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From: "Claudia Breland" <>
Subject: [TGF] ethical issues on searching the 1940 census
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:29:27 -0700


Hi all,

For the past year I have been working with a client who lives in Norway,
who is very eager to find descendants of her great-grandfather's brother,
who settled in Seattle about 1920. In 1950 he visited the family in Norway
and talked about his estranged wife and the daughter he was very proud of
for her "great education". The family in Norway does not know the names of
the wife or daughter, and the man had a very common name. I've done lots
of research, coming up empty, and I've been telling my client that perhaps
the answer will lie in the 1940 census.

So that's what I'm doing now - searching the 1940 census of Seattle, ED by
ED, concentrating on the most likely areas, based on the man's residence in
1930 and his occupation. I've easily put in 10 hours and have covered only
a fraction. My question is, is it ethical to continue to charge for what
may be a fruitless search? We're both assuming that he's living in Seattle
in 1940, but he may have moved to any one of the huge number of towns
surrounding Seattle in the Puget Sound area. I'm wondering about reducing
my rate, for instance. In searching the census, I'm not just looking for
the man's name, but also keeping in mind that his wife and daughter may be
listed on their own, so I'm making note of those possibilities.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Claudia Breland
http://www.ccbreland.com



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