This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: FALKNER - 1870 LA CENSUS Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/CCB.2ACE/211.2 Message Board Post: Dear Ms. Wagner: I transcribed that census for Claiborne Parish from a CD-Rom purchased from AllCensus. Transcription is an interpretation of the Transcriber's interpretation of the name(s). It is not an exact science due to human error on both sides. I accessed by Claiborne Parish CD-Rom to p. 029B, Ref. p. # 10 and this is what I found (after magnifying the page a few times): Ln 8. FN 40 FOSTER, Mary, 58, F W, b. KY FOSTER, Joseph, 27, M W, b. LA FOSTER, Cathrine, 29 F W, b. LA FOSTER, Beckey, 18, F W, b. LA FOSTER, Sarah, 16, F W, b. LA Ln 13 FALKNER, Almety, 9, F W, b. LA FOSTER, Franklin, 9 M W, b. LA FOSTER, George, 7, M W, b. LA END OF THIS FAMILY NAME IN CENSUS CONCLUSIONS: Ln 13 is definitely spelled FALKNER. When I spelled the given name, Almety, I placed a "?" beside it in the event that it was a mispelled name on the census. Notice that after Line 13, the enumerator again uses the surname "FOSTER", with the next name, "Franklin", also age 9 in the census column. Could the enumerator have made a mistake in spelling the surname? Yes, it is possible. If that were so, then Almety and Franklin might be twins? I recall that you had examined an 1880 census in AR? Is that correct. Did you by chance see if Almety Falkner was in the Claiborne Parish 1880 census? It is my recommendation (for whatever it's worth) that might be the only way that you can verify whether this person is your ancestor or not. If you have access to a genealogical library (I forgot to check where you live), there should be a Census Index book for the 1880 LA census. You can then check under both surnames and see what is there. A few people have critiqued my transcriptions and I have made changes in them when there is clear documentation that my interpretation was wrong. When the descendant gave information which seemed to fit the circumstances, but the surname (for example) was spelled a certain way diff. to what the descendant believed, I would revise the census with a footnote : "A descendant states that the sur/name should be spelled ******." That way, I stand by my interpretation and provide descendant information to the viewer concerning the individual in question. As a transcriber, I am supposed to remain true to the enumerator's spelling and etc even if I know he is wrong. For example, in another Claiborne Parish Ward, my ggrandfather's name is spelled "Bartlet" on the census, but the correct version is "Bartlett." When I reach that Ward, I will insert a "Comment" with the words, "This person is a direct ancestor to the transcriber and the surname should actually be spelled "Bartlett." I know that this has been a long message to you, but I felt that you should know how we transcribers work. I welcome any further research on Almety Falkner on your part. Family history is detective work and my family and some friends at Rootsweb/Ancestry.com have helped me in my research though sharing information that I didn't have. Good hunting from a genealogy friend, Ray Bartlett