Stories From the Census ~ Hattie Handler

When the 1930 census became publicly available in 2002, one of the first families I searched for was that of my father-in-law, because I knew exactly where the Handlers were living: in Akron, Ohio.

I knew I had the right family on lines 29-36: head of household Joe, wife Lena, and children, son Arthur, age 20; daughter Margaret, age 16; daughter Bella, age 12, son Alfred, age 10, son Louis, age 8, and daughter Hattie, age 7.

1930 U.S. census, Summit County, Ohio, population schedule, Akron, enumeration district 77-44, sheet 14A, dwelling 23, family 28, record for Joe Handlar [sic]; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 September 2009); citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1875.

Daughter, Hattie? Actually that last name should be son, Harry, age 7, my father-in-law.

When I showed this to my father-in-law, he laughed, and imitated his mother's accent as she likely recited the names of her children for the census taker. She was from Hungary, and spoke Hungarian, also referred to as Magyar. With this accent, it is absolutely possible that "Harry" sounded like "Hattie" to a census taker not familiar with the family.

Although it is not known for certain who provided the information to the census taker in any U.S. census before 1940, based on Harry's memory and description of his mother's accent, it is very likely that Lena provided the Handler household's information to the census taker in 1930.