How do you find records of a family member that you only know the year they were born and where?

Question

I've been looking into my family history for years, I've hit so many brick walls with half my family. I recently started looking into my great grandma's family and I have the around the year that my 2x great grandfather was born and the state he was born in, but I can't seem to find him in any census before 1900's. How do I go about finding census records from him before 1900? I've been looking on ancestry.com but haven't been able to locate anything on him.

Comments

Who are you looking for?

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Have you looked on FamilySearch.org?

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It has been tagged Hitchcock and her contributions show a George Hitchcock born about 1853 Virginia.

Answer 1

Wow I've never seen so few answers for such a common name.  George Hitchcock (Hitchcock-1755) born 1853 Virginia.  Anyway, noting that he died in 1947, I worked backwards and found him in the 1940, then 1930, then 1910 census:

1940 census:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K981-5K2

1930 census:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCS9-44X

1910 census:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLYK-LWH

1900 census:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSD2-14W

California death index:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPFX-739

2 Virginia births: both parents seem to be the same (possible family):

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X5VG-N48

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X5VP-BWB

In 1860, there are 3 (or 4) John Hitchcocks in Dinwiddie Virginia.  

Usually, I would try to work forward and find him as a child in the census, find a marriage record, find him later with a wife in the census.  Working backward is always a little precarious and you could come to the wrong conclusion.  I think that he might be George T Hitchcock and you might just have to look for him by Hitchcock and his birth decade.  I would definitely try Family Search as suggested by Rosemary.

There is this 1880 census: mother is Julia: correct birth date:

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCPB-V3X

I have great-uncles who went by Frank, Orris, etc. and his brother went by Walter, Wilbur, Irven, Erving, and Worth in the census.  I don't get hung up on first names when I am assured they are the correct person.

 

Comments

I was able to see all the census info from 1900's on, but that's where it stops.. and yes for a common name there isn't much info on him. When I added him to my tree on ancestry.com the only info that every came up with him was everything after 1900's that's how I know where he was born and his parents. I saw the death certificate through ancestry but unsure where he actually died and the year he died because I've seen two different years - 1947 and 1949, but I do know where he has been laid to rest and that's where I get the conflicting death dates.

And yes he is George T. Hitchcock and I've still hit a brick wall with him.

Answer 2

As you know, they were in the 1900 US Census in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon.  According to that census, George and Alice were married for 9 years.  Their first son, Albert O.,  was born in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon on July 30, 1892.

Do you know where George and Alice were married in 1891?  She was from England and born in 1873, so her records other than the marriage might not be of any help.

The 1890 Census was destroyed in part, but I don't believe all states had state census reports for 1895 but some did.

Some people do get missed in the census reports.  But where was he living between being born in Virginia in 1853 and having children in Oregon beginning in 1892 and dying in San Francisco, California, in 1949.  You might find more census reports going to an LDS Family History Center.  And I believe there are some census reports on Ancestry.com that are not on FamilySearch.

In any case, you have to have some idea of where to look.  Families move over time and through space.  My grandparents were moving back and forth between eastern Kentucky and the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan.  An on my mom's side, my great-great-great grandparents slowly moved from Ontario, Canada to Bay City, Michigan, so only my 3x grandfather was on the 1880 Bay City return and the wife and his children were not on the 1881 census report for Ontario.

Sometimes, you just have to guess as to where they were.  If possible look at the original copies of the return and not the transcriptions as transcription errors can through you off as well.  The name might be transcribed as Hickcock instead of Hitchcock or Hichcock. 

I hope that make sense.

David

Comments

As well as the census data, Ancestry has US City Directories which are very useful in finding people in between the census and particularly useful for 1880-1900 where there is no 1890 census.

Answer 3

Laura ~

I noticed in George's 1920 census record he worked for the Railroad.  

So I thought this 1880 census may be a possibility.  Doesn't look like there is any other family, but his and his parents birth info is a fit.

1880 Colorado: 

Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Los Pinos Canyon, Conejos, Colorado; Roll: 89; Family History Film: 1254089; Page: 213C; Enumeration District: 029; Image: 0542

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Name:	George H. Hitchcock
Age:	28
Birth Year:	abt 1852
Birthplace:	Virginia
Home in 1880:	Los Pinos Canyon, Conejos, Colorado
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	Virginia
Mother's Birthplace:	Virginia
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	Laborer On R. R. Grade
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age George H. Hitchcock 28

 

Comments

George's wife wasn't born in England till 1873 and he didn't marry her till 1891 but I don't know where.  His first child Albert O. Hitchcock was born in Portland, Oregon in 1892.

It's certainly possible that this George H. Hitchcock is the George in question. 

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I've seen this census before, but his middle initial is T. but have been told that he did work for the railroad so this could be him but I'm not completely sure.

*Update* after talking with my uncle he did tell us that he was a boarder while working on the railroad. Him and a few of the other railroad workers did get sick and they misunderstood what he was telling him so his middle initial became H and not T.

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In the future, as Kathy said, you probably shouldn't get hung up by the fact that a middle initial (or anything else) may differ from document to document.  Especially when the rest of the info indicates that it is the individual your looking for.

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I've ignored the middle initial while searching and still got no where. I do a range on the birth year 5+/- just to see if I can find anything. Wouldn't be able to find him in any military records because he was too young for the Civil war and too old for WWI.