Posts in June 7, 2022

The 1880 Census for Harmony Township, Hancock County, Illinois, indicates a household headed by a U. Bruns is next to a household headed by an Ekke Burns. One might be tempted to think that the census taker just got one of the last names wrong by transposing two letters. It’s best not to give into temptation and not to assume what error the census taker made until more research has been done. U. Bruns’ last name was actually Bruns (his first name was Ubbe). Ekke Burns’ last name was actually Behrens. That last name was pronounced in such a way that to a speaker unfamiliar with the language it would have sounded like “Burns.” Consequently neighbor Ekke was not a probable son of his neighbor U. Bruns. He […]