The grandson pointed to the toy and said he wanted me to draw something. I could not figure out what he wanted and decided to draw a cartoon character he likes instead.
What I drew does not look like the character and it certainly does not look like a tractor.
Did your ancestor not understand what the census taker was asking? Did the census taker do their best to write what your ancestor said, but their attempt to spell and interpret the name was highly inadequate? Good intentions or not, it is easy to see how it happens.
The grandson wanted a picture of a tractor. That’s how a tractor came to look like a very rudimentary dog. It’s also how Ulfert Behrens got his name spelled Woolpert Bacrus in the 1860 US Census.
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