[Genealogy] Process Tracking, Missing 1870 Census People

[Michael John Neill]

We're sending the 20 December issue out a little earlier than normal.

**Process Tracking
**Full-Text Searching Webinar for 2026
**My Missing 1870 People
**Upcoming Things---Don't Wait

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Process Tracking
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Solutions manuals to math textbooks have the answers and sometimes the
correct work to get that answer.  That’s all fine and good if one has a
reasonable idea of what one is doing.

It is not so good when one is struggling with process and does not know
what to do when, does not know why certain processes are preferred over
others, and does not know what to do when things don’t work the way they
are supposed to. Neatly written up examples with the correct answer do not
explain insight nor do they show how the solver of the problem struggled
with wrong process and incorrect assumptions.

That’s when teachers, in one form or another, are helpful. That’s also
where it is helpful for the student to see not just the complete, neat, and
written-up answer, but also the process, the mistakes, and the reasons
behind what was done. They need to see the messy process that lead to the
answer–assuming that there is an answer.

The same is true in genealogical research.

I can read all the neatly written up case studies that I want. I can see
conclusions made clearly, logically, and concisely. But sometimes that
still does not tell me:

   - how did you find that?
   - how did you know to look for that?
   - why did you try that first?
   - what did you try that did not work?

Some case studies explain those things. Many do not. Those details are
frequently edited out in the interest of space and “staying on point.”

That’s a mistake for two reasons.

The first is that the reader benefits from seeing process written in a
clear and understanding way. The second is that readers who are analyzing
the argument made by the writer can better judge the writer’s research
process and methodology if they at least know how the writer looked for
things. This is especially true when databases and indexes are queried for
individuals. Did those searches cover all reasonable variants? Were all
reasonable locations checked for certain records and what were the records
that were searched? It is great to say one has found things and what those
things contain and to analyze that information, but

if the reader knows nothing about the search process, then the reader
cannot determine the perceived efficacy and exhaustiveness of that process.

Saying “Peter Bieger could not be located in the 1850 census” does not tell
me anything. How was that search conducted? Were database queries used and,
if so, what search terms were used? After all, I don’t know if the author
searched for Peter Bieger as that name exactly or if their search included
constructs that would locate spellings such as Peter Pickert unless they
tell me. Was a manual search of places where Peter Bieger is reasonably
believed to have lived conducted in addition to database queries?
Statements (particularly ones where something cannot be found) cannot be
evaluated without knowing something about the research process.

Researchers who have no intention of publishing need to track their own
process as well for two main reasons:

   - it allows you later to re-evaluate your process and determine if that
   process was flawed
   - it allows you to conduct the search over to see if there were results
   that you overlooked

Citations are important, but they get at what we’ve found and who created
it. Process gets at how we got to that information we needed to cite. And
that process matters as well.

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Revised Full-Text Searching Webinar for 2026

-----------------------------

We’re excited to offer this revised presentation on the full-text searching
at *FamilySearch*--reflecting changes made to the site since this was
recorded in August 2025. We’ve redesigned our presentation as this
functionality continues to change. And…we have an extensive handout
complete with forms to help you find more people. Available for download by
5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.

If you have purchased an earlier version of this presentation--email me at
mjnrootdig at gmail.com for the code to order this revision for $10.
Fully Utilizing Full-Text Search: Revised for January 2026

Your purchase includes:

   - *A 90 minute (or more presentation)* you can view as often as you want.
   - *Detailed handout* with charts and forms to help organize your
   searches. Charts and forms sent as separate files you can edit and
   customize and not as a locked PDF you have to re-create yourself as a new
   document.

We’ll be including and discussing:

*Determining what is in Full-Text Search—*what you can access at home and
what you will have to be in a FamilySearch facility or affiliate to access.

*Seeing How AI Transcriptions are different*—they aren’t like the
transcriptions made by humans. That can change your approach.

*Remembering that Full-Text means every word*—approaches need to differ as
we aren’t looking up a name in an index any more.

*Asking Who* is in the record? We aren’t just searching for the main person
like we did with traditional indexes. We’ll discuss how to determine who
could be mentioned in a record.

*Determining How to search?* There are a variety of ways to search and
filter results. We’ll see how each one works to help determine the best
strategy.

*Creating search strategies*—how full-text search changes your approach and
why just dumping terms in search boxes is not always effective.

*Determining what you found* The interface does not always make this clear.
We will show you how to get beyond the confusion and help you get enough
detail for a citation.

*Creating effective problem-solving approaches*—what to do when you cannot
find something you want.

*Demonstrating practical examples*—completely new people and families from
our previous presentations.

Available 5 January 2026. Order now for $25
<https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/67D7Z5H4ZQHJA>.


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My Missing 1870 Census People

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Genealogists remember the people they can’t find instead of the ones they
can. It’s that way with three of my direct line ancestors who remain
elusive in the 1870 census:

   - Ira William (or William Ira) Sargent
   - John/Johann Henry/Hinrich Ufkes
   - Sophia Elizabeth (Derle) Trautvetter

It’s not for lack of trying to find them.

*Sargent*

Ira (Ira William, William Ira, etc.) was born in Ontario in the early
1840s, most likely in the general area of Darlington. His parents, Clark
and Mary (Dingman) Sargent came to Winnebago County, Illinois, sometime
shortly after his birth and were both deceased by the early 1850s. Ira
likely spent the remainder of his youth before the age of majority with his
step-father, Asa Landon, a Canadian native his mother married in Winnebago
County, Illinois, before the 1850 census enumeration. Landon (and the
Sargent children) spent time in Union County, Iowa, and Christian County,
Missouri, where they are living at the time of the 1860 census enumeration.
The Sargent children returned to Union County, Iowa, during the Civil War
era while their step-father and half-siblings returned to his native
Ontario. Ira Sargent married Florence Butler in Union County in October of
1870 and it is believed he was living in that general area at the time of
the 1870 enumeration. He is not contained in any of the households in 1870
where he siblings have been located. Most likely Ira was working as a
laborer or a farm hand and simply missed the enumerator.

*Ufkes*

Johann Hinrich Ufkes was born in Ostfriesland, Germany, in 1838. He
immigrated to the United States in 1869, settling near Golden, Adams
County, Illinois, where he worked as a farm hand and initially lived with a
sister and her husband. He very likely was living in either Adams or
neighboring Hancock County and working as a farm hand and could have been
missed by the census taker just as Ira Sargent was. Compounding the issue
with Ufkes is that his actual name was Johann Friederichs Hinrichs Ufkes
and he could easily have been enumerated with any of those middle names as
his last name. It is also possible that Ufkes’ probable difficulty with the
English language is also making him difficult to locate in 1870.

*Trautvetter*

Sophia Elizabeth (Derle) Trautvetter was born in 1808 in Thuringen,
Germany. Along with her husband, George Trautvetter, she immigrated to the
United States in 1853. The family has been located in 1860 living in Rocky
Run Township, Hancock County, Illinois. George, Sophia, and their son
Theodore have not been located in 1870. In the late 1860s, George and
Sophia sold their real estate in Hancock County, Illinois, to their son
George. It is known that George returned to Germany where he died in 1871
“separated” from his wife. Sophia died in 1877 in Hancock County, Illinois,
where she is buried. It is not precisely known when George returned to
Germany, but it was believed that his trip was made shortly after the land
transactions and before the 1870 census enumeration.

But….

In reviewing the material I have, I realize that I can’t find Sophia or her
son Theodore in 1870. They are not living with Sophia’s two other sons who
have been located. Explaining the absence of both Sophia and Theodore is a
little more problematic than it is Ira Sargent or John Ufkes.

I need to do a little more followup on the Trautvetters. At this point, I’m
not certain if it’s worth any more time to search for Sargent or Ufkes as I
really doubt their enumerations will tell me anything I don’t know. Sophia
and Theodore are possibly another story.

And here I thought this was going to be a simple post.

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Until Next Time,


Michael

all content (c) 2025 Michael John Neill
------------------------------------
Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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