Censuswhacking for Halloween

Time again to search the 1880 U.S. census for strange and unique names—this time with a Halloween theme.

It's a little known fact that parents in 1880 would buy all their Halloween treats from the local Candy Miner. The Miner would roam the streets of town, chanting "Candy Candy!"

In one particular town, the residents considered anything Sweet Good, and the Miner was considered an especially Sweet Guy. That is until they found out he was making Sweet Luv to all the neighborhood women.

The Candy Miner thought his Halloween would be Trick Free, but one angry husband thought otherwise. Demon Deville caught him in an alley, and strangled him with a licorice whip.

Sweet Justice.

By the way, am I the only one who finds Mary Kate Scarey? Well, I'll now be returning to my Sofa Haunt

Censuswhacking in England

Ancestry.com is allowing free access to the 1901 U. K. Census for the month of September, allowing me to try some censuswhacking "U. K.-style" (much like the American version, except done with a British accent). The links below will work only until the end of September for non-members.

I was excited to Even Cross the Atlantic. I am not one of those Americans who finds all things Royal Strange. Would Victoria B. Home? No, she had died in January of 1901. How would the Brits Ever Cope without their beloved monarch?

I arrived at the home of my Curly Cousins—so named because of their Curly Long hair—and marveled at their Lovely Hall. They showed me to my room in the stable. It was not the most comfortable lodging in London, but I was grateful for Every Straw.

The most curious part of my trip was having tea with the family. They had a Good Butler who, whenever he served Tea, Rose to his tiptoes. He would then totter across the floor, Wince, Crouch on the floor, and leap into my lap. Occasionally, he would Even Loosen my tie. Now that's Real Service!

There was something about the British that made me feel Less White. I understand that Even Short visits to Britain can produce the same effect in the whitest of Americans. Ah, well. So long as I have my memories of England, there is nothing I will Ever Lack.

Yet More Censuswhacking

Time again for censuswhacking, the best thing to come out of England since Monty Python disbanded.

One hopes that Cupid Handsome later brought together Constant Beauty and Ima Lovely, and that the bride chose to hyphenate.

The dangers of adopting a husband's surname were evidently not foreseen by Zany Dummy or Tiny Head.

Curiously, there was just one Manly Beard to be seen in America, though a Girly Beard did turn up in Clinton, Indiana. Manly Work could only be found in Massachusetts.

Speaking of work, I found a Silly Baker, a Silly Cooper, a Silly Miller, a Silly Mason, and one whole Silly Crew living in Mississippi.

In the course of my travels, I encountered Strange Winters in Indiana and Bright Springs in South Carolina; Minor Summers in Tennessee and Major Falls in Arkansas.

I found no evidence of May-December romances, but did find a May January, a June February, and an August October.

There was a Turkey Hurt in Pleasant Grove, Virginia. No word on the culprit, but I suspect the Chicken Barber then living in Midway, Alabama.

Even More Censuswhacking

It's time for yet more censuswhacking. This time, I'll focus on strange and unique name-combinations in the 1880 U.S. census.

I started by trolling for Hairy Trout in Pennsylvania, and Happy Bass in Illinois.

I found a Dusty Pope in North Carolina, and a Happy Monk in New York.

There was a Lazy Tumbling in Virginia, and a Plesent Rolling in North Carolina. (There was also a Virgin Rolling reported in Virginia, and a Christian Rolling in New Orleans—surely scandalous at the time.)

There was a Red Neck in California, a Red Chest in Mississippi, and a Red Cross in Georgia.

Pink Floyd lived in Alabama, as did Pink Crump (this one best if read aloud).

Finally, one is compelled to ask why a couple would name their daughter Pig Slaughter, or Hog Pye.

More Censuswhacking

In my first experiment in censuswhacking, I tried to find individuals or families in the 1880 census each with a unique first or last name. This time, I've looked for unique and unusual combinations of first and last names.

Fictional characters: Clark Kent (there were four Lois Lanes in 1880), Marcia Brady, and Harry Lime (for those who remember the Third Man). There was also a Chris Kringle, whose first name was undoubtedly misspelled by the enumerator.

Musicians: Paul McCartney, Hank Williams, and Patsy Cline.

Actors: Richard Gere, James Spader, and Linda Lovelace (really).

Literary figures: George Orwell and Virginia Woolf.

It is rather disturbing to find that there were four women in 1880 named Fanny Large, and two named Fanny Grumbles. Fortunately, there was only one Fanny Poker then living in America.

One wonders if the Nice Dame living in Mississippi ever met the Mean Beavers living in Alabama.

Harry Chin lived in Louisiana, while Harry Knee lived with his folks in Pennsylvania. (Before you ask, there were five Harry Butts spread across the country.)

Censuswhacking in America

The recent article from BBC News about "censuswhacking" inspired me to attempt the same, using the 1880 U.S. Census. The challenge is to find a first name or surname which is unique in the transcription (obvious misspellings or mistranscriptions should not count). Examples are given from the British version, some of which are only unique and interesting combinations of first and last names:

Fatty Atkinson, 1881
Peter Pan, 1891
Banana Pointer, 1891
Crusoe Robinson, 1871
Clara Slime, 1901
Nasty Clough, 1861
Ester Bunney, 1871
Sherwood Forest, 1901

My own first attempts found only one person named "Egyptian" in 1880 America—Egyptian M. Ashe of Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina. There was a Ghost Wright, and a Chinese miner in Rough and Ready, California, whose name was given only as "Hunger."

The British rules for the game require that a surname occur "in only ONE family in any census." The Horror family of Allegheny, Pensylvania, would qualify. More difficult would be finding a single individual with a unique surname. For example, William Underwater, Elen Crotch, or Carry Dingleberry.

Censuswhacking and Other British Diversions

From the BBC News of June 13, 2005:

The kinship of strangers
By Rob Liddle
BBC News website

What do family historians do when the trails for their own kin go cold? They join forces to uncover the life history of a randomly chosen individual from the past.

Pursuing one's ancestry used to be a labour-intensive affair - all packed lunches, trips to dusty records offices and unseemly fights over tomes with other frazzled researchers.

[snip]

Now, with a wealth of genealogical information available online and an explosion in the number of people eager to research their roots, family history can be a completely different experience.

You can access birth, marriage and death indexes and census details instantaneously and quickly link up with people who have other useful resources at their disposal or specialist knowledge.

Random number

And with these developments a new breed of genealogist has emerged - ready to root at will and for whom the process of recreating people's lives and times is an end in itself.

Members of the 16,000-strong Rootschat forum now take part in a monthly challenge, in which an individual with whom none of them has any known connection is randomly selected from the 1881 census.

The job is to find out as much as possible about the mystery person within the next four weeks. It's pot luck - the person could have died a week later - but there's always something interesting to discover about them.

"I suppose it's almost like getting a bit of a hit," explains Sarah Mackay, who with partner Trystan Davies set up Rootschat, which attracts up to 140 new members every day.

"People doing their own family may get stuck for years, but it's very addictive and when you can't get any further yourself, you're still quite desperate for the same hit.

[snip]

Censuswhacking

There is a serious side to the project, and the hope is that the randomly chosen person will fit into another researcher's family tree - something which has actually happened on each occasion so far.

Researcher Paul Etherington, who initiated the challenges, sees the site as a "truly altruistic experience".

[snip]

Paul also came up with the idea of censuswhacking - searching for a first name, surname or occupation that appears only once in a given census (as transcribed) - which has proved a big hit on the site.

Where else would the lives of Ginnie Pig, Spud Murphey and Alfred Goold - 1901 occupation "living on condensed milk" - be recorded for posterity?

[Read the whole story]

The thread from Rootschat may be viewed here.