My Tangent – Who’d A Thought – 1940 US Census West Milwaukee

Good Day,

Minding my own business, and doing my own research of the Rogers Family, I am amazed at what I just stumbled upon. I am searching, page by page, the 1940 United Census in West Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Rogers.

After about 100 pages and scrolling through surnames I opened up the next set of pages for the Enumeration District of West Milwaukee No. 40-113 and on Sheet No. 5B, I’m attracted to the surname of a family at 4905 West National Avenue… Liberace. I wonder???

The family is Salvatore and Francis and their two sons Walter and Rudolph, 20 and 9 years of age, respectively. And did I think I had found Mister Showmanship? Damn right!!!

And the above inserted You-Tube video is of Walter (aka Wladziu Valentino) Liberace performing in the 1940s.

Enjoy,

Jim

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My Tangent – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy - Researcher Beware – Eight Errors in Five Lines – 2012 Errors NOT 1940 Ones

Good Day, I think,

Well, we all have a choice… Do we worry about correct Indexing when the access is supposedly free at Ancestry.com?

Or should we expect, if we pay for annual subscription, that the data entry to be a close to perfect as possible?

There are many answers to these two questions, but listen to my find today.

I have a complete subscription to Ancestry.com. I have had one for quite a number of years. I am ever so lucky that one of the first States to be “Indexed” is Delaware.

Two nights ago I was able to find the 1940 United State Census Page for the Brunhammer Family. It took a bit of time, but I found it. See Part 656b.

Now two days later Delaware is Indexed. For you genealogy neophytes, that is, I should be able to search the 1940 US Census by Name. That is quite a feat… but I know that and I understand that the data capturing, aka indexing, has been going on for some time now. But that is neither here nor there.

Today, I decided to use the Ancestry.com search facility. I entered in two bits of information: Last Name – Brunhammer and Live in Location – Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, USA. I hit the search button and the first of 272 Records was not Brunhammer, it was Barman.

I scrolled down the first 50 Records. No Brunhammer. (Remember I have already found the Brunhammer Family at Enumeration District 4-45 and Sheet No. 6 A.) I keep scrolling down and bingo, Record number 98 is Herry Breenhammer. And the subsequent four Records are listed as Ann Breenhammer, Madeline Breenhammer, Eugens Breenhammer, and Clair Breenhammer. Surname incorrectly entered… should be BRUNHAMMER.

The enumerator’s handwriting is relatively neat… One should be able to read the difference between a “u” and the double letters “ee”. One error is excusable. And we shouldn’t complain as the transcription error in 1880 created a new surname PREENHARNESS… But Eugene is spelled and written E U G E N S, not Eugene. And grandfather Harry’s name is Harry, never was it Henry… or the data-entered concoction of Herry.

But that doesn’t take the cake. Column 10, Color or race, of the Census Page across from Harry Brunhammer’s name, Brunhammer, Harry, the enumerator of 1940 wrote and entered “W”. I think the “W” means WHITE. But the 2012 Ancestry.com data entry person has enter for Race: NEGRO (Black). Huh?

I would tender a guess that it appears that proof-work has gone out the window, so-to-speak...

Buyer is it? Or is it? Researcher beware… Check the image of the Page for the original entries. Please note that this is an Ancestry.com's “(Beta)” attempt. But EIGHT errors in five lines is a bit too much!!!

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 658d – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – The Great-Grandaunts Doherty – 1940 US Census – Wilmington, Delaware

Good Day,

Good news. This morning Ancestry.com has indexed the 1940 US Census for the States of Delaware and Nevada. And we need Delaware…

Immediately, and this time with the correct spelling, I discovered the Census Page from Enumeration District 4-21 for the five Doherty great-grandaunts: Greta C., Frances G., Mary T., Katherine, and Elizabeth.
Their house was at 911 West Eighth Street in Wilmington, in New Castle. Five maiden grandaunts all living together; all great-grandfather Gerald Doherty’s elder sisters.

The address of the big house was at 911 West Eight Street… It is no longer there. Today it is a part of the I-95 embankment, overpass, and exit ramp. See the inserted image from Google maps.

Here is the image of the 1940 US Census Page Sheet No. 4-B and dated April 3, 1940.

And now to continue my search and genealogy work.

Enjoy,

Jim

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Part 657d – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – Doherty – 1940 US Census – Wilmington, Delaware

Good Day,

The sun is shining through the clouds this morning… and it is a gorgeous day here in Tampa.

As mentioned in my last Posting regarding the 1940 Census and the Brunhammer Family, I would next search for the Doherty Family.

Flipping the images, as provided by Ancestry.com, I started at the 127th Page, where I discovered the Brunhammer Family. All I had to do was flip through four more Pages and there at 2006 Woodlawn Avenue, in New Castle County in Wilmington, Delaware, was the Dougherty Family. Is this the correct Family? Doherty versus Dougherty…

Most definitely the right family… Included in the household are Andy’s grandparents Gerald (Doc) and Myrtle (née Holmes) Dougherty albeit Doherty; his uncles Gerald (Doc), Phillip (Phil), William (Bill), and John (Holmesy); his aunts Katherine (Kitty), Helen, and Nancy; and his mother Myrtle F(rances).

The Enumeration District is indicated as 4-45 and the Census was taken on April 5, 1940.

Here is the image of the page of the 1940 US Census highlighting the Dougherty Family. Obviously the enumerator may not have asked how to spell the surname Doherty. He or she, the enumerator, must have made an assumption and wrote the surname as Dougherty.

As a note and from About.com Genealogy – The name Docherty is from the word “dochartach” meaning “obstructive.” Docherty is the most common Scottish form of this surname, while Doherty and Dougherty are usually of Irish derivation.

The above inserted image from the National Archives and Records Administration shows tabulators recording information from over 120,000 enumerators who scoured the United States to collect data for the 1940 Census.

And now to continue my genealogy trek and search.

Enjoy,

Jim.

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Part 656b – Brunhammer Doherty Genealogy – Brunhammer – 1940 US Census – Wilmington, Delaware

Good Day,

And of course I had to search and find… and search again. The 1940 US Census is now available online; in image format. It hasn’t been indexed as yet, but it is available if you are wanting to turn the pages. And I do, that is, did.

The 1940 Census is available online from the National Archives at their site – 1940 Census Official 1940 Census Website.

Search capabilities are available via Location and via Enumeration Districts. By entering a Street name into the Location search field, along with the State, County, and City, the search engine provided me with six Census Schedules for specific Enumeration Districts.

When I linked over to the first Enumeration District Census Schedule for Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, the site only allowed me to view the first page of 36 pages. I am not sure if it was my system or the National Archives database which was halting my preceding any further than Page 1.

I then opened up my Ancestry.com subscription and was able to open up their new link to the 1940 US Census. I was able to find the exact Enumeration Districts as relayed by the National Archives website.

And lo and behold after paging, that is flipping, through 127 pages, that is images, and scanning down each list of enumerated names, I discovered the Brunhammer Family at 1834 Union Street in Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware. The Enumeration District is provided as 4-45 and the record of the Brunhammer Family occurred on April 5, 1940.

The Brunhammer Family included Andy’s grandparents Harry and Ann (née McAteer) Brunhammer; his two aunts, Madeline and Clair; and his father Eugene. Bingo!!!

Here is the image of the page of the 1940 US Census highlighting the Brunhammer Family.

And next on the docket, the 1940 Doherty Family.

Enjoy,

Jim

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