Using multiple census records to prove your family.

Yesterday, I blogged about the Prezant family and to make it easier, I put their information into a spreadsheet.

Spreadsheets make it so easy to compare dates, names and places.  When you look at them across the line, you can quickly point out any obvious errors, such as the fact that Sarah and Etta could not have been born 6 months apart - and that was corrected in the 1910 census.

And that Hirsch is not in the 1885, 1900 or 1910 census. He must have died before 1885.

Next, I went in search of a ship's arrival manifest.  There was a list made when they got on the ship in Europe, and one made when they arrived in New York City.  Found this:

which was transcribed as this:

Yet when magnified (and put into photoshop with even more filters)

I can see the first name as possibly a spelling of Zallel, i.e., Zallael and the last name looking more like Br....ant...Brnerantt or Breisantt.  (Can you see how this later turned int Prezant?)

Nel - could easily be Kel - look at how her first name transitioned in these few short years.

And they have "Mary" as a male age 8.  Yet I can clearly see Itzag.  Can you?

Horrih - easily Hirsch.

(I should point out that Charles was a common Americanization of the Jewish name Zallel.)

So let's add a new column to the spreadsheet to include the arrival manifest:

Pretty sure we have a match.  They arrived June 17, 1882, and Hirsch was 10/12 months old at that time.  They immediately left for Cotopaxi.  So what happened to Hirsch as he is not listed in the 1885 census.

Carol Friedman is a descendant of this line and she has done extensive research and has not found information on Hirsch.  I have not found any other descendants who have information on him.

Because of the huge range of possible spellings of the surname between 1882 and 1885, it would be nearly impossible to search the Denver cemetery lists.

So the questions will remain unanswered for future researchers.  Hirsch must have died sometime between June 1882 and June 1885.  Was he buried at Cotopaxi?   We do not know.

I found a Charles Prizent living at 369 Larimer St in the 1884 city directory.  Same name in the 1885 directory as a "ragman".  Did not locate him in the 1883 city directory.  So if Hirsch died while in Cotopaxi, it would have been within a year of arrival.

Just to share with you how much a Yiddish/Russian/German surname changed between 1882 and 1930 here's what we have for this family:

Breisand - ship's departure manifest

Bonerannt - ship's arrival manifest

Prizent - 1884/1885 Denver city directories

Trissoml - 1885 census

Prezant - 1900 census

Rrezant - 1910 census

Prezont - 1920 census

Poezant - 1930 census

Some of these are obvious typing errors, others can be shown as transcription errors.  It is so hard to read old handwriting.  But it is so worth it in the long run!!  At least I've clarified this much for future researchers.

Hirsch Prezant.  1881 to pre 1885.  Hopefully one day we will learn more about him.  Until then....may his memory be a blessing.

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