What Happened to the 1890 Federal Census?
Many genealogy researchers have become frustrated once they began searching for the 1890 US Federal Census. Soon, the researchers learn the 1890 Schedules was destroyed by a fire in the National Archives in 1921.
January 10, 1921, in the afternoon, the building fireman reported seeing smoke in the basement of the Commerce Building where the schedules were located and the fire department was called. They contained the fire to the basement level but flooded most of the area. These records were allowed to remain soaking in the water overnight and the next day the damage was assessed. The schedules were located in a basement vault that was considered to be fireproof and waterproof. Upon assessment they found a small broken pane of glass which had allowed the water to seep in and damaged some of the schedules that were located in the low shelves. Those schedules were opened and dried and recopied. However, the 1890 schedule was located outside the vault and it was determined that the 1890 records were ruined and that no method of restoration would restore them.
A cause of that 1921 fire was never determined, although there was some speculation that a worker was smoking and that started the blaze or the stacks of paper spontaneously combusted.
In 1932 a list of papers to be destroyed was sent to the Librarian of Congress which included the original 1890 schedules that still remained. Congress authorized the destruction of the papers listed and in 1934 those remaining schedules were destroyed by the Department of Commerce.
However, some of the original schedules still exist. In 1942 a bundle of the 1890 Illinois schedules was discovered during a move. In 1953 more fragments from a few states were discovered. These few 1890 censuses have all been filmed and are available through your local library, state archive, and Family History Centers.
So, since I couldn't search the 1890 census, I looked again at the 1900 Census that I had previously found for Elisha and his age was put down as 21. That would agree with the 1880 Census which had his age as 1. It pretty much proves, I think, that the birth year of 1881 is wrong. Elisha was born in 1879 and was 1 year old on the 1880 Census...21 on the 1900 Census, which gives his birth month and year as May 1879. Let's take a look at the 1910 Census and see if that trend holds true.
I know it's hard to see on this, but if you save it to your computer and then click on it, you can enlarge it. This census has Elisha listed as Lish Robinson instead of Robertson. I talked about this same census on an earlier post when I was looking for Homer as a child. Like I said before, I know it's my Elisha because his wife is listed as Zona, his son Ross, and his daughter Nita F. This census gives Lish's age as 29. It should have been 31, so this is the first time I've found that 1881 birth year popping up. I wonder why the change? This seems to be the birth year he stuck with for the rest of his life, but why the change? I know he was born in 1879 because he was 1 on the 1880 census. Did people forget their ages back then?? Or was there a reason for the change? Maybe further research will uncover the answer. On to the 1920 Census!
Here's the 1920 Census for Elisha M. Robson. Again, his name was spelled wrong, but it's the same family...wife Zona E., son Ross M., daughter Nita F. The first thing I notice about this census is that the family moved. All their other census' since Elisha was on his first census (1880) were in Union Township, Daviess County, Missouri. However, on the 1920 Census we find Elisha's family in Maysville, DeKalb County, Missouri and they are renting their home. The second thing I noticed was that Elisha's age was listed as 46! He went from 29 on the 1910 census to 46 ten years later! It gets curiouser and curiouser!
It occurred to me to see if Elisha's wife's age had changed like his had. On the 1900 Census...when Zona was still single and living at home with her family, her age was listed as 20 and her birth date as Dec 1879. That's the same year Elisha was born! Next I checked the 1910 Census. Zona's age on that census was listed as 27 (should have been 30). On the 1920 Census her age was listed as 35 (should have been 40). And on the 1930 Census, Zona's age was listed as 42 (should have been 50).
I made a list for Elisha, too.
On the 1880 Census, Elisha was listed as 1 year old, born May 1879. On the 1900 Census, his age was listed as 21. That would be correct according to the 1880 Census. After that, things got a little crazy. The 1910 Census showed Elisha's age as 29 (should have been 31). The 1920 Census gave his age as 46 (too old...should have been 41). The 1930 Census, ten years later, put his age 3 years younger than the 1920 census...43 (should have been 51). Here's the 1930 Census for Elisha's family.
On the 1930 Census, we find Lisha Robertson with wife Zona, son Herbert Painter, his wife Fay Painter and their son Bobby Painter. Fay is actually Lisha and Zona's daughter Faye....who went by Nita F. as a young girl. Herbert Painter is her husband, their son-in-law. They have moved since the 1920 Census. They were living in Maysville, DeKalb County, MO in 1920, but now, in 1930, they are living in Gallatin, Clay County, MO and Homer is gone from the home by now. I found Homer living in Springfield City, Green County, MO as a lodger, single and 30 years old, working as an independent laborer.
It's just 10 days until the 1940 Census is released, and Elisha should be on it since his headstone gave a death year of 1946. Homer will be on it, also, and this will be the first Census where my mother, Kay, will be listed as Homer and Eleanor's daughter. My mother was born in 1934. I'm excited!
I just realized that I didn't check the 1880 census for Zona, so I took a look. Oh my goodness! Arizona Rogers is listed on that census as a 6 year old child attending school! That means Zona was born about 1874, not 1879, and was 5 years older than Elisha! Wow....what a web of lies! I wonder if they lied or if they just didn't remember. Maybe it wasn't as important back then as it is to us today. I had another thought. I wonder if Elisha knew that Zona was 5 years older than he was?? Maybe she told him she was younger than he was when they met. Maybe that mattered?? 5 years is a big gap. Here's the census:
Zona is listed as Arizona E. Rogers and this is the first time I've seen her name...not her nickname Zona.
It's late and I need to go to bed. Next time I want to look into Elisha's father, Milas Milford Robertson. Elisha had a lot of brothers and sisters, and I want to try to put this family together.
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