Ancestry Saturday: Census Spelling Woes

My Dad had it right.  His write-up on family history said his great great grandparents were John and Mary Merz of German birth but living most of their lives in Dayton, Ohio. 

It took some faith on my part, though, to believe that.  No one else on Ancestry.com had that information and the Census didn't either. City Directory listings never had the pair together, but, even though the addresses matched, more confirmation was desired.

Confirmation of the family group, including the location of a daughter previously mentioned in a family photo but never found, came when I overcame the Census spelling woes.  Searches using misspellings and the help of HeritageQuestonline.com helped me prove my dad was right.

1860 Census

It was "Martz" in 1860.  And my great great grandfather's name, Eugene, shows up as some name I can't decipher.  Is that two-year-old named Scaniens?

1870 Census

Then it's Metz in 1870.

1880 Census

Add an r in 1880 and Mary Merz is found in Dayton that Census year.

 

It was hard to believe they could have escaped the Census taker three times in thirty years.  Guess it shows.  Keep looking.