Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Harold John Crowe's Date of Birth - A Research Log


This is me, still playing catch-up with my research logs, in an attempt to narrow the search for my great grandfather's birth date without the benefit of a true birth certificate.  If anyone sees anything I missed or any flaws in my analysis, please let me know.
Subject Name:  Harold John Crowe (Sr.), b. ?? d. 19 Sept 1971

Question to be researchedWhen was Harold born?

Date of Search:  11.8.11


Place Searchedancestry.com (1900 Federal Census, Perry Co., IN, Troy Township, ED ED number 116, Sheet 9B, dwelling 179, family 194, Herrold J. Crowe.)

Results:  “Herrold J.” is shown as 8/12 years old, born in Sep 1899 in Indiana.  Census taken on 9 Jun 1900.


Place Searched:  Ancestry.com (1910 Federal Census, Spencer Co., IN, Ohio Township, ED ED number 84, p. 3B-4A, dwelling 72, family 74, Harold Crow.)

ResultsHarold is shown as 10 years old.  Census was taken on 18 Apr 1910, putting Harold’s birth date between 19 Apr 1900 and 17 Apr 1901.


Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1920 United States Federal Census, Posey Co., IN, Ward 1, Black Twp., ED 50, p. 13A-B, lines 44-1, dwelling 325. family 344, Charles Crow.)

Results:  Harold is listed as age 20.  Census was taken on 13-14 Jan 1920, making his date of birth between 15 Jan 1900 and 12 Jan 1901.


Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1930 Federal Census, Marion Co., IN, Center Township, ED number 49-402, p. 23A, dwelling 6, family 7, Harold Crowe.)

Results:  Harold is listed with his wife Lucille at age 30.  Census was taken on 22 Apr 1930, making his date of birth between 23 Apr 1900 and 21 Apr 1901.


Place Searched:  ancestry.com (Harold Crowe Sr, no. xxx-xx-8788, "U.S. Social Security Death Index," ancestry.com.)

Results:  Harold Crowe Sr’s date of birth is given as 15 Sept 1899.


Place SearchedHarold John Crowe Sr, xxx-xx-8788, 1936, Application for Social Security Number, Social Security Administration.

Results:  Birth date is listed as 15 Sep 1899 for Harold John Crowe, Sr.


Place Searched"Funeral Records," Harold J. Crowe; G.H. Hermann Funeral Home, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Results:  Shows Harold J. Crowe’s birth date as 15 Sep 1899.  The informant was Harold Crowe Jr.  A phone call with the woman at the funeral home revealed that the information for the funeral home records was copied directly from the death certificate.


Place SearchedHarold J. Crowe, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, 20 September 1971, p. 31.

Results:  Obituary lists Harold J. Crowe as age 72.  He died on 19 Sept 1971, and the obituary was published on 20 Sep 1971.  This places his birth year in 1899.


Place Searched(Male) Crow, Perry County, Indiana birth certificate no. 2014034 (15 September 1899)

Results:  Birth certificate shows a male child born to Charles Crow and Ida Gray on 15 Sep 1899.  I can only assume this is Harold.


Analysis:  Census records as a whole are not reliable when it comes to exact dates.  His next oldest sibling is 2-1/2 years older, and his next youngest is 3 years younger.  Since the date on the birth certificate matches the date on his Social Security application, I am going to assume it is the same person.  That information also matches what was given in the funeral records.


Conclusion:  Since I have 3 sources that agree with the birth date of 15 Sep 1899, I am going to assume this is correct.


Next Steps:  I have requested his death certificate, but have not received it.  I have a feeling it will give exactly the same information that the records from the funeral home give.  I also requested his military records from WWI, but received a letter that the records were burned in the 1973 fire, so I am going to have to find a way to reconstruct them.

5 comments:

Michelle Goodrum said...

I'm liking your log and especially the Conclusion and Next Steps section. If you put your work aside for a while, you should be able to pick it up and quickly know where you left off. Keep it up!

Unknown said...

Thanks, Michelle! My goal was to be able to do just that, so it sounds like I'm on the right track. Now if I could remember to keep a correspondence log, I'd be batting a thousand! Baby steps. :)

Laura Aanenson said...

Well done Jenny - this rocks! I might add dates and locations to your Next Steps section just in case your memory is as short as mine. :o)

Unknown said...

Good idea, Laura. We all know how my memory is ... that being said, I received the death certificate from Wyoming today via email. It gives a birth date of 17 Sept 1877, so no help there. However, I now know his date of death :)

Unknown said...

... and so much for my memory. I totally commented with the info about my OTHER great-grandfather's death certificate on the wrong post LOL

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