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From: Joan Lowrey <>
Subject: RE: [APG] 1920 census help
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2006 13:01:37 -0700
References: <000401c666e6$fed3c340$6400a8c0@gladysdesk><042320060449.6741.444B0750000CAFB000001A55219792474103010CD20D0D9B0809079C0207BF9B9D0A0D0D9A04D20E0B@insightbb.com>
In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20060423134504.00c90d50@smig.net>


I thought the 1930 census would verify the "at sea" birth, as there should
be "X9" for the code in column 21A for her. But I found her, and as you
probably know, it says she was born in Norway. So I agree, "at sea'" was
considered an "other country" since it was not any country. The census
taker probably reasoned that since there is no country name, the language
cannot be associated with any country, so should be "other language."

Joan Neumann Lowrey


At 02:00 PM 4/23/06 -0500, Jean R. Legried wrote:
>I recently had the problem with OC and OL in the 1920 census. This was in
>Montana. Here is what I wrote to my client about it in my report:
>
>> In the 1920 census Hanna M. was born "at sea" with her mother
>> tongue being Norwegian; her father was born in England with English as
>> his mother tongue and her mother was born in Norway with Norwegian as
>> her mother tongue. Her year of immigration is 1888 and she became a
>> citizen in 1898. I have ordered a search for her final papers but, since
>> it will take at least two weeks, I'm not holding up this report. Note
>> the letters OC and OL on Hanna's nativity and mother tongue entries (and
>> carried over to Clarence's entries). No one can tell me what these
>> letters mean. Books about the census state that OC means "old country"
>> but that makes no sense in this situation.
>
>"Other country" and "Other language" would make more sense in this
>situation. Family tradition says that Hanna was born "at sea near
>Australia" and that her mother "gave her to a family in Norway to raise".
>I haven't been able to prove or disprove either tradition. "At sea" IS an
>"other country". "Norwegian" = "other language" is harder to understand,
>though. (Clarence is Hanna's son.)


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