Anatomy of a Census Record (or Confessions of an Intermediate Genealogy Noob)

I've been doing some beta testing for a new software product that (for now) shall remain nameless (until I get permission to blab).  In any case, this certain software requires that I enter my sources (with citations) and then enter all of the individual fact claims for each person on each source.  Ultimately, this is going to help me with my proof arguments for ... well, everything.

I had barely gotten started when I had to stop and ask myself, "have I really thought about the individual claims made in every source I have?"  Nope.  Do those sources really make the claims I think they make, or do I see them because that's I want the source to tell me?  Hmm ... good question.  Let's take a look.

I'll start with a census record, since that's pretty much the first thing I look for when trying to flesh out a family.

This is the 1870 U.S. Census record for Saunders County, Nebraska.

You can see that it lists the Bourke household about halfway down the page.  My great great grandmother, Eliza Bourke, is highlighted.

The first thing to note is that (unlike the 1940 census) the person providing the information to the enumerator is not indicated.  Therefore, right off the bat, we can't say whether the information is reliable.  We'll put that aside for now.

It clearly shows that Eliza is 9 years old at the time of the census.  Nice!  A clue to her birth date.  But ... when was the census taken?  There is no date at the top of the page.  Fortunately, I referred to my source citation and went back to the source, kept going backwards page by page until I found a date.  Unfortunately, it was on the very first page.

So Eliza was 9 years old on the 6th or 7th of August, 1870.  This places her birth date between August 7-8, 1860 and August 5-6, 1861.  Here's the big question: Does the census record tell me that? Or is it merely inferred?  Technically it is inferred.  It's still evidence for "When was Eliza Bourke born?" (because you can't have evidence without first having a question), but in this case the evidence is indirect.

The next major fact is that Eliza was born in Illinois.  This is direct evidence for the question "Where was Eliza Bourke born?"  Pretty straightforward.  Not very precise, but it will do for now.

Now comes the hard part.  Does this record tell me that Louis Bourke and Mary Bourke are Eliza's parents?  It does not.  What it does tell me is that Eliza was living in the same household as Louis and Mary Bourke and supposedly shared the same last name as Louis and Mary Bourke.  It also tells me that both Eliza's father and mother are of foreign birth (as are Louis and Mary).  We could infer that Louis and Mary are Eliza's parents, but that would be risky, as there simply isn't enough evidence to make that connection.  We can't even say for sure that Louis and Mary are married.  They might be brother and sister or cousins or any other relation - or no relation at all.

The bottom line is that this 1870 census record is helpful for clues, but not much more.  The only "facts" I can really take away are that Eliza was born in Illinois, that she did not attend school within the year, and she can read and write - and that's without taking the reliability of the information into account.  The one thing I can count on from this record is that Eliza Bourke was in Township 14, Range 9 of Saunders County, Nebraska between August 6 and 7, 1870.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not much, and at first it seemed like my "reasonably exhaustive" search would quickly become an unreasonably exhausting search.  Fortunately, subsequent census records contain a little more information that I can (and will) use to help make these connections.

Between my NGS Home Study Course and the beta testing for this yet-unidentified software, I am looking at my research in a whole new way ... and that's turning out to be a very good thing!

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

My Brick Wall - Eliza Bourke

I've hit a sort of brick wall with some of my research on my 2nd great grandmother, Eliza Bourke.  I guess it's actually more of a Catch-22 than a brick wall, but it's frustrating nonetheless.  I'm hoping that if I post her information here, one of two things will happen: (1) I will realize that I missed something; or (2) someone will think of something I haven't done yet and give me a nudge in the right direction.


Goal:  Determine the county in Illinois where Eliza Bourke was born.


Here's what I know:

1. Eliza Bourke/Burke/Burk was born between 1859 and 1860, most likely in Illinois [death certificate, obituary, 1870, 1880, 1885, and 1990 censuses].
2. Eliza's father Louis Bourke (age 40) and Mary somebody (age 35) (probably her mother) were born in Canada.  They must have emigrated to the U.S. sometime prior to 1854 and settled in Illinois.  At least 4 children were born to the couple, one of them being Eliza Bourke, while they lived there until at least 1863.  Between 1863 and 1867 they relocated to Michigan and had at least two more children, and then relocated again to Nebraska between 1868 and 1870 and had at least one more child.  A gentleman by the name of Francis (age 72), born in Canada, also lived in the household in 1870.  This could be Louis' father. [1870 U.S. census - Saunders, Nebraska]

Here are the problems I've run into:

1. I cannot locate Louis Bourke (using many spelling variations, wildcards, etc.) or any other member of this family on the 1860 U.S. census using the search features on Ancestry or FamilySearch.  Not only in Illinois, but anywhere in the U.S.  Given that the first child listed on the 1870 census was born in Illinois and is age 16, they should be living somewhere in the United States in 1860.  I can only guess this is due to poor quality images that were indexed and the name just got indexed far enough off the mark for it not to appear in my search results.
2. Birth records in Illinois were not kept by the state until 1916.  All birth records prior to 1916 are kept at the county level.  Unfortunately, most of the counties didn't start keeping birth records until the 1870s ... 10 years too late for me.
3. Louis Bourke's date of death is unknown to me, so I can't request a death certificate or an obituary until I narrow that down.  I have found no mention of his death in any searchable online newspaper source.  So no information about his family is forthcoming from that front either.

Without being able to find them on the census, I cannot find potential birth counties for Eliza.  Without the birth county for Eliza, I am unable to narrow down their county of residence, and thus am stuck doing a page-by-page search of the 1860 for the entire state of Illinois looking for Bourkes until my eyes bleed.  There has simply got to be a better way.

As I was typing this post, a thought occurred to me.  They were Catholic.  So I reached out to the dioceses in Illinois to see if I could locate any birth or baptism records.  Hopefully I will hear back from them in the next few days.  Sadly, I think the records are probably kept at the Parish level, so I may be out of luck on that front as well.

Another thought occurred to me ... land records.  I did a search for land patents for Bourke in Illinois and came across some records for Francis Burke in Thompson Township from 1849 and 1850, but after a page-by-page search of the 1860 census images for Thompson Township, found no Burkes at all, so I don't know if this is the same Francis Bourke from the 1870 census.  There were no land records for Louis Bourke/Burke.

If any of you brilliant readers have any ideas to narrow down my search, please let me know!

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday's Obituary - Louis P. Lanctot

Louis Lanctot - he's the one with
the big arrow pointing at him.  I don't
know who the other gentlemen are in the car

LOUIS P. LANCTOT

Yankton Press & Dakotan.
Yankton, South Dakota,
23 October 1922

Louis P. Lanctot, formerly of Yankton, was instnatly [sic] killed near Casper, Wyo. Saturday afternoon, when a heavy auto truck, loaded with lumber, turned over pinning him underneath.  Such was the news that reached Louis Schneider, of 705 Pine St., yesterday morning, who was the father-in-law of the deceased.  Mrs. Eliza Lanctot, mother of Louis, and also a brother, Arthur, were in Yankton, as it happened, on their way west and were notified of the tragedy just as they were leaving.  The body will be brought to Yankton for burial, arriving tomorrow night if connections are made.

Louis P. Lanctot was born in Saunders county, Nebraska, Sept. 17, 1887 and was married at Sacred Heart church, this city, to Miss Alice Schneider, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Schneider, of Pine street, and they resided here for several years.  About five years ago Mr. Lanctot took up land five years ago Mrs. Lanctot took up land in Wyoming, settling near Bucknam, 25 miles from Casper, and his family joined him there.  On Saturday Mr. Lanctot drive to Casper for a load of lumber and on his return, not far from Casper, his truck turned over,  It is understood here he was instantly killed or died very soon afterwards.  Mrs. Lanctot and four little children, aged from one year to seven, survive.  In addition to these relatives Mr. Lanctot leaves his mother, Mrs. Eliza Lanctot; three brother, Arthur and William of Armour; Elmer, of Parkston, and two sisters, Mrs. Fred Lichsinger [Luchsinger], of Wyoming, Minn., and Mrs. L. H. Barnes, of Armour.  Mrs. Lanctot left Casper today with the remains of her husband and funeral arrangements will be made here after her arrival.

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Louis Lanctot's Date of Birth - A Research Log

This is me, 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 birth certificate.  If anyone sees anything I missed or any flaws in my analysis, please let me know.

Subject Name:  Louis Phelisa Lanctot, b. ??  d. Oct 1922

Question to be researched:  When was Louis born?

Date of Search:  11.6.11

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Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1900 U.S. Census, Charles Mix Co., SD, (Darlington Township), p. 8B, li. 54-60)

Results:  "Lewis" is shown as being 12 years old, born in Sept 1887 in Nebraska.  Son of "Jenophile" (b. Canada) and Elizabeth (b. Illinois).  However, the census was taken on 21 Jun 1900, placing Lewis’ birth date between 22 Jun 1888 and 20 Jun 1889.  This may be a mathematical error on the part of the enumerator, or incorrect information given.

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Place Searched:  Ancestry.com (1910 U.S. Census, Cedar Co., NE, (St. Helena/Precinct 2), p. 10B-11A, li.96-2.)

Results:  "Lewis" Lanctot is found working as a laborer at the household of Walter Lawson.  He is 22 years old, single, born in Nebraska, father from Canada, mother from Illinois.  His occupation is listed as well driller.  Census was taken on 13-14 May 1910, which translates to a birth date between 15 May 1888 and 12 May 1889.

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Place Searched:  ancestry.com (1920 U.S. Census, Natrona Co., WY, (Election District 8, Enumeration District: 84), p.2B, li. 75-59.)

Results:  Louis T. Lanctot, age 32, listed with wife Alice.  He was born in Nebraska, father from Canada, mother from Illinois; occupation well driller.  Census was taken on 17 Jan 1920, which translates to a birth date between 18 Jan 1888 and 16 Jan 1889.

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Place Searched:  ancestry.com ("World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital image [database online], Ancestry.com, card for Louis Phelisa Lanctot, no. 75, Converse, Wyoming.)

Results:  Louis Phelisa Lanctot of Yankton, SD, DOB: 17 Sept 1888 in Mead, Nebraska.  Occupation: independent well driller.  He is married with 2 children.

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Place Searched:  Edward John Lanctot, Casper, Natrona, Wyoming, USA birth certificate 2686 (30 July 1921).

Results:  Louis Lanctot listed as age 33 at time of Ed’s birth, making his birth date between 31 Jul 1888 and 29 Jul 1889.

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Place Searched:  Yankton Cemetery, Yankton, South Dakota, headstone

Results:  Shows Louis P. Lanctot’s birth year as 1887.

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Place Searched:  L.P. Lanctot and Alice M. Schnieder, (15 July 1913), South Dakota Marriages, 1905-1949 [database on-line]: ; South Dakota Department of Health, Pierre, South Dakota.

Results:  Listed as age 25 at time of marriage (15 Jul 1913), making his birth date between 15 Jul 1888 and 14 Jul 1889.

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Analysis:  All the information I have to date provides a birth date for Louis between September 1887 and 29 Jul 1889.  I do not put a lot of weight into the date given on the 1900 census, because there is clearly some error there (mathematical or otherwise).  I also do not put a lot of weight into the information inscribed on the headstone, since I don’t know where that information came from, or who provided it.  Therefore, for all the ages used to be correct, I am left with a birth date range between 31 Jul 1888 and 16 Jan 1889.  I would tend to believe the date of birth on his WWI Draft Registration, except that it is considered secondary information (he would not remember the date of his birth), although that date does fall within the range of dates in my analysis.

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Conclusion:  Louis Lanctot was born between 31 Jul 1888 and 16 Jan 1889.

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Next Steps:  I have requested his birth certificate from Nebraska, but it's a long shot.  I'm hoping at the very least to get a delayed certificate.  I need to locate church records or something in the meantime.  If I can locate daughter Marie’s birth certificate, that may narrow the range a bit.