[Genealogy] Do You Ear, Wrong Info in 1940 Census, Notebook and Full-Text Classes, Keep Getting Update
Michael John Neill
mjnrootdig at gmail.com
Tue Oct 13 06:43:31 CDT 2026
Genealogy Update
13 October 2026
** Do You Ear What I Ear
** Extended Classes on Notebook for Genealogsts and Full-Text Search
** The 1940 Census Entry is Wrong
** Keep Getting the Update
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Do You Ear What I Ear?
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[this appeared in the *Ancestry Daily News *on 27 July 1999-and was one of
our most popular articles]
Last week’s article used the term “birder” house. One astute reader gently
indicated that I most likely meant “brooder” house. I thank them for the
correction and must plead ignorance for while I was raised on a farm, we
did not have chickens. You can be certain I will not make the same mistake
using bovine phrases—I would never hear the end of it!
The mistake makes a point and I’m actually glad it happened. Mishearing and
misinterpreting words and phrases can cause problems genealogically in
several situations. I have categorized the difficulties here, but bear in
mind that there might be some overlap and that the distinction between some
categories is not really important.
*Did Not Hear Correctly*
Just as I misunderstood Grandma, it might be that the respondent on an
official document or record did not hear correctly and gave “incorrect”
information as a result. This same difficulty can arise when family members
are asked for information. In one of my families, confusion arose between
the two names “Augusta” and “Geske.” These names are distinct, however, an
individual with a hearing problem might easily confuse the two.
*Misunderstood the Question*
The respondent might have heard all the words and thought he understood the
meaning of the question. If your ancestor gave an “incorrect” birthplace
for his mother or father, is it possible that he interpreted the question
as “where is your mother from?” instead of “where was your mother born?”
Mother might have been born in one place and “been from” somewhere else
(depending upon where she grew up and where her family originated). It
might have been this place that she considered herself “from” even though
it was not actually where she was born. We cannot know for certain what our
ancestors were thinking when they were answering questions for the census
taker or the marriage license clerk. All we have is the document they left
behind.
When interviewing family members use as many names as possible.
Relationships can create confusion. When interviewing my grandmother, it
took several minutes to make it clear to her that I was asking about her
grandfather Trautvetter, not her father. She had referred to her own dad as
a grandfather for so long (to her own children) that she originally
answered the questions as if I was asking about her father. Using her
grandfather’s name of John reduced the confusion (her father, fortunately
was named George). While it may not be possible use names exclusively,
minimizing the number of relationships used when asking questions can
reduce confusion.
*Did Not Know the Language*
Was your immigrant ancestor answering questions that were asked in a
language he did not understand? Even if your ancestor could speak English,
it seems reasonable that she might have easily mistranslated a key word or
phrase.
*Was Not Listening*
Have you ever answered a question without ever really listening to it?
Asking your parent, spouse, child, or co-worker might provide a different
answer. Is it possible your ancestor was not paying one hundred percent
attention when the 1920 census taker knocked on his door? Did your ancestor
assume no one would ever really care about the answers eighty years later?
*No One Cared*
When the clerk was filling out my marriage license, he asked me how to
spell my mother’s maiden name. And so I spelled it out. If I had married in
the county where I was born and raised, most of the office staff would have
known how to spell the surname (and many would have known it without even
asking). Close attention is not always paid to detail today and it
certainly was not one hundred and fifty years ago either.
*Spoke a Dialect, Used Slang, or Had an Accent*
Dialects and variations in pronunciation can impact how words are spelled
in records. “Gibson” can easily be pronounced so that it is spelled like
“Gepson.” There are numerous names where this is a problem, a problem
compounded by dialects, “drawls,” and “twangs.” While it may be possible to
know how our ancestors pronounced a name or a word, this information is
generally not available.
*It Has Been a While Since I Was Able to “Ear” It*
In some cases, it is literally a lifetime from the day when a family
tradition is heard until that day it is told. You grandfather might have
heard a story when he was a child and not repeated it until he had
grandchildren of his own. The chance that as a child he misunderstood
something is reasonable. This difficulty is compounded by the effects time
can have on one’s memory.
*The Ancestor Was Not Literate*
If your ancestor was unable to read, she could not “proof” any answers or
words listed on any form she might have signed. Even if your ancestor could
read, if the forms were not in her native tongue, she might have easily
misunderstood a question (or her answer). The clerk might not have been
concerned about explaining it to her either.
Genealogists need to bear in mind auditory difficulties when dealing with
records. These difficulties are compounded by problems with how our
ancestors might have interpreted various terms and phrases. Documenting
these difficulties may be impossible in many cases. When it can be done, it
should, especially with pronunciations.
I always track the ways names are pronounced when I know it. One of my
ancestral surnames is Behrens. My great-grandmother pronounced it as
“barns” (the kind cows sometimes reside in). This pronunciation is duly
noted in my files. While it’s not written as technically as it would be in
a dictionary, it serves the purpose.
*But I Don’t Know How It Is Pronounced*
Asking older family members is a good first step, but not always possible.
As your research progresses further and further back in time, the chance
that living family members have heard the name decreases. Those wanting to
learn how a name was pronounced may wish to post it to genealogy groups or
pages on Facebook.
Genealogists use their eyes for the bulk of their genealogical work, and
rightly so. But we must also use our ears and mouths—for that’s how many of
those words made their way from our ancestor’s minds to those records.
*FamilySearch Full-Text Search and Notebook for Genealogy Class offerings*
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Structure
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An overview of NoteookLM
NotebookLM (often simply Notebook) is Google’s suite of AI-driven tools to
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exclusively around that data. You can upload any genealogy information to
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Capabilities
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Sections of this class--two options--take the class on Sunday nights..
Sunday sessions
Important Dates
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Live Zoom Discussions (Sunday Nights): 18 and 25 October and 1 and 8
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Registration & Tuition-
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A Wrong 1940 Census Entry
----------------------
Even when the document is clearly wrong, we always transcribe it as true to
the original as possible.
The short version of why is that any other sort of transcription is
dishonest.
The longer reason is that sometimes what we think is wrong really is not
and we don’t often know that until we complete more research.
Sometimes documents are wrong because they are wrong. Sometimes they are
not wrong at all, but we simply wish they were wrong, either to eliminate
confusion with other records or to maintain some image we have of our
family.
My Grandparents 1940 census enumeration is simply wrong in one key fact:
that they were living in the same place in 1940 as they were in 1935. They
simply were not.
My transcription of their enumeration should reflect exactly what the
enumeration says. My commentary of why it is wrong should be kept separate
from the transcription.
[image: cecil-ida-neill-1940]
<https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/cecil-ida-neill-1940.jpg>
There are several key pieces of data that prove my grandparents were not
living in Prairie Township in 1935:
- Their 17 December 1935 marriage in Keithsburg, Mercer County,
Illinois, indicates that my grandparents are living in St. Albans Township,
Hancock County, and Keene Township, Adams County, Illinois.
- A marriage announcement in the Mendon, Illinois, newspaper indicated
that after the couple were married they were returning to live with their
parents until they could set up housekeeping on a rented farm near
Stillwell, Hancock County, Illinois.
- The 1939-1940 era probate of my grandmother’s mother, Ida (Sargent)
Trautvetter Miller indicates that the Neills were living near Plymouth at
the time (which meshes with family tradition) and wanted to use Ida’s
inheritance from her mother to purchase the a farm in Prairie Township.
- The deed (which I do not have a copy of) should indicate when the farm
was purchased.
Of course, individuals can live on property before they purchase it, but it
seems pretty clear that was not the situation in this case.
Sometimes just trying to disprove one little statement in a record really
gets the research wheels turning.
But never ever never ever “correct” a document when you transcribe it.
Transcribe it as it is and, if you have a strong case that something in
that document is wrong, create a proof and include the proof with the
transcription.
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17
Henderson, IL 61439
Just make it clear where the transcription ends and the summary of proof
from other records begins.
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