Lewis Brown: 1940 US Census and Marriage correction

Louise Long and Lewis Brown
Louise and Lewis Brown
About 1942, Still Newlyweds
 
As I posted previously, my maternal grandfather Lewis Brown married Louise Long on 27 Feb 1940. That date didn't seem wrong until I found Lewis and Louise living in separate homes during the 1940 US Census.

Lewis was living with his widowed mother. He was a truck driver for a retail bakery.

Lewis Brown iin 1940 US Census
Family Search, 1940 United States Census, Record for Lewis Brown.

Louise was living with her sister Marguerite Frohnauer who was married to Frank and had a one-year old named Barbara. Both of her parents had died prior to 1940. Louise was working as a clerk for a retail store.

Louise Long in 1940 US Census
Family Search, 1940 United States Census, Record for Louise Long


The date of the US Census was April 1, 1940. The fact that my grandparents were married in February and then not in the same home in April bugged me. My grandparents adored each other throughout their life. Did they get off to a rocky start, saying they were single just a few months later?

After looking at their marriage license and certificate, the situation became perfectly clear.


Partial scan of original document
Marriage Record of Lewis Brown and Louise Long


A simple mistake was being perpetuated. The couple married on 27 February 1941, not 1940. They were in the homes they were supposed to be found on 1 April 1940. They still may have had a 'rocky' start to their marriage, but according to census records and marriage certificates, there is no evidence to that fact. I'm so glad. (Oh, and my sweet aunt confirmed the fact after the first post was published. More sources, more strength to the argument?)

It just goes to show that one must check and recheck facts to determine accuracy.

Comments

  1. Karen HowesJanuary 12, 2013 at 8:30 AM

    Hi Devon, hope you're having a great new year so far. Good catch with your grandparents' marriage date... census records are so helpful. They can be filled with errors, but there's no mistake when the people in question are living in two separate households! Another thing I've found with census records is that it wasn't terribly unusual for people back then to be enumerated more than once. You've actually inspired me to write about my 2x great-grandfather, who appeared twice in both the 1880 AND 1900 censuses.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brenda LeyndykeJanuary 13, 2013 at 12:16 PM

    Devon, I have awarded you with the Liebster Blog Award. You can read more about it at http://journeytothepastblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/blogging-rewards.html. Congratulations.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Mother's Day Lura Long

Image
When I think of mothers on my family tree, Lura Smith tops the list of those I look forward to meeting in the afterlife. She is the adopted mother of my Grannie,  Louise Eleanor Long .  Grannie adored Lura. Lura was married to Harry Howard Long (1883-1937). The couple married in Columbus, Ohio on Jun 19, 1907. They were unable to have children and finally adopted their first child in 1916. In May 1920, a baby girl was born in Columbus, Ohio to an unwed mother. The mother died of preeclampsia. This baby girl would become my grandmother. Upon her mother's death, Baby Anderson became a ward of the State of Ohio Welfare Department. She had a caseworker, Ethel Huffman Ackerman, who wanted to place Baby Anderson in the home of Harry Long. The caseworker was a friend and classmate (at Ohio State) of Harry's sister Elizabeth Long. As Elizabeth retells the story, Ethel received Baby Anderson's birth mother's history and felt that Harry and Lura were just the parent...
Read more

Mystery Monday: Which Karlsberger married Charles Stahl?

Image
Genealogy is kind of addicting. Sometimes, I get rather lost in the branches. As such, I run into mysteries that I can't seem to solve from the top down. I figured the genealogy community is awesome and may have ways to help me solve a mystery. Otherwise, perhaps a Karlsberger from Franklin County, Ohio might stumble upon my blog and help me solve this problem. My potential 3rd great-grand uncle George Paul Karlsberger was born on 10 August 1825 in Bavaria. Another researcher suggested his connection to my 3rd great-grandmother Anna Magaretha Karlsberger who married Christian or Christopher Hoppe. Margaretha was born 29 February 1824. There are no definitive records linking George and Margaretha. And Margaretha's parents were not recorded, though parents for George were suggested. As you can see, I am about to head down a twig on the tree that might be gnarled, or legitimate. George Karlsberger had six children born in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio to his wife Maria Elizabeth...
Read more

One Name Place Study: George Townsend of Columbus Ohio

Image
It's once again time to investigate the Townsends of Franklin County , Ohio in an effort to find relatives of William James Townsend who was born around 1842 in Franklin County, Ohio. The next individual listed 1880 US Census is George A Townsend. George indicates in this census that he was born around 1840 in New York. His parents are also listed as from New York and he says he was a merchant. Other household members are Louisa Townsend born around 1840 in New York (parents also from New York).  They have a son Charles W Townsend, who is about 11 in their home. Charles was apparently born in New York as well. At quick glance, this does not appear as close a relation as I would like to see. William was born in Ohio and several records place his parents from Maryland. George and William are around the same age so the different birth places would rule out the possibility of being brothers. Could they be distant relatives? I continued to research George and found him in the 7...
Read more