find a better copy somewhere.  Great-great grandma Sarah was working as a laundress for a private family.  They were both working on their own account.  Neither one was out of work as of the enumeration date and neither was out of work during 1909.

Columns #23-#25 are education information:

• Whether able to read
• Whether able to write
• Attended school any time since September 1, 1909

Edward Sr. and Zella are the only ones listed as being able to read and write.  Their daughter, Edna, is the only one listed as having attended school that year.

Columns #26-#29 are ownership of home information:

• Owned or rented
• Owned free or mortgaged
• Farm or house
• Number of farm schedule

I'm somewhat disappointed that there's no information listed in these columns for Edward and his family.  I have no idea if they rented or owned their home in 1910.

The last three columns are kind of interesting bits of information:

• Column #31: Whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy
• Column #32: Whether blind (both eyes)
• Column #33: Whether deaf and dumb

I didn't expect to see any information in these columns for my family honestly.  I know none of the last columns applied to any of them but column #31 (Union/Confederate military survivor) is great information for genealogists since it gives a clue to military service.

The 1910 census can contain some great information for genealogists.  There are several ways to access the census records, from using Ancestry.com (if you don't have a paid subscription to Ancestry, check out your local library or Family History Center for free usage opportunities) for indexed images to using some of the non-indexed sites and paging thru the census record pages one by one.  I prefer the indexed version, however, going through page by page can wield treasures of its own.  Additional family members have been discovered in this manner and it can also give you a picture of who was living around your ancestor.

Next week: the 1900 census!

Genealogy Basics: The 1920 Census

Today we're continuing the discussion on census records and looking at the 1920 census.  The 1920 census was enumerated beginning 1 January 1920.  Let's look at the actual census record to see what information can be extracted from this census.  Using my great-grandpa Edward's census listing, let's look at what can be discovered about his family:

1920 Census record for Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family

Edward B. Conwell, Sr. is listed here with his wife, Zella, and children Edward B., Milford, Mildred and Frank.  Breaking the census listing down into three parts will help us view the information a little easier:

Section #1 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1920 census record

Columns #1-#4 contain information on the abode:

• Street of person's abode
• House number or farm
• Number of dwelling house in order of visitation by enumerator
• Number of family in order of visitation by enumerator

I see that Edward and his family are still living on Indiana (the street name got partially cut off but it does say Indiana), the street they were living on in 1930 when the census was taken, but they've changed house numbers.  So this is another address that I can go look up to see if the house is still standing.  Add that to my list of genealogy things to do.

Column #5 is the name of each person whose place of abode on January 1, 1920, was in this family (surname first, then first name and middle initial if there is one) and column #6 is the relationship of the person to the head of the family:

• Conwell, Edward B. - head
• Conwell, Zella - wife
• Conwell, Edward B. - son
• Conwell, Milford - son
• Conwell, Mildred - daughter
• Conwell, Frank - son

Columns #7-#8 are "tenure" data:

• Home owned or rented
• If owned, free or mortgaged

From this we can see that Edward Sr. was renting the home they were in.

Columns #9-#12 are personal description data:

• Sex
• Color or race
• Age at last birthday
• Single, married, widowed or divorced

This is pretty self-explanatory information.  Great information to get off this census is the age at last birthday and their marital status.

Columns #13-#15 are citizenship information:

• Year of immigration to the United States
• Naturalized or alien
• If naturalized, year of naturalization

Again, by this time all my family was U.S. born so none of these columns apply.

Moving on to part #2 of the census record:

Section #2 of Edward B. Conwell, Sr. and family 1920 census record

Columns #16-#18 are education information:

• Attended school since 9/11/1919
• Whether able to read
• Whether able to write

The three youngest children all attended school in 1919.  Grandpa Edward was 15 at the time this census was taken and it seems was not attending school.  I happen to know from verbal history that , like a lot of older children during this time, he was working to help support the family.

Columns #19-#24 are nativity and mother tongue information:

• Place of birth (of person)
• Mother tongue (of person)
• Place of birth (of father)
• Mother tongue (of father)
• Place of birth (of mother)
• Mother tongue (of mother)

This is also really great information because, if I didn't already have places of birth for each person and their parents, this census provides it.  Keep in mind this information is only as good as (1) the person giving the information and (2) the person writing the information down.  But it gives you a clue where to look.

This census enumerator has taken the time to list each person's birth location and the birth locations of their parents (as provided by the person providing the census information).  As you can see, everyone was U.S. born and most were born in the Midwest in either Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois or Ohio.  It seems, though, that the enumerator didn't complete all the boxes for the mother tongue information.  It would be nice if the enumerator was consistent and filled in all the boxes available but that obviously doesn't always happen. 

Column #25 is whether the person is able to speak English or not.  The entire family was able to speak English.

Moving on to part #3 of the record:

Section #3 of Edward Bell Conwell, Sr. and family 1920 census record

Columns #26-#28 are occupation information:

• Trade, profession, or particular kind of work done as spinner, salesman, laborer, etc.
• Industry, business, or establishment which at work, as cotton mill, dry goods store, farm, etc.
• Employer, salary worker, wage worker or working on his own account

From this we can see that Edward Sr. was working as a laborer and Edward Jr. was listed as an office boy in a packing house, but column #28 is somewhat confusing.  According to the census instructions I located here, the codes for this column were either Em for employer, W for a salary or wage worker and OA for a gainful worker that is neither an employer nor a salary or wage worker.  Someone who had no occupation was supposed to have that column left blank.  But the enumerator has listed both Edwards as simply "E".  Knowing that Grandpa Edward was always an employee and never an employer and seeing that both Edwards were listed as currently working, process of elimination dictates that they were both either salary or wage worker (most likely wage workers) and should have been listed with a "W" in that column.

Column #29 is the number of farm schedule, which doesn't apply to this household.

The 1920 census can contain some great information for genealogists.  There are several ways to access the census records, from using Ancestry.com (if you don't have a paid subscription to Ancestry, check out your local library or Family History Center for free usage opportunities) for indexed images to using some of the non-indexed sites and paging thru the census record pages one by one.  I prefer the indexed version, however, going through page by page can wield treasures of its own.  Additional family members have been discovered in this manner and it can also give you a picture of who was living around your ancestor.

Next week: the 1910 census!  And be sure to check back later this week for a very special edition of Around the Town Thursday!  I've got a special treat in store :)

Genealogy Basics: The 1930 Census

A couple of weeks ago we started talking about census records and looked at the 1940 census.  Today we're continuing to look at census records and the focus is on the 1930 census.

The 1930 census was enumerated beginning 1 April 1930.  Let's take a look at an actual census record to see what kind of information can be extracted from this census.  Last post we looked at my Grandpa Edward's census listing.  I haven't located him in the 1930 census yet but I have a listing for my Great-Grandpa Edward (Grandpa Edward's father) to use for our example:

1930 Census record for Edward B. Conwell, Sr. and family

Edward B. Conwell is listed here with his wife, Zella M., and children, Milford R. and Frank R.  As you see, listed below the Conwell family, also living with Grandpa Edward, is his son-in-law John Crouse, daughter and wife of John, Mildred and granddaughter Evelyn J.  Breaking the record down into three parts will help us view the information a little easier:

Section #1 of Edward B. Conwell, Sr. and family 1930 census record

Columns #1-#4 contain information on the abode:

• Street, avenue, road, etc.
• House number (in cities or towns)
• Number of dwelling house in order of visitation
• Number of family in order of visitation

This is great information because I can take the house number and street name and see if that house is still standing to see where my family lived in 1930.

Column #5 is the name of each person whose place of abode on April 1, 1930, was in this family (surname first, then first name and middle initial if there is one) and column #6 is the relationship of the person to the head of the family:

• Conwell, Edward B. - head
• Conwell, Zella M. - wife
• Conwell, Milford R. - son
• Conwell, Frank R. - son
• Crouse, John - son-in-law
• Crouse, Mildred - daughter
• Crouse, Evelyn J. - grand daughter

Columns #7-#10 are home data:

• Home owned or rented
• Value of the home, if owned, or monthly rental, if rented
• Radio set
• Does this family live on a farm?

From this we can see that Edward Sr. owned their home and it was worth $2,000.00.  I can't tell for sure whether they owned a radio or not.  The enumerator marked "R" in the columns next to other families who obviously owned radios, but there is an "X" next to Edward Sr.'s census listing so while I suspect they did own a radio, I can't be certain.  And further up the census listing, the enumerator indicated "No farms in this block".

Columns #11-#15 are personal description data:

• Sex
• Color or race
• Age at last birthday
• Marital condition
• Age at first marriage

This is pretty self-explanatory information.  Great information to get off this census is the age at last birthday because it can help pin down a birth date if you don't already have that and age at first marriage because it can help you pin down a marriage date for the first marriage of the person listed.  Keep in mind that if the spouse listed on the census listing isn't the person's first marriage this could cause a little confusion but it can also clue you in to when the first marriage occurred.  It's somewhat of a double-edged sword.

Columns #16-#17 are education information:

• Attended school or college any time since September 1, 1929
• Whether able to read or write

None of the family attended school that year and all but baby Evelyn were able to read and write, which says a lot about the family since many people still struggled to get a decent education in 1930.  Many people had to stop school and go to work to help support their families, resulting in an incomplete education.

Moving to part #2 of the census record:

Section #2 of Edward B. Conwell, Sr. and family 1930 census record

 
Columns #18-#20 are information on place of birth:

• Person
• Father
• Mother

This is a gold mine of location information.  The enumerator has taken the time to list each person's birth location and the birth locations of their parents (as provided by the person providing the census information).  As you can see, everyone was U.S. born and most were born in the Midwest in either Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois or Nebraska.

Column #21 and #21a-c are questions about the person's native language:

• 21: Language spoken in home before coming to the United States
• a: (Code) State or MLT
• b: (Code) Country
• c: (Code) blank on the form

Columns #22-#23 are citizenship information:

• Year of immigration to the United States
• Naturalized or alien

By this time, this part of my family was all U.S. born so these columns didn't apply.

Column #24 is whether the person is able to speak English or not.  The entire family was able to speak English.

Moving on to part #3 of the census record:

Section #3 of Edward B. Conwell, Sr. and family 1930 census record

Columns #25-#27 are occupation and industry information:

• Occupation (trade, profession, or particular kind of work, as spinner, salesman, riveter, etc.)
• Industry (industry or business, as cottonmill, dry goods store, shipyard, public school, etc.)
• Code
• Class of worker

Most of the family worked as laborers, but Zella was working as an operator for some type of factory, Milford was a sales clerk for a grocery store and Frank was working for a nursery.  I can't tell where John Crouse was a laborer at, it almost looks like he was a laborer for grading.

Columns #28-#29 are questions about employment:

• Yes or no (whether actually at work)
• Line number for unemployed

It seems Edward Sr. was unemployed at some point.  Because he was unemployed, he has an additional line number associated with his census line.  Unfortunately the FAQs about the 1930 Census indicate the unemployment schedules no longer exist, so any information on this schedule has been lost.

Columns #30-#31 are veteran information:

• Yes or no (whether a veteran of the U.S. military or naval forces mobilized for any war or expedition)
• What war or expedition

None of this family served as veterans.

Column #32 is "No. of farm schedule".  The farm schedule was a supplemental set of questions for farms and didn't apply to Edward Sr. and his family.

The 1930 census can contain a wealth of information for genealogists.  There are several ways to access the census records, from using Ancestry.com (if you don't have a paid subscription to Ancestry, check out your local library or Family History Center for free usage opportunities) for indexed images to using some of the non-indexed sites and paging thru the census record pages one by one.  I prefer the indexed version, however, going through page by page can wield treasures of its own.  Additional family members have been discovered in this manner and it can also give you a picture of who was living around your ancestor.

Genealogy Basics: The 1940 Census

Census records.  Every genealogist uses them at one point or another.  They're a great source of information as long as you keep in mind the possibility for errors to be found within the census records.

The United States has taken a federal census every 10 years since 1790.  The first census enumeration contained a limited amount of information.  Each following enumeration asked for a little more information each time.  Today we're going to take a look at some information you can find in the census records.  Since you always want to start with the latest record available we're going to start with the 1940 census and work our way back.

The 1940 census was enumerated in April.  Let's look at a copy of a census record for my family.  I know my grandfather was living in Kansas City, Missouri when the 1940 census was enumerated.  Here's a copy of the record, broken down into two parts so it's readable:

First half of 1940 census listing for Edward Conwell, Jr. and family

Second half of 1940 census listing for Edward Conwell, Jr. and family

Columns #1 and #2 are the location information:

• Street, avenue, road, etc.
• House number (in cities and towns)

The house he's listed at is still standing and I was fortunate to spend summers there growing up as a child.

Columns #3-#6 are household data:

• Number of household in order of visitation
• Home owned or rented
• Value of home, if owned, or monthly rental, if rented
• Whether the household is on a farm

It surprised me to discover that grandpa Edward's house is listed as rented and he was paying $18 per month rental fee.  I was always under the impression that he was purchasing the house.  Add finding out when he purchased the home to my list of things to research.
Column #7 is the name of each person who's residence was in the household at the time of enumeration and column #8 is the relationship of the person to the head of household.  Grandpa Edward is listed with his (first) wife, Ada J., and...SURPRISE!...mother-in-law, Stella (so if I didn't already know Ada's maiden name, I could have gotten it from this census).  Grandpa Edward didn't talk much about his first wife, so I never knew that mother-in-law resided with them.

Edward Conwell listed with wife, Ada J., and mother-in-law, Stella Correll

Columns #9-#12 are the personal description fields:

• Sex
• Color or race
• Age at last birthday
• Marital status

Grandpa Edward and Ada were 35 and 36, white and married, while mother-in-law, Stella, was 58, white and widowed.
Columns #13 and #14 are questions regarding education:

• Attended school or college since March 1, 1940
• Highest grade of school completed

While Grandpa Edward completed high school, Ada completed seventh grade and Stella completed fourth grade.  None attended school during the year.
Column #15 is the person's place of birth and column #16 is whether the person is a U.S. citizen or foreign born.  The whole family was born in Missouri and they were all U.S. citizens.  Columns #17-#20 are questions regarding the residence:

• The city, town or village having 2,500 or more inhabitants or "R" for all other places
• County
• State or territory/foreign country
• Whether the residence was a farm

I can't say these columns were very informative since they were either left blank or filled in with the words "Same Place".
Columns #21-#34 are all questions about employment status (for persons 14 years old and over):

• Was this person at work for pay or profit in private or non-emergency government work during the week of March 24-30?
• If not, was this person at work on, or assigned to, public emergency work (WPA, NYA, CCC, etc.) during the week of March 24-30?
• If not at work or assigned to public emergency work were they seeking work?
• If not at work or assigned to public emergency work did they have a job, business, etc.?
• If the person answered no to any of the previous questions, indicate if they were engaged in housework, school, unable to work or other
• If at private or non-emergency government work (from column #21), number of hours worked during the week of March 24-30, 1940
• If seeking work or assigned to public emergency work (from column #22 or #23), duration of unemployment up to March 30, 1940 - in weeks

That last section is pretty large.  Sometimes the columns are fully completed, sometimes they're not.  In this case, the columns are mostly filled in and I learned that Grandpa Edward was working for pay and Ada was keeping house.  Yet another surprise, Stella is listed as working for pay as well.  As we move down the census form we discover that Stella is working as a seamstress in the wholesale clothing industry and Grandpa Edward is working as a plumber in (of course) the plumbing industry.  Both Stella and Edward are listed as "PW" under class of worker, which meant they were a wage/salary worker in private work (a chart of symbols/explanatory notes for the 1940 census can be found here).  

The final columns are questions regarding income:

• Amount of money wages or salary received (including commissions)
• Did this person receive income of $50 or more from sources other than money wages or salary?
• Number of farm schedule

It's interesting to see that Grandpa Edward was making just over $1300 per year in 1939.  Stella wasn't doing too bad as a seamstress at just over $575 per year.  They were not included on a farm schedule.

The 1940 census contains a wealth of information for genealogists.  There are several ways to access the census records, from using Ancestry.com (if you don't have a paid subscription to Ancestry, check out your local library or Family History Center for free usage opportunities) for indexed images to using some of the non-indexed sites and paging thru the census record pages one by one.  I prefer the indexed version, however, going through page by page can wield treasures of its own.  Additional family members have been discovered in this manner and it can also give you a picture of who was living around your ancestor.  

Have you made any surprising discoveries about your ancestors from the 1940 census?  What piece of information are you glad the government included on this census?

Next up, what's on the 1930 census?

Genealogy Basics: Divorce Records

The last three weeks we've talked about birth, marriage and death records.  These three types of vital records are the records most genealogists think about when you say the words "vital records".  But there's a fourth type of vital record that isn't immediately thought of: divorce records.  Obviously divorce records aren't going to exist for every person and prior to the 1900s they'll be virtually non-existent since divorce was rare.  In some places it was even illegal.

So what kind of information can you find in divorce records?

• Husband's name
• Wife's name
• Marriage date
• Divorce date
• Current residence of husband
• Current residence of wife
• Property of husband and wife
• Name(s) of child(ren)
• Birth date(s) of child(ren)
• Reasons for divorce

The information provided in the divorce records may vary from location to location and all the information in the above list may not be included in the records you find.

Divorces are handled by the court system so the location to contact to obtain these records will vary by location.  They may not be indexed so some searching may be required.

If you have some family information or situation in your genealogy that just doesn't add up, consider the possibility that there may have been a divorce in your family.  

My family had that situation with my second great-grandma Sarah (McKee) McCabe and second great-grandpa Chester Eaton McCabe.  After some digging my mother stumbled across another branch of the family we had no idea existed!  Initially we suspected Chester had run off and simply re-married.  We eventually discovered Chester and Sarah divorced, Chester met another woman and married her while Sarah came to Kansas City to be with her children in this area.  It was a fun mystery to solve and couldn't have been solved without the help of some cousins and a Civil War pension file.  We don't have the divorce documents yet but that's definitely on my list of things to get.

Genealogy Basics: Death Certificates

Over the last couple of weeks we've talked about birth records and marriage records, which can be used in your genealogy.  Today I want to talk about death records.

Before getting started I want to rewind to last week's post about marriage records.  In that post I neglected to mention a valuable piece of information.  If you're searching for a marriage record by the bride's last name and you're unable to locate it, consider the possibility she may have been married before and didn't use her maiden name on her new marriage license application.  This happened to be the case with my grandparents' marriage record.  It was a good thing I was able to provide the names of both the bride and groom when I requested the record copy because my grandmother used her last name from her previous marriage (Woods), not her actual maiden name (Brown).

Edward B. Conwell, Jr. and Edith M. (Brown) Woods' marriage license

Now, back to the intended subject of this post: death certificates.  Now, keep in mind that prior to 1900, many states had incomplete vital records.  Most birth, marriage and death records were kept by churches prior to when standardization occurred in the U.S.  A good resource to refer to when trying to determine if you'll find birth or death records in the state you're looking at is the ProGenealogist website.  You can pretty much assume the East coast states are going to have earlier standardized records than the Midwest or West coast states, simply because of when the states and state governments were formed.

So what type of information can you find on a death certificate?

• Name of deceased
• Age of deceased
• Date of death of deceased
• Place of death of deceased
• Time of death
• Cause of death
• Place of burial
• Date of birth of deceased (if known)
• Place of birth of deceased (if known)
• Name of parents (if known)
• Birth locations of parents (if known)
• Spouse's name (if spouse is a wife it may include the maiden name)
• Current residence
• Occupation
• Marital status
• Name of physician or medical examiner
• Name of informant and relationship to the deceased

Let's take a look at an actual death certificate.  We'll be using my great-grandfather's death certificate as an example:

Death certificate for my great-grandfather, Edward Bell Conwell, Sr.

This death certificate is a veritable gold mine of information.  It shows most of the information on the bulleted list above.  The only thing I don't see on the certificate that is listed above is the place of birth of his parents.  In addition I can tell that he only resided in Kansas City, Missouri for 6 months and the time between the claimed onset of the cause of death and his actual death was 2 months.  This would lead me to believe he moved from his prior residence to the place of death for health reasons.  I happen to know the place of death was the house my grandparents owned at the time, so he died while living with his son.

Something that stuck out at me on this death certificate was the answer to his marital status at the time of his death.

The answer itself is not odd.  Great-grandma Zella died two years before in 1948.  What's interesting to me is that it looks like the number two is listed in that box with his widowed status.  I'm possibly reading too much into that because I've never heard of great-grandpa having been married before he was married to great-grandma Zella, but stranger things have happened.  I also double checked the family history book my grandparents made for me when I was a child and nothing is listed there for a second wife so I suspect it may have just been a notation of some sort but I've added it to my list of things to ask the parental unit in the future with the hope that she'll know for sure (just in case I'm wrong).

The other thing that was included with the scan of this death certificate was the statement by licensed embalmer.  However, as you can see it wasn't actually completely filled out.  I wonder if they chose to not embalm him or if the embalmer just didn't bother to fill out the appropriate blanks on the form?

Statement of licensed embalmer from Edward Bell Conwell, Sr.'s death certificate

Great-grandpa Edward Bell Conwell, Sr.

Typically death records are some of the first records genealogists will try and locate.  This is because it's usually the most recent record of the research subject and can contain a great deal of information.  But genealogists should always make an effort to verify the information provided on the death certificate before assuming it's correct because the information being provided isn't being provided by the subject of the record but by a person who knew the deceased and that person may not have all the information or completely accurate information.

It's also important to remember that information included on death certificates may vary by location so the information you would find on a Kansas death certificate may very well be different than the information you would find on a New York death certificate.

Genealogy Basics: Marriage Certificates

Today we're continuing to talk about vital records.  Last week we talked about birth certificates and some of the information you can find on them.  This week we're going to talk about marriage records.

If you've been married you know how obtaining a marriage license works.  You fill out an application, get the license, the ceremony is performed, license is signed and returned to the state office to be filed.  At some point in time, some genealogist, somewhere in the world realized how great of a resource these documents were.  Most of the information you'll find will be located on the actual application for the marriage license.  Let's take a look at what kind of information we might find on a marriage license:

• Full name of bride
• Full name of groom
• Date of marriage
• Location of marriage
• Name of officiant
• Names of witnesses
• Birth date of bride
• Age of bride
• Birth date of groom
• Age of groom
• Whether single, widowed or divorced for each party
• Number of previous marriages for each party

God bless the Jackson County Recorder of Deeds because they've digitized their records and have made them searchable.  I was able to locate a copy of the marriage record of my great-grandparents just by going to the Recorder's website.  Below is a copy of the application for their license.  As you can see it lists some, but not all, of the information from the list above.  Keep in mind, different states had different information requirements for their vital records but some of the information is standard across all states, so what information Missouri requests on their applications may be less information that what you might find on the application from, say, Illinois.

Application for marriage certificate for
Edward Conwell, Sr. and Zella McCabe

Another important point to remember: while the majority of licenses filed for were used by the couple, there were instances where the couple filed for the license but never held the ceremony and, therefore, were never legally married.  Marriage licenses expired if they weren't used within a certain time period.  Keep this in mind if you find the application but never find the filed certificate.  I was happy to discover that Edward Sr. and Zella's marriage license had been used and filed and was included with the application when it was digitzed.  Below is the copy of their marriage certificate:

Marriage certificate for Edward
Conwell, Sr. and Zella McCabe

So just from this record I was able to learn the names of the bride and groom, their ages, when they were married, who married them, and where they lived when they applied for the license.

Typically these records have not been digitized and have to be requested from the state or county where the marriage occurred.  There is usually a fee attached and the fee typically covers the search time and a copy of the record if it's found.  Marriage certificates may look different from state to state but the basic information is standard across the states.

Now for an interesting bit of information I discovered after I found this marriage certificate: I learned that my great-grandma Zella was living in Wyandotte County, Kansas when she married my great-grandpa.  I always thought they were both living in Jackson County, Missouri.  Yay for new and interesting finds!

Tune in next week for information on death certificates!

Genealogy Basics: Birth Certificates

Last week we talked a little bit about genealogy basics and how to get started.  In that post I touched on some different records available for genealogical use.  The next few posts are going to discuss what those records are and what information can be extracted from them.

The first records we talked about were vital records.  Vital records consist of birth, marriage, divorce and death records and are referred to as primary sources.  The definition of a primary genealogy source is a document or source that was created at or near the time an event occurred.

Early vital records were mostly recorded in church or civil registers.  As the United States matured as a nation the need for better record keeping developed.  Prior to the 1900s vital records were mostly incomplete.  Once states began developing their own registration processes and laws the majority of life events began to be recorded.

These days everyone most likely has a copy of their birth certificate or can get a copy of their birth certificate so let's look at those first.  Since different states entered the union at different times their laws and bureaucratic processes developed at different speeds.  This means that some states have very early birth records while other states won't have birth records until much later.  The ProGenealogist website has a chart here showing when each state put into law the requirement for registering births and deaths and also when that state reached a 90% registration rate which was required for entry into the U.S. Registration. It also contains a great state-by-state synopsis following the chart.

Here's a list of some of the information you might find on a birth certificate:

• Child's full name (very helpful if the child happened to use a nickname)
• Child's gender
• Child's date of birth
• Child's place of birth
• Child's race
• Child's birth order
• Names of both parents
• Maiden name of the mother
• Parents' approximate birth date and ages
• Parents' places of birth
• Parents' occupations
• Family's religious affiliation
• Family's home address
• Hospital where the birth occurred or the name of a medical attendant present at the birth

As you can see birth certificates are a wealth of information.  Typically, they can only be obtained from the state where the birth occurred and all states charge a fee.  The fee covers the search time by state employees and one copy of the certificate.  For more recent birth certificates only direct relations can get copies of the certificate.  States usually are more lenient when it comes to much older certificates and allow for genealogy-based requests.

Things to remember:

• When states first began registering births anyone who hadn't already been registered could go and file for a delayed certificate of birth.  To do this, the person filing for the delayed birth certificate had to go to the state office with some type of proof of their birth (a document or person who would swear to the truth of the statements and birth facts) and make their application for a birth certificate.  The certificate was issued and filed with other certificates from that time, it was not filed with the certificates from the person's actual date of birth.
• When a birth certificate had or has an error an amended birth record can be filed.  It will show the corrected information and will be filed with the original certificate.

Birth certificates do look different from state to state.  These days the information is pretty standard across the states.  Before standardization occurred the information could vary widely from state to state.  Have you found anything interesting on birth certificates of your ancestors?

Tune in next week for information on marriage certificates!