"Ivar S. Ertesvåg" wrote: > Robert Heiling wrote: > [....] > >> > For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses > >> > of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors, > >> > etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors? > >> > about the same number? more? > > > > I was wondering about errors because I haven't been successful in > > locating a Peter Helland who was born 1883 with a father named Ole and > > who was probably from that general area of Norway. I've searched for the > > variations of Peter, Peder, Petter, Per, Pehr and numerous spelling > > variations of the surname, but the household listed above is the only > > one that comes close. Could the census taker have written down the wrong > > birthyear for Peter or could he have reversed the names of Peter & Nils > > there? Have you observed errors like that in the 1900 census and are > > they common? In the US censuses, the information could have been given > > to the census taker by any member of the household or even a neighbor > > and not just the head of household, so errors are frequent. Is that also > > true of the Norwegian census? > > This is hard to answer. Humans make errors... also in the 1900 census. > The accuracy most likely depends on the census taker (often a teacher or > other reliable person) - and even over the period of conduct by one > single census taker (he got tired, bored, impatient, in short of time, > etc....). This is all true and in my fairly extensive reading of US censuses that all happens - name errors, date errors, age errors, and so on - and for some of the reasons you mention. My question might seem naive on the surface, but it is based upon a lack of knowledge of how Norwegian censuses are conducted. For all I know, there might be a rule, for instance, that information could be *only* taken from the head of household. Measures such as that would increase the accuracy and cause me to accept data from a Norwegian census that I might reject from a US census. > The interesting matter here is whether this specific family was > correctly registered. Normally, this can be verified from other sources, > in particular, the parish registry. Furthermore, the source for "your" > Peter's birth year should also be scrutinized. That's right and I will question my source again, but a 6 year error seems unlikely unless I have mistakenly been given the wrong person's birthdate or my source has been given such. If that Einen household census record becomes more credible I'll pursue investigation of the nedre Helland pasish registry. Thanks again for your help! Mvh Bob

Robert Heiling wrote: > "Ivar S. Ertesvåg" wrote: > > >>Robert Heiling wrote: >>[....] >> >>>>>For those who are familiar with the numerous errors in the US censuses >>>>>of given & surname spelling errors, birthdate errors, placename errors, >>>>>etc; would you say that the Norwegian censuses have far fewer errors? >>>>>about the same number? more? >>> >>>I was wondering about errors because I haven't been successful in >>>locating a Peter Helland who was born 1883 with a father named Ole and >>>who was probably from that general area of Norway. I've searched for the >>>variations of Peter, Peder, Petter, Per, Pehr and numerous spelling >>>variations of the surname, but the household listed above is the only >>>one that comes close. Could the census taker have written down the wrong >>>birthyear for Peter or could he have reversed the names of Peter & Nils >>>there? Have you observed errors like that in the 1900 census and are >>>they common? In the US censuses, the information could have been given >>>to the census taker by any member of the household or even a neighbor >>>and not just the head of household, so errors are frequent. Is that also >>>true of the Norwegian census? >> >>This is hard to answer. Humans make errors... also in the 1900 census. >>The accuracy most likely depends on the census taker (often a teacher or >>other reliable person) - and even over the period of conduct by one >>single census taker (he got tired, bored, impatient, in short of time, >>etc....). > > > This is all true and in my fairly extensive reading of US censuses that all > happens - name errors, date errors, age errors, and so on - and for some of the > reasons you mention. My question might seem naive on the surface, but it is > based upon a lack of knowledge of how Norwegian censuses are conducted. For all > I know, there might be a rule, for instance, that information could be *only* > taken from the head of household. Measures such as that would increase the > accuracy and cause me to accept data from a Norwegian census that I might reject > from a US census. The instructions for the census can be found at http://www.rhd.uit.no/census/ft1900.html It (and the text at the registration forms) clearly states that the forms should be filled out by the head of the houshould or by the census taker assisted by the head of the houshold. The census taker should visit every houshold and make sure that the forms are properly filled out. > > >>The interesting matter here is whether this specific family was >>correctly registered. Normally, this can be verified from other sources, >>in particular, the parish registry. Furthermore, the source for "your" >>Peter's birth year should also be scrutinized. > > > That's right and I will question my source again, but a 6 year error seems > unlikely unless I have mistakenly been given the wrong person's birthdate or my > source has been given such. If that Einen household census record becomes more > credible I'll pursue investigation of the nedre Helland pasish registry. for sake of order: the parish is Vestnes (nedre Helland is the farm name)