Question:
On the side next to my ancestor's family on the 1940 census it's noted that the information was given by a neighbor. I know that there are errors in the information. One child is recorded as male, but was a female. My grandmother's name is in error, but I know it's her because she's the right age and between two siblings whose names and ages are correct. Strangely, at the bottom my grandmother is also listed in detail, that she's employed and where and so on. How would the neighbor know that detail? Why would a census taker talk to a neighbor and not verify these things with the family?
Can I still use this bad census information to proof?
David
New Jersey
Answer from Ancestry Worship Genealogy
Yes, you can use it as part of the proofing process. Simply you write it much like you just explained it to me, sighting the correct information and the errors. You would then use other information to substantiate the correct information.
The census takers did talk to neighbors, when they could not find the family itself welcoming, at home, or when the language differences made it difficult. May I suggest that the neighbor might have been someone who was trying to do their best to be cooperative? Sure, this neighbor could have been a busy-body, the town gossip, or she could have been the landlord. (Can you find her on the census nearby, such as in the same building, next door, or down the street, perhaps in a single family home? Could be interesting and informative!"
In the last US Census, census takers had to try an address twice and then engage their supervisors.
