Failure to Properly Examine Census Records Leads to a Parental Mistake
William Herniman: 1819-1908 (Maternal 2nd
Great-Granduncle)
William Henry Herniman: 1856-1917 (Maternal 1st
Cousin 3x Removed)
William Alfred Herniman: 1843-1916 (Maternal 1st
Cousin 3x Removed)
Census records can be very seductive. They list names and
ages, and often suggest relationships. A few clicks of the computer mouse, and
all those names are added to the tree, along with the inferences about the
relationships amongst those individuals. For example, if you have a couple in
their 40s living with a child in his teens, all sharing the same surname, it is
tempting to surmise the teenager is their son. Tempting, but not always correct.
And if you have an elderly couple living with a younger couple, once again all
sharing a surname, it is easy to assume they are two generations of the same
family unit. I made those type of assumptions about the three William Hernimans
listed above. At the time of the 1870 census and the 1900 census, two of the
three Williams were sharing households. And I carelessly assumed in each case
that the elder William was the father of the younger William on the census
record. And I also assumed the two younger Williams might be the same person.
Oops. Oops on all counts!
William Herniman was born August 10, 1819 in Taunton,
Somerset, England. He was the first child born to James and Sarah Herniman. In
December 1840, He married Mary White. They appeared on the 1841 English census,
where William was working as a joiner. The couple emigrated either in 1843 or
1849, settling first in Dane County, Wisconsin, and then moving to Lisbon,
Wisconsin, becoming two of the town’s first pioneers.
 |
| William Herniman: 1819-1908 |
William and Mary appear on the 1860 census in Lisbon. The
couple were 40 years old, and were farming.
The 1870 census sent me down an erroneous path. William and
Mary were still living on their farm near Lisbon, but now a 13 year old boy,
also named William Herniman, was living with them. Had the census taker missed
the child on the previous census? Had he written down the boy’s age
incorrectly? Was he actually 10 years old? At first I didn’t let these issues
bother me. Young William appeared to be William and Mary’s child, so that’s how
I recorded him.
1870 Census
On the 1900 census, William and Mary, now in their early
80s, were living in a household headed by William Herniman, age 56, and his
wife Sallie, 51. Ah, I thought, they’ve moved in with their son and his wife.
It all made sense, right?
 |
| 1900 Census |
Except I wasn’t paying attention to the details on the
census forms. Details that were critical to understanding the true relationship
between these people.
First, if this younger William were their son, why didn’t
his age match up with the earlier record? The 1870 census showed him as age 13,
with a birth date of approximately 1856 or 57. The younger William on the 1900
census was born far earlier, in 1843 or 1844.
Also, when I looked at the census image, I could see the
column detailing the relationships of the household members to the head of the
household. William and Mary were identified as the younger William’s uncle and
aunt. The younger William’s mother, named Elizabeth, was also living in the
household.
In addition, the 1900 census asked all women how many
children they had given birth to, and how many still survived. Mary Herniman
answered zero to both questions. She and William had never had children.
I was forced to re-evaluate the identity of young William
Herniman. I quickly determined he had the middle name Alfred and was the son of
William Sr.’s brother George. George’s wife was Elizabeth White, who was the
sister of Mary White Herniman, so William and Mary were William Alfred’s aunt
and uncle twice over.
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| Postcard of New Lisbon, Wisconsin in 1907 |
But who was the 13-year-old William living with William and
Mary in 1870? It wasn’t William Alfred, as he was already married at that point
and living with his wife. William (the elder) and George Herniman had two other
brothers who had also emigrated to America, John and Henry. Henry had no sons
named William, but John’s eldest son, William Henry Herniman, born in 1856,
matched up in age to the boy on the 1870 census. John and his family had moved
to Minnesota around 1870, so young William Henry was probably visiting his
uncle for the summer.
I learned important lessons from my numerous mistakes on the
three William Hernimans. First, I must actually examine the image of the census
form, paying attention to the little details. Simply clicking information on
the transcribed record is insufficient. Second, I must never make assumptions
about the identities of or relationships among the people living in a single
household without finding supporting documentation.
But probably the most important thing I learned is that even
when I’ve made an “oops” in my tree, it is easily corrected.
Sources:
1870 United States Census. Year: 1870; Census Place: Lisbon,
Juneau, Wisconsin; Roll: M593_1720; Page: 76A. Accessed via Ancestry. Com.
1900 United States Census. Year: 1900; Census Place: Lisbon,
Juneau, Wisconsin; Roll: 1793; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0073; FHL
microfilm: 1241793. Accessed via Ancestry.com
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