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Archiver > ILCLINTO > 2000-03 > 0953167372


From: "Dorothy Falk" <>
Subject: [ILCLINTO] Why ages don't track from one census to the next
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 18:42:52 -0600


Thanks, Bill, for the interesting thoughts.


-----Original Message-----
From: <>

Census records across the country are historic for their errors,
especially when it comes to the ages of the male members of the family.

You must remember not all of our ancestors came to this country because
they were happy campers in their homelands. Europe during all of it's
history was in and out of wars, much the same as the world is today. You
need people to fight these wars and not all people wanted to be what was
lovingly referred to as "Cannon Fodder". As a result of this need every
country had the draft or conscription method of obtaining their fighting
men.

As a result many of the families came to this country to escape the
mandatory military service for their children. When they got here lets
assume in 1849, the very next year they were hit with a census. They just
left a country where they didn't trust the government why should they
trust this new guy who couldn't even speak their language? Immediately
they were suspicious of the government asking about the age of their
children. So the census taker was then given the age of the sons as being
something less that 10 or 11 years of age. Then in 1860 these same male
children were again listed but were now only 13-15 years old, they had
only aged 3 to 4 years in a 10 year period. Then in 1870 these same male
children were married and finally their true age is listed as 30 plus
years of age. In this manner many of them did not serve in the Civil War.


During the period of the census taker riding in on his horse the sons may
have been sent to a neighbors house or even to another town, just to be
out of sight during the period that this government man was in the area.

There were no computers nor people at the time to compare names and ages,
it was a long process and I would assume that if anything other than a
nose count for political purposes only, not much was done with the
records other than filing them in a box.

For my part the census returns are almost as inaccurate as are the
tombstones in a cemetery. The census is nothing more than another source,
an indicator and just because it is written doesn't make it correct or
accurate. All you need to do is check the way your surnames are
frequently misspelled, many of these people could neither read or write
so who was to check what the guy with the "Beautiful" penmanship was
writing, you can't read it today.


Bill Buchholz

For info on cemeteries, funeral homes etc. check:
http://pages.prodigy.net/dave_lossos/stl/buchholz.htm
Surnames:
BECKMANN-BUCHHOLZ-BUCKHOLZ-BUCHOLZ-CASSIDY-DeLONJAY-NENTWIG-NEUTZLER-PONC
OT-RENSING-STAUDER-STIEFFERMANN

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