The Hambst Family in the 1900 U.S. Census

A few weeks ago I found the Naturalization Index Card from 1899 for my grandmother's natural grandfather, Martin Hambst (Hamsch, Humbsch). Tonight I was able to use the address listed on that card to find him and his family in the 1900 U.S. Census. I had been having problem because Martin and Walburga Hambst were not turning up in any of the indexes for that census year. It turns out there were two good reasons. First, they are listed as Kaumphs or Kamphs (I think they must have had heavy German accents as they only immigrated in 1889 and 1891 or 1892. The enumerator probably wrote what he heard). Second, someone later did some sort of annotations or notes on the actual census page that obscures the first names of Martin, Walburga and their son, who I think is Andrew. Luckily, Grandma's mother Theresa's name is clear. Also, all the other data matches data from other sources, so I am pretty confident this is them.

By the way, the 1900 census is great because it gives a reported month and year of birth while the others usually only have the year of birth or just an age.

Here's some of the detail from the census page listing the name, birth dates, and ages. Also, it shows that at this time (1 Jun 1900), Walburga was the mother of three children, two of whom were still living.

Source: Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 28, Kings, New York; Roll: T623 1067; Page: 23A; Enumeration District: 512.