Saturday, September 18, 2010

Census Saturday - 1910 Valois D. Parker

Valois Parker and family, early 1900s. See this post for caption details on this photo.

Census information is an important part of genealogy, but it's not always 100% reliable. It can give a glimpse into a day in the life of an ancestor. Census documents are hand written and sometimes difficult to read. They have been scanned from microfilm and sometimes the transfer is not very readable. Each census has different information from one to the next. For example, 1900 lists birth year, but 1901 only lists age. Name spelling is always an issue. Ethnic names are often spelled differently than what is expected. There is also error introduced when the family is not a native speaker of English, like many of the German immigrants in Wisconsin. The census is a valuable source of information, but like every source, it might have errors.

After the jump, there is a census extraction for 1910, Wautoma Township, Waushara County, Wisconsin focusing on the Valois D. Parker family.

Series: T624 Roll: 1738 Page: 361
Supervisors District No7, Enumeration District No 114
Enumerated by me on the 10 day of May, 1910. Edward F. Heuer, enumerator

Dwelling 343, Family 348

Parker Valois D, Head, Male, White, Age 52, Widowed, Born in New York, Father and Mother born in New York, Speaks English, Farmer, General Farm industry

Parker, Clyde, Son, Male, White, Age 23, Born in Wisconsin, Father born in New York, Mother born in Wisconsin, Speaks English, Laborer, General Farm industry

Parker, Loyd (sic), Son, Male, Male, White, Age 15, Born in Wisconsin, Father born in New York, Mother born in Wisconsin, Speaks English

Parker, Glen, Son, Male, White, Age 10, Born in Wisconsin, Father born in New York, Mother born in Wisconsin, Speaks English

Pugh, Catherine, Hired Woman, Female, White, Age 41, Divorced, Gave birth to one child, one child still living, Born in Michigan, Father's birthplace is not certain, appears to be "U   S", mother born in Ohio, speaks English, Employed as a servant in private family industry.

Pugh, Verna, Hired girl, Female, White, Age 19, Single, Born in Illinois, Father birth place Not Known, Mother birthplace Michigan, speaks English, employed as a servant in private family industry.