Tracking the Education

For reasons that totally elude me, I’m picking up a new project: determining the educational level of various direct line ancestors and their siblings. It sounded easy, but it’s turning out to be more of a project than I thought.

I’m fortunate that in the United States there’s the 1940 census that asked the question of last grade of school completed. That census caught all four of my grandparents and all of their siblings but one (my parents were not alive in 1940). That’s the generation where I’ve decided to initially focus as my parents and their siblings is a fairly small group (my father had one brother and my mother had no siblings who survived infancy). The 1940 census is one place to ascertain educational levels. Death certificates, obituaries, and newspaper references can also provide direct statements regarding school attendance or provide enough information to allow one to draw reasonable inferences.

The bigger challenge is where these individuals went to school.

A brief summary for my grandparents at this point as I’m still working:

• Cecil Neill (1903-1968) and siblings who grew up in St. Albans’ Township, Hancock County, Illinois. Grandpa attended through 8th grade, one brother had a year of high school, and two siblings had two years of college (enough to teach apparently).
• Ida (Trautvetter) Neill (1910-1994) and siblings who grew up in general area of Loraine, Adams County, Illinois. Grandma attended through 8th grade, one brother attended through sixth grade, one brother through eighth grade, a sister had one year of high school, and her older sister had three years of high school. One brother presumably went to the sixth or eighth grade but was not alive during the 1940 census.
• John Ufkes (1917-2003) and siblings who grew up in Bear Creek Township, Hancock County, Illinois. Granddad graduated high school and his younger siblings all graduated college.
• Dorothy (Habben) Ufkes (1924-2008) and siblings who grew up in Prairie Township, Hancock County, Illinois. Grandma graduated high school, her older brothers went through the eighth grade, sisters Greta and Ruth went through the fourth year of high school, Anna probably went through four years of high school as well, and Margaret graduated from college.

Interesting little study. When I go back one generation, I likely will find in my background no schooling beyond the eighth grade. Documenting that outside of those listed in the 1940 census will be difficult. But it’s an interesting study.

What about your ancestors?