"Using the Census to Find my Irish Chains" --from Ancestry's
Website (http://www.ancestry.com)--29 Sept 2006
by Michael John Neill
[note: I decided to reprint this sans citations--as is our policy. Since this article was originally published, I've discovered minimal new information but a review of the sources used may be helpful. Personally I don't expect that any of the conclusions reached in this article to be revised. But what could happen is that I notice something different in the process. This article was written when I was a contractual employee for Ancestry.com.]
Families rarely migrate in
complete isolation. The ties of family and friends are not always obvious
to the researcher several lifetimes later. The difficulty with most
families lies in finding those connections that led to migration. This
week we see how the databases at Ancestry, along with some detective work
and analysis, can allow us to begin discerning those connections.
A Little Background
Brothers Samuel and Joseph Neill were both born in County Derry, Ireland, in the 1830s. They immigrated to New Brunswick, Canada, in 1864--Joseph, with his wife Anne Bryce (Brice), and Samuel, as a single man.
Brothers Samuel and Joseph Neill were both born in County Derry, Ireland, in the 1830s. They immigrated to New Brunswick, Canada, in 1864--Joseph, with his wife Anne Bryce (Brice), and Samuel, as a single man.
Samuel married Anne Murphy
in St. John in 1865 shortly after his arrival and the marriage record is
the earliest documented existence I have of Samuel's wife, Anne. All later
extant records on Anne Murphy Neill only indicate that she was an Irish
native.
In the late 1860s, both
Neill families left Canada and moved to West Point, Hancock County,
Illinois. West Point was not an urban area where jobs were plentiful. It
was hoped that a better understanding of the family's migration might lead
to information on the origins of Anne Murphy Neill.
Census Review
I began with a careful review of the 1870 through 1910 census entries for both Samuel and Joseph Neill. My intention in reviewing entries was to:
I began with a careful review of the 1870 through 1910 census entries for both Samuel and Joseph Neill. My intention in reviewing entries was to:
- determine if I
had overlooked any clues in the enumerations,
- determine a
timeline for migration from Canada to the United
States, - determine if
there were neighbors who were also Irish immigrants (by reading at
least three pages before and after the located entries)
My review
of the census entries indicated the Neills likely came to Illinois around
1867. There were a few other Irish families living nearby, but they did
not settle in a neighborhood that was heavily Irish. These other families
will be researched to determine if their Irish origins are geographically
close to the Neills or if these families spent time in New Brunswick
before settling in Illinois.
Searching
the Census Index in Other Ways
The census indexes at Ancestry offer additional search options that should be explored. Instead of searching for names, I could search for other natives of Ireland living in the same area as the Neill family. I could perform searches for individuals with a birthplace in Ireland born within five years of 1835 in an attempt to locate other individuals roughly the same as Samuel and Joseph. All census indexes at Ancestry for censuses 1850 and later provide this option. A search of the 1910 census could also include a year of immigration in an attempt to find other Irish immigrants who immigrated in the same time frame as Joseph and Samuel. The database interface affords me search possibilities that never existed several years ago unless I read the census one page at a time.
The census indexes at Ancestry offer additional search options that should be explored. Instead of searching for names, I could search for other natives of Ireland living in the same area as the Neill family. I could perform searches for individuals with a birthplace in Ireland born within five years of 1835 in an attempt to locate other individuals roughly the same as Samuel and Joseph. All census indexes at Ancestry for censuses 1850 and later provide this option. A search of the 1910 census could also include a year of immigration in an attempt to find other Irish immigrants who immigrated in the same time frame as Joseph and Samuel. The database interface affords me search possibilities that never existed several years ago unless I read the census one page at a time.
A
Warning
There is one potential pitfall to such searches. A search of the 1910 census for natives of Ireland living in Hancock County, Illinois, who immigrated in the 1860s (performed by searching for an immigration year of 1865 plus or minus five years) does not locate Samuel Neill even though he is enumerated in the 1910 Hancock County census. The reason is simple: the year of immigration on Samuel's entry is left blank.
There is one potential pitfall to such searches. A search of the 1910 census for natives of Ireland living in Hancock County, Illinois, who immigrated in the 1860s (performed by searching for an immigration year of 1865 plus or minus five years) does not locate Samuel Neill even though he is enumerated in the 1910 Hancock County census. The reason is simple: the year of immigration on Samuel's entry is left blank.
Using
the Ancestry search page to locate immigrants from the same country as
your ancestor who came over around the same time as your forebear is an
excellent way to generate additional research leads. However, one must do
it with the following things in mind:
- The
year of immigration could be incorrect in the census entry, either
for your ancestor or for the others who might have immigrated with
him.
- The
year of immigration could be omitted completely for some immigrants.
- Places
of birth could be completely incorrect or vary slightly from what you
think is correct, Prussia or Hanover for Germany, etc.
Searches of databases are frequently made under the assumption
that our ancestors gave the correct answers, that those answers
were written legibly and that the reading was transcribed correctly.
This assumption only causes a problem when the researcher fails
to acknowledge it.
Before
madly entering search terms, think about what you are trying to locate and
the best way to go about finding it. Then keep a record of the different
ways in which you have searched so that searches are not repeated and new
searches can be developed if necessary. In the case of Samuel Neill, the
best search was simply to look for other Irish natives born in the same
decade who were living in the same county. This did not result in an
unmanageable number of hits for any census year. Samuel's residence near
the county line also warranted performing a search in the neighboring
county. Geography must always be kept in mind.
A
Connection
Similar searches were conducted in the 1870 and 1880 census in the county where Samuel lived. The number of entries in both cases was small enough that all the names could be manually scanned. Particular attention was paid to any names in townships that neighbored the township where Samuel lived from ca. 1868 until 1912. There were a handful of other Irish immigrants living relatively close to Samuel. However, the entry for one Irish native stood out: William Brice.
Similar searches were conducted in the 1870 and 1880 census in the county where Samuel lived. The number of entries in both cases was small enough that all the names could be manually scanned. Particular attention was paid to any names in townships that neighbored the township where Samuel lived from ca. 1868 until 1912. There were a handful of other Irish immigrants living relatively close to Samuel. However, the entry for one Irish native stood out: William Brice.
The
connection was easily made. Samuel's brother's wife was Anne Brice.
William Brice and family lived in the township due east of the Neills,
most likely within five or six miles. Of course, it might easily have been
coincidence that a William and Anne Brice were somewhat near neighbors of
someone with whom they shared a last name and a country of birth. One
could not immediately conclude they were related to Joseph's wife Anne
Brice Neill. However, the entry was worth following in other census years.
Back to
the Census
Searches easily located William and Anne Brice in the following
census records:
Searches easily located William and Anne Brice in the following
census records:
- 1860
Ursa Township, Adams County, Illinois
- 1870
Chili Township, Hancock County, Illinois
- 1880
Butler County, Kansas
- 1900
Caldwell County, Missouri
How did I know it was them? I performed Soundex-based
searches of the Ancestry census
database for a William Brice, born in Ireland within five years of 1838.
These were the only entries that were relatively consistent with the
family structure of William Brice in 1870 when he was a neighbor to the
Neill families. Further research on William Brice needs to be conducted in
order to determine if he is related to Anne Brice Neill. If this William
is related to Anne Brice Neill, it looks like he was what brought the
Neills to west-central Illinois. (Ursa Township, Adams County, Illinois,
is relatively close to West Point, where the Neills settled.)
Unfortunately at this juncture,
direct connections to Anne Murphy Neill have not been discovered.
direct connections to Anne Murphy Neill have not been discovered.
Things
Worth Remembering
- Census
records can provide a tentative outline of a family that should be
documented with additional records.
- Searches
of census records without using names, focusing on places of birth,
ages, etc., may result in the location of unknown extended family
members.
- Tracking
experimental search techniques is important so that the same searches are
not conducted repeatedly.
