DUNHAM research in Oneida County, New York - early census

According to family records, Jane Angeline Dunham was born 6 November 1823 in Rome, New York. The 1855 New York state census collaborates this information. Land records place the family in Rome and Verona in the 1850s. Who is Jane's father? My census research offers several possibilities. But, my family photographs offer another possibility. Which will be correct or is there another possibility?

Before explaining the census research, the photographs keep haunting me. The photographs of "Aunt Sarah Dunham" and "gr grandpa & gr grandma Dunaham [Dunham]" beg for a say so in my debate. In Jane's 1906 obituary, she is identified as Mrs. Jane A. Couch survived by two living sisters (unable to locate county death records). Who? Aunt Sarah's face matches other Oneida County, New York Dunham's. So, she is probably a Dunham by birth not marriage. Sarah Dunham Hickok died in 1911. Sarah had a sister, Louisa Dunham Boyden who died in 1913. Documents verify their parents as William F. Dunham and Sarah Metcalf. Jane's son Eugene was married in 1874 in Streator, Illinois. William F. and Sarah were alive until after 1880. Maybe they attended the wedding and stopped in Kankakee for a photograph.

 BUT census records do not substantiate this hypothesis. Census records point to Joseph Dunham of Rome, New York and born in Newport, Rhode Island. Find A Grave provides information that a Joseph Dunham was buried in Stanwix Cemetery, Rome, New York in 1854.If this is the same Joseph then the photograph is wrong.

Findings from the Oneida County, New York census research:

1840 - 12 given names with 3 possibilities: Alpheus (b1810) lived in Westmoreland, Joseph (b1787)lived in Rome, William F.(b 1799) lived in Whitestown.

1830 - 9 given names with 3 possibilities: Alpheus (b1810) lived in Whitestown, Joseph (b1787) lived in Rome, William (?) lived in Utica. If this is William F. children should show up, none listed.

Following these families:

Alpheus (b1810) does have a daughter named Jane Ann. Jane married James Nobel. A future article will parallel these two ladies.

Joseph (1787) does have a female in the household and the correct age. So far, unable to verify other members of the household.

William F. (1799) does have multiple members in the household. If he would be Jane's father, some of his other children would have to be shifted to different age categories.

William F. Dunham (1799-?) and Sarah Metcalf (1799-?) family documented with the help of "cousins" and documents:

Lindsey William Dunham (1820)

Sarah Dunham Hickok (1821)

Augusta Dunham Boyden (1825)

Louisa Dunham  Hempton (1834)

Who is Joseph? What happened to his family? Joseph may be the same as buried in the Rome Cemetery in 1854.

The 1850 federal census for Phoenix, Oswego, New York:

Joseph (1787) born in Rhode Island

Elisabeth

index Benyer (1824) digital looks like Benajer?

The 1870 federal census for Rome Ward 2, Oneida, New York:

J. B. Dunham and Elisabeth without a Joseph.

The 1850 and 1870 census match ages, these may be the same people. Could the J.B. be Benajer? No relationships are given.

Adding "my Jane" to the mix, the ages match the 1830 and 1840 marks for Joseph in Rome. "My Jane" was married in 1846 in New York.

From the census research, Joseph presents the best case for her father. How do I explain the obituary with two living sisters? More articles as I find records.

How to abstract a U.S. census with Mathew Armstrong 1850 population schedule as my example

In this article, I will demonstrate how to abstract a census from a digital image to a genealogical software program. For this example, the 1850 U.S. census population schedule for Matthew Armstrong will be used with the genealogical software program Roots Magic.

In every census, the enumerators asked different questions. Start with the most current census in which a known family member has been located. Always work backward; find the family in each census; always abstract all of the information.

The 1880 U.S. Census population schedule is the first year that the enumerator asked the question about the relationship of each individual to the head of the household. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 census information does not establish relationships. When working backward or with the information from other documents when abstracting the 1850, 1860, or 1870 census records, I will add [relationship established from other documents] in the comments area. The relationship information is necessary for sharing documents. If I do not have the relationship information, an entry is made in my “to do” list or family research. Remember, census records are clues only!

In Roots Magic software, events may be shared with multiple people. Shared events are great for census or obituaries or any event with multiple names. The event is entered, abstracted with source cited only once and then easily shared with others.

For more articles on census research, read my other census or how to articles on this blog. 

Happy tree climbing and roots digging,

Selma

Census: Online searches

Research Every Census

With the ease of a few keystrokes, most family historians will begin research in the U.S. population schedule censuses. Suggestions for online research:

• If the site offers general and exact matches, always try both methods.
• Begin a general search with minimal information, such as surname, given name and location.
• Narrow the research by editing advanced search with personal information such as dates or family names.
• Print or download the index page and the digitized census. The index page provides the source citation. If the desired family is at the top of the census page, print the previous page. If the desired family is at the bottom of the census page, print the following page.
• Look at the neighbors and a few pages preceding and following. Abstract the census data for families with the same surname. 

Genealogy software programs, such as Roots Magic and Legacy, offer census events and citation source wizards. The family historian may choose to construct a document in a spreadsheet or a table format. Include a source citation for every entry. Elizabeth Shown Mills in her book, Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, offers a chapter of guidelines and examples on citing census records.

The citation identifies the source; the abstraction provides information on the family unit. A blank census form will aid in identifying the enumeration questions. If making a spreadsheet or table, the family historian may want to add the questions as headers.
Abstract every person in the household. 

Roots Magic 1940 census abstraction for William Kampe, Frankfort, Will, Illinois

Follow the family backwards – every census offers unique tips:

• About residence and migration patterns
• About occupation
• About household members, the census may include parents or siblings
• 1940 – Residence in 1935 and employment status
• 1930 – Age first marriage, value of home, language spoken in home
• 1920 – Able to read or write, able to speak English
• 1910 – Survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy
• 1900 – Month and year of birth, year of immigration, number of years in U.S. and naturalization
• 1890 – Only a few counties are available, see FamilySearch.org wiki
• 1880 – Relationship to the head of household, parents’ birth location
• 1870 – Parents’ foreign born, education, male citizenship
• 1860 – Value of personal property, separate slave schedule
• 1850 – First census with data for everyone in household, separate slave schedule

On the Ancestry website, the researcher has at least five census search options:

• Search all records either exact or not exact
• Census and voters list
• Narrow the record search to a specific census
• Card catalog with “U.S. census” as keywords
• Browse the census by location

The researcher should search by each of the above methods. Due to indexing and tagging parameters on Ancestry, each method will produce different results.

If no matches, remember:

• The search is by index, not actual record. The researcher may browse the census pages by location
• The spellings of names change from census to census
• The location names change as county boundaries change or street names and numbers change
• People move
• People die

Do NOT:

• Exclusively use one website, search Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Heritage Quest, U.S.genweb.org, cyndislist.com
• Assume anything, always verify census with other original records and family information
• Get discouraged, go slow and take your time
• Give up, keep going
• Exclusively research one type of record such as census, vital, or newspapers

For questions about U.S. census research, contact Selma Blackmon.