Jo Anne said:
<<I don't know how much of the census" records are correct.  Info seems to
change from census to census...The census records have many mistakes by way
of transcription.  The latest, `1940 census, shows my parents listed as
"Mills"....Sheesh!>>

The census records are really only primary evidence for residence only.
Any other info gleaned from them is secondary evidence.  Census takers had
to be able to write.  They didn't have to spell correctly.  And in Hawaii
you have the special problem of many cultures coming together.  So if the
census taker was born in China and was sent to a Portuguese household, you
can imagine 2 different accents trying to communicate in English. At any
rate, whoever was home would answer the census taker's question.  And if
that meant the 10 year old, the 10 year old answered.  The 1940 census had
the census takers put an X by the name of the person who answered the
questions.  None of the other censuses did that.  If you do a lot of census
work, you can sometimes tell who answered the questions by following the
family through the census years.

The transcribed indices are a whole different problem.  Human error can be
introduced, especially with someone transcribing who is not familiar with
Portuguese names.  At Ancestry, you can submit a correction.  I was told
Ancestry outsourced the indexing to China, Sri Lanka, India, or high school
students.  I don't know which story is true, if any.  I do know that their
training of paleography is subpar.  I've seen Turner transcribed incorrectly!
And that's a real easy name!

Jo Anne continued:
<<I have info from the 1900 Hawaiian census that shows a Manuel Mello, B/D
1868 in Portugal immigrated to HI in 1887! married to Mary in 1889 - now do
I take that as gospel? ...  Dates seem to float up and down.  Geez when
they interviewed these people don't they know their own birthdate?  Why do
they keep changing, if, in fact, they are the same people?>>

The only thing you can take as gospel is a primary source.  A primary
source is something that was issued at the time of the event. A birth
certificate is a primary source for a birth.  A death certificate is a
primary source for the death.  You can take the birth date off of the death
certificate, but that fact is a secondary source.  Secondary sources are
something that was issued AFTER the time of the event.

Most of our ancestors were illiterate.  They did not celebrate birthdays
like we do now with a cake and whatnot.  They weren't asked for their b
irthdate like we are when we fill out credit applications, banking forms, Dept
of Motor Vehicle stuff, employment applications, etc.  And some of our
ancestors used their baptism date as their birth date instead.

When I started doing genealogy 21 years ago, I initially signed up for a basic
genealogy class at my local adult school.  One of the things we were taught
was:
 1) Who said it?
 2) When did they say it?
 3) How did they know?

Take a look at this 1880 census (if you have a subscription to Ancestry):
goo.gl/9jNb7
If you are researching the John Bedford family (lines 9-15) in the 1880
census, you will know the answer to question 2 above.  It was stated in
1880.  But if you know that the husband and wife are about 15 years apart
in age, and their kids are William, ELIZABETH, Annie, LOLA, and Joseph, you
will be completely baffled that the census shows the husband and wife as
only 5 years apart and that their kids are William, MARY,  Annie, LOUISA,
and Joseph.  And the kids' ages are way off.  Scroll way over to the
right.  The answer to question number 1 is there.  I lucked out on that!
(for those without a subscription to Ancestry, it says "Obtained from a
neighbor.  Could learn no more."  And then you look at all their neighbors
(for those who can't view it, many are from Portugal, China, Russia, and
Canada).  I therefore have my answer to question 3: They neighbors really
didn't know.  They took their best guess.

You'll have to collect every piece of paper you can find on your
ancestors.  Hawaii is tougher because you are dealing with a U.S. territory
and a kingdom.  So things are a little different with Hawaiian research.
And if you can't find stuff on the husband, chase the wife around.  And ALL
their kids.  Not just your ancestor.  The information you need may be on a
different kids' record.

Hope this answers a couple of your questions.
Cheri Mello
Listowner, Azores-Gen
Researching: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas,
Achada

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