I think we’re officially in the dog days of summer in Tucson. It was 107 yesterday and 108 today with more days of extreme heat in the forecast.

Good thing there is always genealogy to take the mind off the weather!

It’s the weekend so, of course, Randy Seaver has a new Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge for us all:

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?

Although I’ve had to really hunt for some families who were mis-indexed, I only have one single ancestor who I cannot find a in census.

My 2X great grandmother, Elida Ann (Hicks) Stewart/Stuart was widowed when her husband, Charles Stewart died in November 1894 in Meddybemps, Washington, Maine.

Charles and Elida were actually first cousins, but Charles was born in Meddybemps while Elida was born in Buctouche, Kent, New Brunswick, Canada.

I’ve found news clippings mentioning that Elida had gone visiting family in New Brunswick and I think that is why she is MIA from the 1900 census.

The family traditionally spelled their surname as Stewart, but per family lore, Elida thought that Stuart was much more French and, after Charles’ death, she adopted that spelling. Records seem to support this story.

She is last found in the 1910 census, as she died in 1914 in Calais, Washington, Maine. However, she is nowhere to be found under any spelling in 1900.

The census taker knocked on the door during the summer in 1900 and that’s exactly the time when an elderly lady would likely travel across the border from Maine to Canada to visit family. Back in those days, crossing the international border was nothing more than walking or taking a wagon across the bridge and saying hello to the customs officials on either side – who were probably friends or family.

I am quite sure that Elida was in Canada when the enumerator came around, but was just there for a week’s or perhaps month’s visit before returning home. That meant she wasn’t in the 1901 Canadian census either – I checked!

Thanks, Marian B. Wood and Randy, for a fun challenge this week.