Documents and people are not consistent. That’s part of what makes genealogical research challenging. And sometimes assumptions are made that create additional difficulties.

I’m fairly certain the last two entries in the household of Elijah Rhoads are Nancy Agnes (Brice) Harper and her daughter, Anna Harper. It is just that a few things from the entry do not match what has been established from other records:

• Nancy Agnes is listed as Bridget.
• Anna is listed as having been born in Illinois.

According to the narrative that has been developed for this family, the family structure is correct as Nancy Agnes’ husband, Martin, died in the 1860s. Her working as a domestic fits this narrative. She is believed to have been in the West Point, Hancock County, Illinois, area by the late 1860s where her sister Anne (Brice) Neill was already living. Daughter Anna was born about 1867 in Missouri. The age in the enumeration for Anna is consistent and the place of birth, while different in the census, is not so far away as to cause significant concern.

The first name of Bridget is the biggest discrepancy, but it is very likely that the information was provided by Elijah or Amelia Rhoads and it is very possible that, for one reason or another, they referred to her as Bridget.

After all, she’s Irish. Her name probably is Bridget. It could even be that the census taker could not read the field notes he made when going door to door and asking questions.

It is always worth keeping in mind the relationship between the individual being enumerated and the person who likely provided the information to the census taker.

It is also advised to compare each piece of a census enumeration with the known narrative of the person being enumerated. Most enumerations contain slight inconsistencies. It is up to the researcher to determine if those inconsistencies, when weighed in the aggregate, indicate the correct person has been located or not.

Did you think that the Anna Neil in the neighboring household was the sister of Nancy Agnes (Brice) Harper? If so, you’d be incorrect. The Anna Neil in the adjacent household is actually Annie (Murphy) Neill, wife of Samuel Neill. The Anne (Brice) Neill, sister of Nancy Agnes (Brice) Harper, was the wife of Joseph Neill. They also lived in St. Albans Township in 1870, but their enumeration is several pages away.

Always good to not jump to conclusions as well.

There was a connection between the Neills who were the neighbors of Nancy Agnes “Bridget” (Brice) Harper. Nancy’s Agnes’ sister, Anne (Brice) Neill was married to Joseph Neill, brother of Samuel Neill.

It’s often about the extended family. After all, no one lives in a vacuum.

Not even the Hoovers