William Lake Forman (1829-1919) - IN THE CENSUS

Early in my research I was following William Lake Forman through the census records at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The 1850 U.S. Census is the first with family information and I found him easily living with his widowed mother Eliza, sisters Mary and Emma, and brother Isaac. So on to the 1860 Census.

1850 Philadelphia PA census

I knew he married Amanda but didn't yet know the date, so it was possible he was married by 1860. When I couldn't locate him at all, I finally realized I should also search with the spelling"Foreman". And I found a William "Foreman" living with the Charles and Esther McAllister family in the 2nd Ward of Philadelphia where he'd lived in 1850. This was a likely candidate as there was no other by that name in the city. But there was a problem: This William Foreman is married and has a one-year-old son named William (which checks with our records) but his wife is listed as "Mary."

1860 Philadelphia PA Census

So is this William Foreman, married to "Mary", living with the McAllister family our William Lake Forman? I decided to assume this was him, and that the enumerator had simply transposed Amanda's sister Mary's name, listed right before William on the census form, as his wife. The 1870 Census shows I was correct as William Foreman and Amanda Foreman have a son William, age 11. The father William is also listed as a house painter in all 3 of the censuses. But I hadn't known Amanda's maiden name until finding her and William living with her parents.

1870 Philadelphia PA Census

Then I found their marriage announcement in the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, published on 8 Sep 1853. "On the 4th inst. by the Rev. G. Owen, Mr. William L. Foreman to Miss Amanda O. McAllister, all of Southwark."

And a family is made. By the way, in all later documents, including a signature of his from 1889, his name is spelled "Forman."

(First published in Family Search "Memories" 4 Feb 2018)