Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Are Your Ancestors Missing in the Census?

I'm responding to a previous Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge from Randy Seaver rather than the one posted today, so if it seems that my calendar is a little off, that's why.

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

1.  Which of your ancestors or relatives have you NOT found in the census records and what have you done or are doing to try to find that person?  Can AI help?

2.  Identify one or more of your ancestors that are inexplicably missing from one or more census collections.  Why do you think they were not enumerated?

3.  Share your information about your ancestor or relative NOT in the census records in your own blog post, write a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Substack post, Facebook Note, or some other social media system.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it.

Thank you to Marian B. Wood for this SNGF idea.

1940 was not a good census year for finding members of my father's family.  I have not found, and at this point do not expect to find, my father, his parents, his half-sisters, or his paternal grandmother in the census.

When the 1940 census was released, I of course excitedly began to look for all my relatives.  Yet even after the names were indexed and searchable on FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com, I couldn't find my father and those other family members.  And I knew all of their complete names and birth dates!  I tried with names, without names, partial names, with birth information, without birth information, with location and without, and various combinations of those.  I just couldn't find any of them.

At some point in his life (I suspect it was for a security clearance), my grandfather compiled a list of all the places at which he had lived.  He had three different cities for 1940 (and four for 1935!).  I checked all of them through Steve Morse's Unified Census ED Finder and then manually searched each of the enumeration districts.  I found absolutely nothing having to do with my family.  They apparently missed the census taker in all three cities due to their moves.

So that ruled out my father, grandparents, and aunts.  I then focused on my great-grandmother.  She was living in the same house that had been associated with her family since at least 1900, in which census I found her, her mother, and her granduncle and grandaunt.  I even have a photograph of the house.  I also have the street address, so I could narrow down my enumeration districts more finely than I had been able to for the searches for my father.

And when I searched the two enumeration districts that resulted from my use of Steve Morse's tools, I got . . . nothing again.  After going through the pages twice to make sure I hadn't missed her, I found that her specific address was not enumerated, neither in the first listing by the census taker nor in the second go-round.  It just isn't there.  I don't know why the census taker didn't list her address, but it does not appear in the census.

I admit that I have not used AI to try to solve this, and I don't plan to try.  I see no reason to think that AI can help or that it will magically make my family members appear out of nowhere.  I have used the logical available tools.  They simply were missed in the census, which happens to some people in every census enumeration.

I first searched for my father and his family in the 1940 census in 2012, soon after the census was released.  I repeated the searches for this post, and those family members are still not in the census.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: An Ancestor's School Records

I need to find more of the records discussed in today's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

1.  Do you have any records of your ancestors' schooling, such as report cards, yearbooks, or photos?

2.  If so, please share one of them and what you learned about your ancestor(s) from the record.

3.  Share your information about your ancestors' schooling in your own blog post, write a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Substack post, Facebook Note, or some other social media system.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it.

Thank you to Lisa S. Gorrell for this SNGF idea.

My files are still messed up from a computer crash a couple of years ago, but I scoured previous blog posts to find some images.

1.  Yes, I have some records of my parents' schooling.  I have not found anything for ancestors previous to them.

2.  I found two photographs of my father in the 1954 Seminole [Florida] High School yearbook, Salmagundi.

Glee Club, page 59

I learned the name of the high school my father attended in Florida and which clubs he apparently belonged to.  He may have belonged only to the Glee Club while at Seminole High School; the years listed for the other clubs are for when he was in New Jersey, I believe.

Projectionist Club and Camera Club make sense for what I already know of my father's interests.  I have found newspaper articles about musicals in which my father performed, and Glee Club fits with that area of interest.  But my father didn't particularly use Spanish, and never Portuguese, so I don't know what his participation in the Pan American Club in Moorestown was focused on.

I have a copy of my mother's one-semester transcript from Florida State University (which I don't have to hand to include in this post).  She was nominally an education major, aiming to be a teacher.  I have been told that for the short time she was at college, my mother was a bit of a party girl, and her grades would appear to support that statement.

For another example of school records, I have a copy of my ex's maternal grandmother's brother's exam from the medical school he attended in Scotland.  I think that's really cool.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Artifacts Did You Find in an Ancestor's Closet/Attic/Garage?

Coming to the party a little late, but better late than never, right?  I have received treasures I can write about for the recent Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge from Randy Seaver.

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

1.  Were you lucky enough to receive or find artifacts from your relatives (parents, grandparents, others) as you pursued your genealogy research?

2.  Describe one or more of the artifacts you found or received and where you obtained them.

3.  Share your information about your ancestral artifacts in your own blog post, write a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Substack post, Facebook Note, or some other social media system.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it.

Thank you to Marian B. Wood for this SNGF suggestion.

I have received two such artifact bounties and, to some degree, found a third.

After my paternal grandfather passed away in 1995, his widow moved to live with her nephew.  A couple of years after she died, her nephew contacted my aunt and asked whether she was interested in my grandfather's old papers and photographs.  I am still thrilled that she said yes and accepted them.  She kept them for some time and then gave them to my father, who dreamed of scanning everything.  He eventually gave up on that and asked me if I wanted them, and of course I said yes.  The photographs eventually helped me find my aunt (my father's youngest half-sister), and the papers follow his career through the civil service.

When my father passed away in 2019, I told my siblings the only physical items I was interested in were his photographs and his racing trophies.  They were all taken by my stepbrother from Florida to Texas when he closed out the property and moved his mother (my stepmother) to his home, and eventually found their way to my sister, also in Texas.  I still don't have the trophies or the original photos, but my sister's niece scanned the photos (I hope all of them), which my sister sent me on a flash drive (my photo bonanza).  I am still working on identifying many of the photos, and I have posted several here on my blog.

When my material grandmother suffered a stroke in 2005, it was immediately apparent that she would be unable to live on her own anymore.  I was able to arrange to work remotely, so I flew out to Florida to pack up everything from her apartment.  I brought home three large boxes of photographs stored in her closet, most of which were identified because I had visited my grandmother a year before that and had convinced her to let me label them.  I have made copies of and scanned several photos and shared them with my many cousins.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Automobiles Did Your Ancestors Own?

It's either "everything old is new again" or a flash of déjà vu this week for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, as another blogger contributes a topic that Randy Seaver has covered previously.

Here is your assignment, if you choose to play along (cue the Mission:  Impossible! music, please!):

1.  What automobile models did your ancestors have?  Pick an ancestor and share something about his cars.

2.  Share your information about your ancestor's car(s) in your own blog post, write a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Substack post, Facebook Note, or some other social media system.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it.

NOTE:  I can use ideas for different SNGF topics.  Please e-mail me (randy.seaver@gmail.com).

Thank you to Lisa Gorrell for this week's SNGF challenge topic.

Randy asked us about family cars on November 25, 2017, and I wrote a very detailed post about our cars then, with comments from my father about even more cars, including many of which I had no memory.  That post is here.

Since then I have not added any new vehicles, although I do keep thinking about finding another motorycle for myself.  Maybe this summer I'll do that.

I have followed up on one thing my father wrote:  He and my mother rode to Death Valley (who was taking care of my brother and me?) with the Norwalk Centaurs motorcycle club.  I discovered that they still exist and have a Facebook page!  I have contacted them and asked whether they have any photos of the 1963 or 1964 trip to Death Valley.

My father took photographs of cars everywhere he went.  My guess is that any car that looked interesting to him, he would take photos.  You can see some of those photos and read more about my father and cars by clicking here.

I really need to take a photo of my current car, the Toyota RAV4, for the family archive.  Since I haven't done that yet, I'll include a photo of my brother and sister sitting on the Indian that was in my 2017 car post.

Mark and Stacy Sellers, probably in La Puente, California, 1967

Who Are the Skilled Tradesmen in Your Family?

The first Wednesday in May was chosen to celebrate the skilled trades in this country.  A company in Youngstown, Ohio founded National Skilled Trades Day to bring attention to the importance of skilled trades and to the shortage of skilled tradesmen in this country.

So I'm going to write first about my father, who was indeed a skilled tradesman.  He was a mechanic, and by all accounts a very good one.  I knew this from growing up and hearing people talk about his work.  When my family moved to Australia, it was based on his skills as a mechanic.  At the time, Australia was looking for skilled tradesmen to come as potential immigrants, and we qualified because of my father's skills.

This was really brought home to me when I wrote a blog post about my father and included an advertisement from the Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) in which he was shown working with a piece of equipment.  A friend of mine who reads my blog immediately recognized the machine as a Sun 1120 Engine Analyzer and said that you had to be a pretty smart mechanic to be able to use one.  My father confirmed that my friend had identified the machine correctly.  I figure if you have an independent assessment of your skills like that, you must actually be pretty good.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Describe an Ancestor/Relative's Activities

Randy Seaver is leading us down the AI path again for this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.  I decided to play along.

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.

1.  Do you know what activities one of your ancestors/relatives engaged in?  How much detail do you know about those activities?

2.  Use the FREE artificial intelligence tool Google Gemini 3 to describe what your ancestor or relative experienced in his/her activities (e.g., military service, a ship he migrated on, an occupation, an office she held, etc.).

3.  Share your ancestor/relative's activity of interest and description of that person's experiences in your own blog post or in a Facebook, SubStack, BlueSky, or other social media post.  Leave a link to your post on this blog post to help us find your post.

This turned out to be more interesting than I expected.

I had not used Gemini 3 prior to this, so I really did not know what to expect.  I used Randy's question about his uncle as inspiration and chose to ask about my father's service in the National Guard.  After my father died in 2019, I learned he had been in the New Jersey and the Florida National Guard.  He served in Florida from August 31, 1953 to August 30, 1956 and then from August 31, 1956 to June 5, 1957.  The reason for his discharge as an SP-3 in 1957 was that he was "Moving from state."

Putting these dates together with what else was going on in his life around that time was enlightening.  He married his first wife, Mary Lou Bowen, on December 11, 1956 in Miami.  My half-sister Laurie was born in New Jersey on September 17, 1957.  So he married Mary Lou while he was in the Guard, was discharged from the Guard, and they moved back to New Jersey (where both of them were from originally) before Laurie was born.

My father told us almost nothing about his National Guard service.  I opted to focus on his last year of service to keep the question more manageable.  So I went to the page from the link in Randy's post.  I noticed below the data entry area there were "Tools" on the left and "Fast" on the right, but I did not investigate or attempt to change them.  I typed my query in the text box:

"What did an SP-3 do in the Florida National Guard in 1956–1957?"

I got a couple of paragraphs I could see and then the text faded out.  All I could read was:

===
In 1956 and 1957, an SP-3 (Specialist 3rd Class) in the Florida National Guard was a technical expert who held the pay grade of E-4.

This rank was part of a newly established "Specialist" system created in July 1955 to distinguish skilled technicians from Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) who held command and leadership authority.
===

I couldn't make the page scroll, so I wondered if I had done something wrong or somehow annoyed the gods of AI.  I thought, "Maybe that's because I left it on Fast, so it's really short?"  So I opened Gemini 3 in another tab and clicked the arrow next to Fast.  I found "Thinking" as an option and chose that, then typed my query again.  This time I got:

===
SP-3 Role in Florida National Guard

You said

What did an SP-3 do in the Florida National Guard in 1956-1957?

Defining the Role

My initial focus is on defining the role of an "SP-3" within the Florida National Guard during 1956-1957. I'm starting by clarifying the rank and its responsibilities, aiming to provide a concise explanation of what this role entailed. I believe that understanding the SP-3 rank will allow the user to easily understand and answer their initial question.
===

and again I couldn't scroll down the page.  While I was trying to figure out what I was supposed to do, at some point I tried my down arrow, and that worked!  Suddenly I could see more text.  When I went back to my first query, it worked there also.  No surprise, "Thinking" has more information and more detail than "Fast", so I'm using that response for this post.

===
SP-3 Role in Florida National Guard

You said

What did an SP-3 do in the Florida National Guard in 1956-1957?

Defining the Role

My initial focus is on defining the role of an "SP-3" within the Florida National Guard during 1956-1957. I'm starting by clarifying the rank and its responsibilities, aiming to provide a concise explanation of what this role entailed. I believe that understanding the SP-3 rank will allow the user to easily understand and answer their initial question.

Clarifying the Pay Grade

I'm now zeroing in on the correct pay grade for an SP-3 in the 1956-1957 timeframe, which involved an adjustment. My previous assumption was incorrect, and I've verified that an SP-3 in 1955 was equivalent to an E-4, which is equivalent to a Corporal (not a Private First Class). It is critical to get the rank structure right. I am now working on understanding this rank's responsibilities.

Pinpointing the Grade

I've confirmed that the SP-3 rank was indeed equivalent to an E-4 pay grade, which is the same as a Corporal in the 1956-1957 timeframe. I needed to clarify this based on some conflicting sources, but I've now verified it. I also determined that Specialists were technical experts who did not command, but were compensated for their skills. I am working on the Florida National Guard context.

To understand what an SP-3 (Specialist 3rd Class) did in the Florida National Guard in 1956–1957, you have to look at a very specific, short-lived window in U.S. Army history.

In 1955, the Army overhauled its rank system to distinguish between Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), who led troops, and Specialists, who were technical experts.

The Rank: Specialist 3rd Class (SP-3)

In 1956 and 1957, the SP-3 rank was equivalent to a Corporal (E-4) in terms of pay, but not in terms of authority.

• The "Technical" Soldier: While a Corporal was a junior NCO expected to lead a fireteam or squad in combat, an SP-3 was a "technical" soldier. They were paid for their proficiency in a specific trade rather than their leadership of men.

• The Insignia: They wore a smaller version of the eagle (the "Bird") with one arc (stripe) underneath it. This is different from the modern "Spec-4" rank you might be familiar with, as the system was still being tweaked.

---

What did they actually do?

An SP-3 in the Florida National Guard during this era was likely the "go-to" person for a specific technical job within their unit. Since the National Guard at the time was heavily focused on Cold War readiness and local disaster response, their roles usually fell into these categories:

• Maintenance & Mechanical: They were the mechanics keeping the Jeep fleets, M41 Walker Bulldog tanks (common in FLNG at the time), and transport trucks running.

• Communications: Radio operators and repairmen. In the mid-50s, this meant dealing with vacuum tubes and heavy, temperamental field radios.

• Clerical & Supply: Managing the massive amount of paperwork required for armory operations, payroll, and equipment requisition.

• Medical: Serving as a company medic or technician at a field hospital.

The Florida Context (1956–1957)

Life for an SP-3 in the Florida Guard involved more than just "weekend warrior" duties.

1. Annual Training at Camp Blanding: During the summer, they would head to Camp Blanding (near Starke, FL) for two weeks of intensive field maneuvers. As an SP-3, they would have been responsible for the technical upkeep of equipment in the Florida heat.

2. The Pentomic Era: The Army was experimenting with "Pentomic" divisions—units designed to survive a tactical nuclear battlefield. An SP-3 would have been trained in new, specialized equipment designed for this high-tech (for the time) warfare.

3. Civil Rights & Natural Disasters: This era saw the beginning of the Civil Rights movement and frequent hurricanes. The Florida Guard was often on standby for "state active duty" to maintain order or provide relief after storms.

---

Summary Table: SP-3 (1955–1958)

Feature	Description
Pay Grade	E-4 (Equivalent to Corporal)
Primary Focus	Technical/Administrative Skill
Command Authority	Limited (did not usually lead squads)
Common Jobs	Mechanic, Radio Op, Clerk, Medic, Gunner

In 1958, the Army changed the titles again, and the SP-3 rank was renamed Specialist 4 (SP4), which became the iconic "Spec-4" rank used for decades.

Would you like me to see if I can find which specific Florida National Guard units were active in your area during those years?

[My response] Yes, Miami

Since you were an SP-3 (Specialist 3rd Class) stationed in Miami during 1956–1957, you were almost certainly part of the 211th Infantry Regiment, which was a cornerstone of the 51st Infantry Division (known as the "Rattlesnake Division").

At that time, the 51st was a "split" division shared between the Florida and South Carolina National Guards. Miami served as the major hub for the Florida contingent.

Your Unit: The 211th Infantry Regiment

In 1956, the 211th was headquartered right in the heart of Miami. As an SP-3, you were likely assigned to one of the following Miami-based elements:

• Regimental Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC): Located in Miami.

• Service Company: Also based in Miami, responsible for the regiment's logistics, trucks, and maintenance.

• 1st Battalion, HHC: The command element for the first group of companies, based in Miami.

• Medical Company: Provided healthcare and field medics, also stationed in Miami.

Your Post: The Miami Armory

Your "home base" for drills and administrative work was likely the Miami National Guard Armory, located at 700 NW 28th Street.

• Fun Fact: This facility is now known as the Robert A. Ballard Armory, named after the Colonel who commanded the 211th Infantry during your era and through the late 1940s.

• During the mid-1950s, this armory was a massive social and military hub, hosting everything from troop reviews to community dances and sporting events.

Your Role as an SP-3

The "Specialist" rank structure was relatively new when you were serving (it was established in 1955). An SP-3 was the equivalent of a Corporal (E-4) but focused on technical skills rather than squad leadership. Depending on your specific job (MOS), your day-to-day likely involved:

• Maintenance: Working on the regiment's Jeeps, M35 "Deuce and a Half" trucks, or communication gear.

• Logistics: Managing the supply chain for a regiment of over 1,500 men.

• Administration: Handling personnel records or payroll at the Regimental HQ.

Annual Training

In the summers of '56 and '57, you probably headed north for "Summer Camp." The 51st Infantry Division typically conducted its two-week annual training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, or Camp Blanding, Florida.

---

Would you like me to look up any specific details about the 51st "Rattlesnake" Division’s operations during those years, or perhaps find more information on the Miami Armory's history?

[My response] Yes

If you were an SP-3 (Specialist 3rd Class) in the Florida National Guard in Miami during 1956–1957, you were part of a very specific era of military history. Your unit was almost certainly the 211th Infantry Regiment, which was headquartered right in the heart of the city.

Here is a breakdown of what your life and service looked like during those two years:

1. Your Unit: The "Rattlesnake Division"

The 211th Infantry was a key part of the 51st Infantry Division. Because you were in Miami, you were likely based at the Miami Armory (now the Robert A. Ballard Armory) on NW 28th Street.

• The Motto: You wore the "Paroneri" crest on your uniform, which is Greek for "Equal to the Task."

• The Atmosphere: In the mid-50s, the Miami Armory wasn't just a military site; it was a community hub. You might remember the local buzz of the city, potentially even seeing the start of the "Great Migration" and the rapid post-war growth of Miami.

2. The Rank: A "New" Kind of Soldier

You were actually a pioneer of the Specialist rank system. The Army only created the Specialist 3rd Class rank in 1955, just before you joined or promoted into it.

• SP-3 vs. Corporal: You had the pay grade of an E-4 (like a Corporal), but your job was about technical expertise rather than leading a squad.

• The "Bird": You wore the smaller "Specialist Eagle" with one arc underneath. In 1958, the Army changed your title to Spec-4, meaning the "SP-3" title you held only existed for a few years.

3. Summer Camp: Fort McClellan

For your two-week Annual Training ("Summer Camp"), you likely traded the Miami humidity for the hills of Alabama.

• 1956: Training records show the 211th spent time at Fort McClellan, AL, and Fort Stewart, GA.

• 1957: Specifically, from June 6 to June 23, 1957, the regiment was at Fort McClellan.

• The Training: This was the "Pentomic" era. The Army was obsessed with how to fight on a nuclear battlefield. You probably spent time in "Atomic War" drills, practicing how to disperse quickly to avoid being a target for a (simulated) tactical nuke.

4. Local Duty: Hurricanes and Civil Defense

As a Florida Guardsman, your "State Active Duty" was usually tied to the weather.

• 1956: In October, a "quasi-tropical storm" hit Miami, causing significant flooding and about $3 million in damage. Your unit would have been on standby for sandbagging, traffic control, and patrolling flooded neighborhoods.

• Civil Defense: During your drills, you likely participated in "Operation Alert" exercises—city-wide drills to prepare for a Cold War emergency.

5. The Gear

In 1956–1957, you were in a "transitional" equipment phase:

• You were likely still carrying the M1 Garand (the M14 didn't arrive until later).

• Your transportation was the M38 Jeep or the legendary "Deuce and a Half" trucks.

• If you were in a Heavy Mortar or Tank company (like those in Tampa/Palmetto that supported the 211th), you were working with Korean War-era steel.

---

Do you remember which specific company you were in (like Company A, B, or Service Company)? I can look up exactly which neighborhood armory that company called home.

===

And I currently can't find the papers I was sent about my father's service, so I can't tell Gemini which company he was in.  As far as the specialties go, he was almost definitely a mechanic, because that's what he did the majority of his working life.  He probably worked on Jeeps, rather than the tanks.  I'm going to look for the papers and see what else I can learn.

I found the disclaimer on the bottom of the page amusing:  "Gemini is AI and can make mistakes."  One way that appears to have played out for this query is that when I did the "Fast" method, Gemini told me that the Florida National Guard did its two weeks of annual training at Fort Stewart, Georgia.  The "Thinking" response was that the annual training took place in either Camp Blanding, Florida or Fort Jackson, South Carolina, but later it said Fort McClellan, Alabama and Fort Stewart, Georgia.  There are some other differences between the two responses, but I noticed that immediately.  Something's out of whack here.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

New Year's Eve 1968

Among the photos in the scanned photo bonanza I received from my sister, I found some photos that pretty clearly are from at least one New Year's Eve party.  Obviously, New Year's Eve is a great time to post them!

These four all seem to be from the same party.  I'm pretty sure this was our house in La Puente.

This photo is why I think it was New Year's Eve 1968.

This is my mother in what kind of looks like a Gypsy costume.

That's my mother in the middle.  No clue who the other two people are.

Maybe the woman on the left is Aunt Sam?  No idea about the other woman.

And this one might be from a different year.  It looks like New Year's Eve with the hats and the garlands but doesn't seem to be the same mix of people as the other four.  I think this is also in La Puente.

My mother and father are the two people on the left in the front row.
Some of the other people show up in other photos,
but I don't know who any of them are.
Usually my father took photos; I wonder who was
behind the camera for this one!

Christmas 1967 (Maybe)

As I have noted previously, my father did not identify any of the many, many photographs he took.  So while I have been reveling in the photo bonanza that my sister's niece scanned, I am still trying to identify somewhat accurately the photos therein.

I have gotten much, much better at recognizing the people who appear in the photos, including my mother and father when they were significantly younger (although I still sometimes am not sure if a given photo is of my mother or her mother).  But getting the years right is more difficult, I have discovered.

These photos all seem to be around the same Christmas, although I'm not sure about the chronology.  But what year?  My sister Laurie doesn't appear in any of them, so I am pretty sure it is not 1968.  But is it 1967?  I would be about 5 1/2, my brother Mark 4 1/2, and my sister Stacy 3 1/2.  Or is it 1969, and we're all two years older?  I appreciate any insight into our ages and if the order looks right.  And I don't know who two of the people are!  I don't think the little girl toward the end is Stacy, because she's not wearing glasses, but I have no idea who she could be.  And the woman in the next to last photo is a mystery to me.  I think the last photo is our Aunt Sam.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Wordless Wednesday