Spelling Errors and the Census

It can be frustrating at times trying to finding census records for family members. It can be even more frustrating when researchers have to deal with spelling errors. When researching my great grandfather, Horace Sanders, I could not find his 1940 census record on Ancestry. He didn't die until the 1950's so I knew he was still alive during the 1940 census. It's rare for a person not to be enumerated but it did occasionally happen. Fortunately, I did find Horace's record on Family Search so I knew it existed although his record could not be found on Ancestry or so I thought. It wasn't until I was searching for Horace's soon to be daughter-in-law, Dorothy, that I found Horace. In the 1940 census, Dorothy was living in the household of Horace Souders not Sanders. Souders is not a name I would have ever considered as an alternative to Sanders but there it was Souders. Horace, his wife, Margaret, his two sons, Edward and Donald as well as Dorothy were all living at the same residence. Dorothy was a lodger.

To easily find Horace's 1940 census record, I edited his name to Souders and the 1940 census record immediately appeared as a hint on Ancestry. I changed Horace's surname back to Sanders after I added the record to Margaret, Edward and Donald. Just an added note that a few months after the census was taken Donald and Dorothy were married in Albany, Illinois.

So never give up when you cannot find a record. Try a variety of spelling variations for surnames. Check Family Search for records. Horace's 1940 census record was indexed correctly on Family Search and the record was also available to view.