Census Sunday - 1900 Samuel Mcclough and his wife, Jack. Really?

It's important to remember that names on the census did not always get recorded as we know them today. I could not find my great grandfather, Samuel McCullough in name searches of the 1900 U.S. Federal census records. I could not find his wife, Sarah or any of the children, all living at home. I had used all the search tricks and tips, wildcard characters, alternate name spellings. No luck.

I had an idea of where they were, near Cabery, Illinois in Mona Township, Ford County. Of course, Cabery is a town split right down the middle. The north side was in Kankakee County and the south side was in Ford County. I chose Ford County, and I did what any desperate family historian would do. Instead of doing a name search, I decided to browse the images. It was a small township, but this was at a time when the load speed for census images was slow, and the image viewer was not the best. But I found them!

1900 Mona Twp, Ford County, Illinois, United States

There they were, hiding in plain sight: Samuel Mcclough, wife Jack, and children Agnes, Mary, Thomas (my paternal grandfather), Sarah A. and Harold. Really? Wife's name is Jack? No, his wife's name was Sarah, and her maiden name was Jack.

Now if I could just find the marriage of the daughter-in-law's parents, John Joseph Latz and Anna Kleinman or Klienman or Kleiman. According to family notes, Myra Mary Latz was born in Portland, Oregon on September 13, 1893. Birth records in Oregon are hard to find around that time. I have a letter to John Latz from Northern Pacific Railroad Company about rates and stops from Chicago to Portland, Oregon, dated July 31, 1893. Sure sounds like a miserable train trip for Anna if she was in Chicago area at the end of July and she delivered baby Myra in Oregon in September.

Part of the letter from C.G. Lemmon, District Passenger and Land Agent for Northern Pacific states "I scarcely know what point to recommend with great North West for you to go for your best interest in your line of business. However I think you can suit yourself best in this way—now, as rates are reduced and never has there’re been a change to see the Northern Pacific country at such reasonable fare. We sell from Chicago to Portland Ore. a second class ticket at $25.00 which is good for a stop over of 10 days at Spokane Washington and any and all points west to destination, which will give you a chance to investigate for yourself at points like Spokane, Pasco, Yakima, Ellensburg, Seattle, Tacoma, Centralia, Olympia, Chahallis and adjoining country as 10 day stopover will afford you ample time to do so."

Another day...