Gene Notes

Some random and some not-so-random thoughts on family history.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Wish I Had Been There

Some things you just can't blame on the indexer. Especially not the following example.

I've been trying to put together all the Percival lines that I can find that relate to me. One of those is a Percival line out of Maine. On the 1900 Census, I find George S. Percival, his wife Helen, son-in-law George S. Burrill and daughter Lottie and their two children Helen and Harry. Ok, great, as I didn't have a marriage or any children for Lottie. One can always use more info, right?

On to the 1910 Census. No George Percival, no Helen Percival. No George and Lottie Burrill. So, out of desperation, I search for Harry Burrill and find him, living with his grandmother, Helen. Only one teeny tiny little snag, though. His grandmother is listed as Helen Burrill and living with her are grandchildren Helen and Harry and daughter Lottie.

I don't even want to imagine the scenario in which the census taker writes down the wrong surname for the head of household. I just wish I had been there to whack Mr. Rollin C. Clark upside the head and say "Pay attention to what they are telling you."

And then to top off all this aggravation are the problems with getting the image to load. Or the index for that matter as our favorite genealogy site is experiencing problems, so I should "check back soon!"

Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes

2 comments:

  1. ROFLMAO! I believe that qualifies as "census-whacking!"

    I can't tell you how many times I have thought the same thing. Glad to know I am not the only one who would resort to violence if it meant getting the census taken right! LOL

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  2. Ah, someone who is up as last as I am! You know the phrase, "I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall?" Well, not me. I want to be the person with the flyswatter whacking the census taker.

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