William Wallace Haws 1860 Census

When researching census records, it is incredibly important to remember that they do not always contain correct information. When this happens, take a deep breath, and compare the information the census contains to your records and determine if it is the same family you are researching. Wrong information may have been given to the census taker or he or she could have just written it wrong. This was my experience while researching the 1860 Census for William Wallace Haws:

 [1]

At the bottom of this particular page, lists a Wm. W. Haws and his wife, Barbra, who lived in Provo, Utah. Although their names are shown differently, it seems pretty clear that this could be the couple, until you look at Wm W birthplace: New York. In all other records, his place of birth was listed as Illinois.  In this census, he was 24, putting his date of birth at 1836, which matches well with our other records. Barbra's age (23) and birthplace (Canada) also match our records. When looking at the children, it becomes clear that this is the right family. The children are listed as: Jane (6), Jno W (4), and Geo M (1). In the 1870 census, William and Barbara had Jane (15), William (14), and George (12). All of these children's names and ages match up in both censuses. They were all also born in Utah in both censuses and the two censuses were both taken in Utah county. It is pretty safe to say that this is the same family, even though some pieces had different information.

[1] Wm W and Barbra Haws Family, Provo, Utah County, Utah, 1860 United States Federal Census, Roll M653_1314, Page 899, Image 371, Online Image, Ancestry.com, Accessed 29 September 2014.