Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting - June 11, 2009
The June 11, 2009, meeting of the Madison
County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library in
Edwardsville, Illinois.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
Reports:
Librarian Elsie
Wasser reported that we had received several new items for the library from
member, Lynn Reener:
Prairie
Pioneers of Illinois, Vol II - Illinois State Genealogical Society
Family Bible Records, Vol II Illinois State Genealogical Society
Children of the Orphan Trains, compiled by Janet Coble - Illinois State
Genealogical Society
Early German Churches (bef 1900) of Illinois - Illinois Chapter, Palatines to
America 1989
First Families of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Vol 2, by John Pitts Launey
Pioneers of the Six Bulls, The Newton County, Missouri, Saga, Vol XXVI, Part 4,
by Larry James 1984
Kincaid, The Family of John Kincaid Sr 1710-1811 and Kincaids of the Carolinas
and Virginia
Diary of Johann Gottfried Arends, 1740-1807 by Jo White Linn
The Marionville Turrentines by Ethel Turrentine Hook
Madison County, Illinois, 1820 Federal Census by Phyllis Bauer
The Families of Ahrend Ahrens Janssen and Antje Tonjessen Janssen
St. Timothy United Methodist Church, 1850-2000, Litchfield, Illinois
June Meeting
On June 11, 2009, Ms. Elsie Wasser gave a presentation
on Census Records of the United States Over the Years. The first thing Elsie
did was to recommend the "Guide
to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States"
as a valuable source book for anything pertaining to census records.
She explained the requirements and purposes for taking a census and stated that
the census records have turned out to be a vital source of genealogical
information about our ancestors and the details of their lives.
Elsie stated that errors were introduced into the census data through actions
of both the enumerators and the public, i.e., phonetic spelling of names,
asking neighbors for information, people giving the wrong ages. She said that
each federal census has been different. Questions have been added or removed,
more details have been requested, etc..
For the sake of privacy, the actual census records have been restricted and not
available to the general public for 72 years after the taking of the census.
The 1930 census was made available April 1, 2002 and the 1940 census will be
available April 1, 2012.
Elsie also talked about other censuses: Mortality census reports the deaths of
individuals the year before the taking of the actual census. Agricultural
censuses give details of persons whose livelihood depends on agriculture. These
two types of federal censuses exist only for the years 1850, 1860, 1870, and
1880. In addition to the federal censuses, there are state censuses. Illinois
took a state census in 1845, 1855, and 1865.
This presentation was well received and prompted several questions.