Back to Frederick Horace...

A couple of posts ago I mentioned that Frederick Horace Merrill - my great-grandfather - first showed up in the 1870 U.S. Federal Census. He next appears in the 1880 census still living with his parents Frederick Sr. & Lucretia in Avon, Illinois. He's recorded as being 18 years of age which does not compute with the information given in the 1870 census. In that census he's said to be 11 years old. An enumerator error at one end or the other?

He is now employed as a Clerk in Store - his father's store by all accounts as he was a hardware dealer - and he has the company of two brothers in this endeavour - Charles H. & Giles E.

There's no trace of Fred and his family in the 1890 census so their records must have been destroyed in the fire. As well I can find no trace of Fred & family in the 1900 census although I have found his brother Giles and his family. I find this curious - did they leave Avon by this time? I have no evidence of this as yet but it is intriguing. Especially since the family reappears in the 1910 census right back in Avon. Has the portion of the 1900 census that contains their information simply not be been transcribed/digitized yet?

As for the 1910 census, as mentioned Frederick Horace appears, this time married to Mary Alice (Belding) and living with their three children Grace E., Clement and Kent. They are domiciled in Union Township, Fulton Co. in the the Village of Avon.

Fred & Mary Alice will not appear in any future U.S. censuses because sometime between 1910 and 1914 they emigrated to Canada. My next task is to try and find them in the Canadian census of 1911.

Sources:

• “1910 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Thirteenth Census of the Unit, Year: 1910; Census Place: Union, Fulton, Illinois; Roll: T624_288; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 99; Image: 996., http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1910uscenindex&h=5327789&ti=0&indiv=try, Name: Fred H Merrill, Birth Date: abt 1860, Birth Place: Illinois.
• “1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ? Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limite, Year: 1880; Census Place: Avon, Fulton, Illinois; Roll: T9_208; Family History Film: 1254208; Page: 378.4000; Enumeration District: 55; Image: 0278., http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1880usfedcen&h=21090113&ti=0&indiv=try, Name: Fredrick Merrill.
• “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry.com, Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2003.Original data - 1870. United States. Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration. M593, RG29, 1,761 rolls. Minnesota. Minnes, Year: 1870; Census Place: , , ; Roll: M593, http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=1870usfedcen&h=15675981&ti=0&indiv=try, Name: Frederick Merrill, Birth Date: abt 1859, Birth Place: Illinois, Residence Date: 1870, Residence Place: Union, Fulton, Illinois.