Census Adventure

This document was the Third Place Winner in the Genealogy Forum Writing Contest in Fall, 1997. Submitted by Kim Herter (Somebody13@aol.com).

I've never been the assertive type. In fact, I can be rather shy around strangers. On that day, my first day of census research, I hadn't known what to expect. Clutching my pencil, a small folder, and a wire-bound steno notebook, I'd approached the librarian.

"Excuse me," I'd said, trying to be as polite as possible. She'd looked up from her work and looked back at me. "Excuse me," I'd repeated. "May I sign up to use a microfilm reader?" I wondered what she thought then, looking back at me-a fourteen year old, the same fourteen year old she'd tried to earlier convince had come to the wrong library . ("This is a genealogy library," she'd said.). She pointed out a clipboard sitting on a table near the desk and I'd quickly scrawled my name. A quick thanks passed from my mouth as I turned to go to the microfilm room.

I'd never used a microfilm reader in my life, much less for seeking a census record, and I was too petrified to ask for help. To my credit, I suppose, I'd read about census records and census research online. I'd arrived at the library with a vague understanding of what I could find and a very basic knowledge of how to go about doing so.

I knew that census records have been taken every ten years since 1790. Census records from 1850 onward named the members of the household other than the head. Census records after 1880 were indexed with a special phonetic code (called Soundex), while for earlier census records one should look for a printed index that will usually list the heads of household alphabetically by surname. The 1890 census had burned and little remained aside from the special enumeration of Union Civil war veterans. I also knew I would not be able to access census records later than 1920 without a special request form to the National Archives and accompanying fees. That is what I knew; that is ALL I knew.

Surveying the collection of census records held at this particular library, I found that they only had North Carolina census records through 1880. Some libraries (such as state archives, National Archives records branches, and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City) keep microfilm copies of most available US census records available in their collections. Large public libraries with genealogy departments may have early census records on a national level and then only local census records for later years. Some public libraries may only carry census records for that particular county and may not have records for every available census year. If the particular census microfilm you need is not available at your local library and you are unable to travel to a library with that record, you can order census microfilm through interlibrary loan (ILL) for viewing at your local library. Alternately, you can order census (and MANY other) records on microfilm through the LDS Family History Library for viewing at a local Family History Center (FHC). To find a FHC near you, look in the phone book under: Churches-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The.

In light of the library's collection, I chose to search the 1870 census in hopes of finding the parents of my ancestor James BRIGGS. I didn't have an exact birth date for James, but knew that he was probably born prior to but perhaps a little after 1850. This library didn't have an index for 1860. I figured that I had the best chance of locating James in the 1870 census and so began my search.

Standing on my tippy-toes, I still couldn't reach the bound census indexes and so only after hunting down a stool could I pull down the first volume (in a 2 volume set, by first letter of last name) of the 1870 North Carolina census index. Like most printed census indexes, this index was published by Accelerated Indexing Systems (A.I.S.). While an invaluable aid in researching, diligent researchers be aware: one must check alternate spellings of a surname (such as, BRIGS or BRIGG or BRAGG in my case) because these indexes are not arranged phonetically and therefore alternate spellings must be searched for by hand; and often times the indexer may misread an entry resulting in a name being misindexed. Not knowing this, I quickly flipped to "BRIGGS" and finding only a page or two of entries quickly photocopied the page.

Now armed with the photocopies of the index pages, I needed to decide which entries to view first. Knowing that James BRIGGS had been from Person County, I decided that on that day I'd try all of the Person County entries, hoping that James and his family were living in Person County in 1870. This left me with some 7-8 entries to check, along with an entry for a James BRIGGS, age 16, in another county. (Often individuals of another surname living in a household are indexed as well as the head of household).

Using the microfilm roll numbers listed in the index, I found the two rolls of microfilm I needed. Sitting down in front of my microfilm reader, I now attempted to decipher the diagram that was supposed to show me how to load the microfilm. After a minute or so of staring, a few glances over at the neighboring microfilm users, and a lot of twisting, yanking, and shoving, I thought I'd gotten my first roll on the reel in an acceptable fashion. I began to turn the crank that advanced the film and eventually found the page I'd been looking for. I copied the information down in my steno pad wondering what it might mean. In my excitement of "kinda-sorta" finding something, I neglected to record the page number on which I'd found the entry. Now I realize that I could have saved myself much time by recording the microfilm roll number and page number on which I'd found the entry.

Whirling the crank in reverse, I quickly saw the microfilm spill out over the top of the reader out onto the floor. My heart beat faster, and I let go of the crank. Being completely honest here, I thought someone would arrest me for attempting to vandalize library property. After all, that librarian (I was glad she didn't see this) seemed out to get me!

As I tried to grab the falling microfilm in my arms the man next to me looked up and seeing my predicament, offered help. He didn't yell at me. He simply smiled and showed me how I'd put the film on incorrectly. I've come to see that microfilm reader problems serve as a type of genealogist initiation, with most of us loading microfilm wrong at least once.

I found another possible entry for my ancestor in the Person County records but by far the most valuable knowledge I gained that day had nothing to do with pedigrees. My mom had to laugh when I came out beaming about how I'd learned to use a microfilm reader and we both chuckled when she informed me that a different librarian had gotten upset with her for using a pen (when she should have been using pencil, even though she wasn't looking at genealogy records)--the librarians didn't only dislike me!

Finding that the National Archives Western Branch was a mere 20 minutes from my house (closer than the other library), I returned again for some census research. Taking a different approach, I began with the 1920 census and traced the family backward in time.

I found Emma BRIGGS (James's wife) enumerated with her sister Charlotte CLAYTON (who remained single) and the correct children. The 1880 census revealed that James BRIGGS had a brother Zack. Now having the names and approximate ages of two children for each family (and Emma's maiden name), I found that the next time I went searching for James and Emma's parents they were more easily found. I was then able to verify the relationships shown in the census records with further court record research.

Oh...and as far as librarians go...I no longer think they hold a grudge against me. Most of them are rather nice, and very helpful. Everyone has his or her bad days.

Submitted by Kim Herter (Somebody13@aol.com).

The Genealogy Forum - Main Page
Beginners' Center | Surname Center | File Libraries
Internet Center | Message Boards
Resource Center | Reunion Center
Genealogy Forum News
Shop With Us

© 1999 - 2020  Some Graphics By Carol, All Rights Reserved.
Genealogy Forum.com is a production of
Golden Gate Services, Inc. of Armada, Michigan.
© 1998 - 2020 All Rights Reserved. Brenda Jean Bova, President.
Tree logo provided by MeadPond Designs and is the trademark of GenealogyForum.com.

 Please, let us know what you think about this site...
If you have any questions or comments, please email GoldenGateServices@aol.com
This page was last modified on .