I have to admit that I never really paid attention to the right-hand side of the census pages, but since one of my ancestors died in June 1918, I have very little information to go on, so I'm trying to look for more clues about who he was. If anyone has a minute, and wouldn't mind taking a look at the census for Steven Harrington, let me know & I'll email it to you. Here are the last 3 questions & their answers: where it asks "whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy," the answer is "4" where it asks "whether blind (both eyes)" the answer is "3" where it asks "whether deaf or dumb" the answer is "x" What do these answers mean? Does 4 mean he's a survivor of one of those 4 options? What could 3 mean regarding his vision? Does "x" mean that he's neither deaf nor dumb? I'd appreciate any insight anyone could lend. The family lore states he was born in the US, the census states New York (yet you can clearly see that the enumerator started to write "Ireland" at first and then changed it to "New York.") I don't know what the benefit would be to state that the Head of the Household was a Natural-born citizen vs. an immigrant - do any of you? Would he not have to prove it? I have had zero luck in finding him on anything but this particular census, the birth certificates for his children, and his death certificate. I was excited at the thought of finding his WW! Draft Card, but sadly (not to mention frustrating as hell!) he died about a month before his age group was to sign up!! I had such high hopes when I finally found his death certificate, but his wife must have supplied the information and listed NOTHING for a date of birth; "James" as his father's name; and "Ellen" as the name of his mother, however his wife's name was Ellen, so I'm not comfortable considering that as fact until I can get more backup. At the time of his death, he was working for the transit authority - would any such records exist regarding a possible pension? I know that when he died, his family (who supposedly lived close enough to visit weekly) stopped having contact with them because times were tough for them too, they had no money either, and allegedly weren't happy that they'd had so many children, etc So, I have no other information on that family. I've tried searching for a James Harrington with a wife named Ellen or Helen, etc in the are, to no avail. It's as if he didn't exist until his first daughter was born in 1905 because I have her birth record! There's no record of their marriage, either. I'd appreciate any suggestions...Hoping that "new eyes" would see things I've been missing! Thanks in advance! ~Susan Curley

Susan, I found the following: "The 1910 census (column 30) indicates whether the person was a "survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy." The answers are "UA" for Union Army, "UN" for Union Navy, "CA" for Confederate Army, and "CN" for Confederate Navy. These clues lead to military service and pension records; see Civil War Records and Confederate Pension Records for more information. A word of caution: On the 1910 census, columns 30-32 are often "overwritten" with numbers like 2-1-0-0 or 6-9-0-0. These numbers are not the answers for columns 30-32, but were data summaries used by Census Bureau tabulators in Washington, DC, to compile statistical data. The 1930 census (column 31) indicates Civil War veterans with the abbreviation "CW." Karen -----Original Message----- From: nybrooklyn-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:nybrooklyn-bounces@rootsweb.com]On Behalf Of Susan Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 12:41 PM To: nybrooklyn-l@rootsweb.com Subject: [BKLYN] need help with 1910 census & question about claimingUS-born vs. immigrant I have to admit that I never really paid attention to the right-hand side of the census pages, but since one of my ancestors died in June 1918, I have very little information to go on, so I'm trying to look for more clues about who he was. If anyone has a minute, and wouldn't mind taking a look at the census for Steven Harrington, let me know & I'll email it to you. Here are the last 3 questions & their answers: where it asks "whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy," the answer is "4" where it asks "whether blind (both eyes)" the answer is "3" where it asks "whether deaf or dumb" the answer is "x" What do these answers mean? Does 4 mean he's a survivor of one of those 4 options? What could 3 mean regarding his vision? Does "x" mean that he's neither deaf nor dumb? I'd appreciate any insight anyone could lend. The family lore states he was born in the US, the census states New York (yet you can clearly see that the enumerator started to write "Ireland" at first and then changed it to "New York.") I don't know what the benefit would be to state that the Head of the Household was a Natural-born citizen vs. an immigrant - do any of you? Would he not have to prove it? I have had zero luck in finding him on anything but this particular census, the birth certificates for his children, and his death certificate. I was excited at the thought of finding his WW! Draft Card, but sadly (not to mention frustrating as hell!) he died about a month before his age group was to sign up!! I had such high hopes when I finally found his death certificate, but his wife must have supplied the information and listed NOTHING for a date of birth; "James" as his father's name; and "Ellen" as the name of his mother, however his wife's name was Ellen, so I'm not comfortable considering that as fact until I can get more backup. At the time of his death, he was working for the transit authority - would any such records exist regarding a possible pension? I know that when he died, his family (who supposedly lived close enough to visit weekly) stopped having contact with them because times were tough for them too, they had no money either, and allegedly weren't happy that they'd had so many children, etc So, I have no other information on that family. I've tried searching for a James Harrington with a wife named Ellen or Helen, etc in the are, to no avail. It's as if he didn't exist until his first daughter was born in 1905 because I have her birth record! There's no record of their marriage, either. I'd appreciate any suggestions...Hoping that "new eyes" would see things I've been missing! Thanks in advance! ~Susan Curley ___________________________________ The Bklyn Info Pages Website: www.bklyn-genealogy-info.com/ List Administrator: NancyL916@aol.com Post to List: nybrooklyn@rootsweb.com ___________________________________ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NYBROOKLYN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message