Richard, I'm not an expert, but the FTM people / GRA lookup services mention in the info. they send out with their lookups that duplication is one of the known problems with the 1850 census. To quote their sheet: "Problems with the 1850 census: Many census takers did not get around to their assigned districts until late in 1850; some were as late as October and November. Because of this an individual might be listed twice in the census if he moved during the taking of the census." -Richard Winder TWD wrote: > I am forwarding this question to this list since, one, it seems of > general interest to all and secondly someone on this list may have some > information on the Daffin family of Sharon that they could share. > > Please respond to the original sender > > -- > > Tom Darby > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: CENSUS QUESTION > Resent-Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 10:32:35 -0700 (PDT) > Resent-From: BALTGEN-L@rootsweb.com > Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 13:44:03 EDT > From: HOOK SETS <HOOKSETS@aol.com> > To: BALTGEN-D@rootsweb.com, LOWER-DELMARVA-ROOTS-L-@rootsweb.com, > MDGEN-L@rootsweb.com, MDSTMARY-L@rootsweb.com > > This is a general question on information gathered during a census. > > In researching my family's history, I have come across my great great > grandfather listed twice in the 1850 Census. The information is slightly > different in both listings. To explain myself better, here are the two census > listings from Talbot Co., Md. 1850: > > CENSUS YR: 1850 TERRITORY: MD COUNTY: TALBOT REEL NO: 0443528 PAGE NO: > 8A > REFERENCE: J.W. Harrington 20 Aug 1850 > ============================================================================== > =========================================== > LN HN FN LAST NAME FIRST NAME AGE SEX RACE OCCUP. VAL. > BIRTHPLACE MRD. SCH. > ============================================================================== > ======= > 33 100 101 Daffin Thomas J. 35 M Farmer > 300 Md > 34 100 101 Daffin Mary 25 F > Md > 35 100 101 Daffin Thomas 3 M > Md > 36 100 101 Kidd Thos. 13 M > Md > > .............................................................................. > .............................................................................. > ............. > > CENSUS YR: 1850 TERRITORY: MD COUNTY: TALBOT PAGE NO: 23A > REFERENCE: 13 Sep 1850 > ============================================================================== > ======= > LN HN FN LAST NAME FIRST NAME AGE SEX RACE OCCUP. VAL. > BIRTHPLACE MRD. SCH. > ============================================================================== > =======20 306 309 Daffin Thos. 32 M > Farmer Md > 21 306 309 Daffin Mary 22 F > Md > 22 306 309 Daffin Thomas 2 M > Md > 23 306 309 Daffin Caroline 1/12 F > Md > 24 306 309 Kinnermon Eliz'th 9 F M > Md > 25 306 309 Wells James 8 M M > Md > > .............................................................................. > .............................................................................. > ........... > > Okay, these two pages show THOS., MARY, and their son THOS. The second page > shows their daughter CAROLINE at i month of age. Note that the first page was > done about 3 weeks earlier. That could explain the appearance of the 1 month > old daughter. > > My question is this. I am no expert in this matter, but was it common for a > household to be counted twice? I was told once that in earlier times an > enumerator may have taken information from neighbors if nobody was found at > home. Or is it possible that my gggrandfather had two separate properties? Or, > could there have actually been two separate families with the same names??? > The ages are different in each reference. Also, there are other children with > different surnames living at these housholds. > Is there an "EXPERT" out there that could give me some insight in this > matter? The other households listed on these pages were not the same families > or names. > This little thing has been bugging me for a while, especially since I > can't trace my gg-grandfather's ancestors. How accurate is any information on > the 1850 census or earlier ones? > > Thanks and Regards, > Richard Largaespada > Chicago, Il. > HOOKSETS@aol.com > > ==== BALTGEN Mailing List ==== > Do you have a great special interest website that pertains to Maryland History? Post it here...