James W. WINSLOW enumerated twice-- twice

Census records are wonderful for finding out information about our ancestors; the more recent the census, the more information it gives.

The problem is that census records are not infallible; they often contain errors and sometimes even deliberate falsehoods.

Another issue you may run into is finding someone who was enumerated in the same census more than once.

For example, my great-great grandfather James W. WINSLOW appears to have been enumerated twice in two different censuses.

James was born in 1838, one of ten surviving children born to William and Mary (SEVERANCE) WINSLOW. He was first married to Mary SMITH, with whom he had daughters. Mary died in 1876.

The 1880 Census

James Winslow was first enumerated for this census in Fremont, Rockingham County, New Hampshire on 9 June 1880. Here he is listed as aged 39, his occupation "teamster", widowed, with three daughters: Nellie E., 16, Laura A., 14, and Sarah A., 12.

Click to read more ...

Just one little problem with the 1940 census

So I had been getting excited about the upcoming release of the 1940 census, which the National Archives will make available for research at 9:00 a.m. on April 2, 2012; this is the first census in which I'll be able to find my parents.

Or maybe not.

You see, this census won't be indexed.

So forget typing in a name and finding the person, the way we spoiled internet genealogists have been used to doing. Until they index the census, which is predicted to take about six months, we will instead have to locate searchees by enumeration district. And it appears that you can only find the right enumeration district if you have a street address.

In other words, unless you know exactly where the person you're looking for was living in April of 1940, good luck.

The NEHGS e-newsletter I received this morning warned of this little challenge, and advises trying to utilize city directories, the 1930 census, and World War II draft cards to try to determine residence locations.

This is good advice, of course, but then it defeats a main purpose of finding your family in the census-- which is to find this information in the first place.

No index? Really, National Archives?

It's not as if you haven't had TEN FLIPPIN' YEARS to prepare for this.

I shouldn't have a problem finding my dad and his parents, only because I know what their address was. However, my mom and her parents and grandparents will be a very different story.

You can search enumeration maps here; just type "1940 census maps" into the search engine, followed by the name of the county (and state, if the name of the county is common). Then click on the name of the one you want, and then the "digital copies" tab.

After having to wait so long, this is a very big disappointment. Might it possibly have something to do with why they're going to make access to this census free?