1950 U.S. Census Anticipation

The 1950 U.S. census was released on April 1, 2022. There has been so much hype about its release, especially in the past month -- on the date of the release, there were even virtual parties during the "midnight hour". 

I wasn't excited about it at all, and I attended one webinar that left me so confused. But by the evening of April 1st, curiosity got the best of me, so I found myself taking a look at the Ancestry.com site and National Archives site. Both had prominent link assistance on their home pages for the 1950 census. To me, it seemed that Ancestry wasn't quite ready for the release (see image below). I found the National Archives site much easier to work with because I didn't have to figure out an enumeration district. There were other major sites that had assistance on their landing pages but since I was overwhelmed with all the hype, I just concentrated on the two sites I mentioned.

I already knew who I primarily wanted to find in the 1950 census: my parents, Willis B. Williams and Evelyn O. Brown; my maternal grandmother, Lucy Brown; my mother's siblings; my father's grandmother, Mary Lane Button; and my father's siblings.

I didn't like that I had to have an address to find the enumeration district (ED) on Ancestry. The whole point of my looking at the 1950 census was to find out where family lived.

Image from Ancestry.com on 1 April 2022 at 8:06pm

National Archives site

I liked that I could put in name, city/county, and state on the National Archives site. However, I didn't have much hope in finding m Brown family because it's such a common name.

MY MOTHER'S FAMILY

I was so happy that my maternal grandmother, Lucy Brown, and her children were the first "hit" when I did the search on Archives.com

1950 U.S. census, Buffalo, Erie County, NY, ED 65-124, sheet 15, household 111, lines 1-5 (Lucy Brown family); U.S. National Archives,_1950 Census_(https://1950census.archives.gov/search/).

In the top image, my grandmother, Lucy Brown, 46, is listed as a widow, living at 586 William St., Buffalo, Erie, New York. Living with her are all her children -- daughter, Verlie, 25, a registered nurse, employed in private duty; son Arthur, 23, a presser at a tailor shop; daughter Vivian, 21, a college student; and daughter Evelyn (my mother), a waitress in a cafeteria. 

The second image is from the bottom of the census page. Sample #4 from the supplemental questions is my Auntie Vivian.

Maternal grandfather, Noah Brown and his sister, Ida Brown living in Cleveland Ohio was a surprise. I initially looked for Noah in Buffalo NY and then looked at Cleveland because that was his place of death in 1966. Interesting that Noah is listed as widowed (as is my grandmother in Buffalo NY). My happy surprise was finding my great-aunt Ida because I haven't been able to find much information on her as an adult.

1950 U.S. census, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH, ED 92-897, sheet 6, household 61, lines 17-18 (Noah Brown and sister Ida Brown); U.S. National Archives,_1950 Census_(https://1950census.archives.gov/search/). 

Also in the household is Jordan, *unknown*, number 19 with "SEE NOTE" which is at top of census form.

MY FATHER'S FAMILY

Richard L. Davenport and Anna M. Davenport raised my father, Willis B. Williams and his sister, Joan Williams, when their mother passed in 1941. Anna M. Davenport (Button) was one of his mother's sisters. In this record, my father isn't listed because he's in the Army from 1949-1951 during the Korean Conflict. However, his sister, Joan, age 19 is listed. They live at 209 Walnut Street in Buffalo NY.

1950 U.S. census, Buffalo, Erie County, NY, ED 65-150, sheet 1, household 7, lines 22-24 (Richard Davenport family); U.S. National Archives,_1950 Census_(https://1950census.archives.gov/search/).

In 1950 my father's grandmother, Mary Button, was living in Detroit Michigan, with a daughter, Verna and son-in-law, Robert Bynum. Finding my great-grandmother was another guessing game because at the time of her death in 1955 she was living in Buffalo NY with her daughter and son-in-law, Anna M.  and Richard Davenport.

1950 U.S. census, Detroit, Wayne County, MI, ED 85-1072, sheet 3, household 18, lines 25-29 (Robert Bynum family); U.S. National Archives,_1950 Census_(https://1950census.archives.gov/search/).

I am pleased with the family I have found. However, I did not find my father's siblings in Detroit, Michigan. Their surname is Burkett. I only got one hit on that name, followed by pages and pages with various name spellings. So finding them will be a search for another day.

Copyright © 2022 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Elizabeth Brown Mason aka Auntie Lizzie

 Daffodils are the birth flowers for March

Thinking about my great Auntie Lizzie and how my Mom used to bring her over in the summer to sit in the yard. My Mom would be in and out doing housework and such. My brothers and I would be in and out doing our children thing. Whenever any of us would check on Auntie Lizzie she would always say, "Mmmm, I'm just enjoying myself." In the colder month, Auntie Lizzie would sit inside and in addition to the other statement, she would sometimes say, "I like to sit by the window and watch the peoples go by." I'm calling on her spirit of contentment and gratefulness as ugly recently stopped by and tied to take me down. I'm living my life and it's golden! (posted on Facebook March 11, 2021)

Elizabeth Brown Mason was born March 5, 1905 in Mississippi. Her family moved from Mississippi to Ohio during that Great Migration of southern, rural Blacks to the Northern states. As a five-year old in the 1910 census of Simpson County, Mississippi she was living with her widowed mother, Mary, and six of her siblings: Ida (18), Whittie (17), Simon (16), Willie (15), Sam (14), and Noah (9).

I have written more about the family and their migration in my post "One-Mississippi".

As a 20-year-old Auntie Lizzie married 21-year-old Cornelius Mason in Ripley, Chautauqua County, New York on June 16, 1925. Her witness was her sister, Ida Brown. Also along for the ride was Elder Joe Williams ("Minister of the Gospel") of Ashtabula, Ohio who performed the ceremony. The residence listed for Auntie Lizzie is Ashtabula, Ohio and for her groom, Cornelius, it's Winston Salem, North Carolina. The marriage record further indicated "Future address Ashtabula Ohio".

      From Ancestry.com: New York, County Marriages, 1847-1849; 1907-1936

I don't know if all parties traveled by car, bus, or train but two of the routes the wedding party could have taken from Ashtabula to Ripley would have been under two hours. (The quickest route, I-90 wasn't built until the mid-1950s as part of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed by President Dwight Eisenhower). Unfortunately, I'll probably never know why the wedding field trip was made to Ripley, New York, especially when everyone (except maybe the groom) was from Ashtabula, Ohio. It is interesting that her mother, Mary Stamps Brown, died in April and Auntie Lizzie "ran-away" to get married in June.

Google Maps

Growing up I had been told that Auntie Lizzie was divorced and looking at records now, it seems her marriage obviously didn't last long. By 1929 Auntie Lizzie was living with her brother, Noah and his family in Buffalo, New York. So far I have found her with the family in the Buffalo, New York City Directories of 1929, 1933, and 1938. My Mom remembers Auntie Lizzie living with them.

In the 1920 U. S. census 14-year old Elizabeth is living with her mother and her brothers William, Samuel, and Noah in West Park, Cuyahoga County, Ohio -- the census was weeks before her fifteenth birthday. I haven't been able to find Auntie Lizzie in the 1930 census. The next census I find her in is the 1940 census of Buffalo, Erie County, New York living with her brother Noah and his family --  his wife, Lucy and their children Verlie, Arthur, Vivian and Evelyn.  That census also indicated that she lived in Buffalo in 1935. The census also confirms her continued residence with her brother and his family.

In the Buffalo City Directories of 1961, 1962, and 1963 Auntie Lizzie and her older sister, Ida Brown are living together in a 2-bedroom apartment building -- the building has long been razed but I clearly remember it and the apartment layout. When my family moved to a new school district in the city, there were a few months that I lived with Auntie Lizzie as I completed sixth grade -- my final year at P.S. #47. In the spring of 1965, I occupied the second bedroom which had been Aunt Ida's until her passing in 1964. The apartment building was a walk-up, no taller than three stories. On the first floor were storefronts, one business was a laundromat -- I don't remember about the rest. Auntie Lizzie's last residence was a one-bedroom apartment in the Roosevelt Apartments, a building for seniors and the permanently disabled.

As I remember her, Auntie Lizzie was that epic sweet little old lady -- she was no taller than 5-feet and I always remember her having a pleasant disposition. She looked forward to the annual "Bowl" parades on tv, enjoyed our family holiday get-togethers and spending time in our yard during the warm months.  She absolutely adored my daughter, who I named Elizabeth. She was very proud of visiting the Grand Canyon and later flying to Hawaii in her senior years -- as part of a senior group. Auntie Lizzie was very honored to become a Church Mother at the Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ. She took her church membership and responsibilities to heart; tithing and faithfully attending services. Auntie Lizzie loved her church and her family --  and we loved her!

                                                            Cover of Obituary Program

Copyright © 2021 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

My #12 -- Samuel BROWN

Number 12 on my ancestor chart is Samuel Brown, a great-grandfather, the father of my mother's father.  For awhile now, I have been on a mission of sorts to find his death information. Unfortunately, he's from Mississippi which did not begin recording death records until 1912.

So what do I know about him?  I know his son, Noah Brown, of Simpson County Mississippi is the father of my mother, Evelyn O. Brown.  The only record I have  found of Noah with his father is from the 1900 U.S. census. Although Noah is listed as "Infant" I know that is him because of everyone else in the household.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: T623_827; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 97.

Also according to this census Samuel Brown was born April 1864 in Mississippi, had been married 15 years to Mary, they had eight children, and he owned his farm. I was able to find information on his and Mary's marriage on the FamilySearch site.

"Mississippi Marriages, 1800-1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V28X-W4S : 10 February 2018), Sam Brown and Mary Stamps, 10 Apr 1885; citing Simpson,Mississippi; FHL microfilm 886,975.

In the 1910 census Mary Brown is listed as a widow, the mother of nine children, and owner of the farm. The additional child (born after the 1900 census), is five year old Elizabeth. I knew Auntie Lizzie well and her birth date was March 5, 1905.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 3, Simpson, Mississippi; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: .

One document that had me "over the moon" was the Homestead Certificate, issued 7 Jun 1897 to Samuel Brown.

U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907

So in summary, what I know about Samuel Brown:

• 1864 - Born, Mississippi (U.S. 1900 census)
  

• 1885 - Married Mary Stamps, in Simpson County, Mississippi (Mississippi Marriage Index 1800-1900)
• 1897 (June 7) - Homestead Certificate for Simpson County (US Land Office Record)

• 1905 (March 5) - Birth of last child, Elizabeth
  

• 1910 – Wife, Mary, widow (U.S. census), Simpson County, Mississippi
  

Conclusion: Samuel BROWN died after June 1904 (nine months before last child was born) and before 13 May 1910 (census date).  While I keep looking to close that span, I also hope to find more on him before that 1900 census and 1885 marriage information.






Copyright © 2019 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.