Hoyt Family Tree
Tracing Lottie Berry Hoyt’s family through the easy to find censuses proves some of the secondhand information provided in the article about Joseph Berry.
The first census result for Lottie Berry on Ancestry is the 1880 Census. Her father’s household at 750 Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, consists of:
- Joseph Berry, age 40, widowed, a varnish manufacturer, born in New Jersey, parents born in England.1
- Adelaide H, age 44, sister, born in England.
- Mary H, age 54, sister, born in England.
- Sarah M, age 37, sister, born in New Jersey.
- Charlotte F, age 9, daughter, born in Michigan, father born in Michigan, mother in New Jersey.
- Alice F, age 8, daughter, born in Michigan, parents born in England.
- Lottie D, age 5, daughter, born in Michigan, parents born in England.
- Three servants: Hannah Quigg, Mary E Brown, and Anthony Brandt.
However, this year’s census appears to be riddled with errors which contradict its own information. Did you notice that Joseph is listed as born in New Jersey, but his daughter Charlotte’s information indicates that her father was born in Michigan? And how were Charlotte’s parents born in places that don’t match the other two daughters? So, were these children not actually the children of Joseph (one never knows — we could construe that his dead wife had children with other men or that the daughters were adopted and not Joseph’s natural children)? I’m thinking that the census taker just made errors. But to check, let’s check the rest of the censuses as they could shed some light.
The second census result is for 1900. During this year, the follow was reported about the household on Jefferson Avenue:
- Joseph H. Berry, born Mar 1839, widowed, born in New Jersey, parents born in England, manufacturer.2
- Adelaide H. Berry, sister, born Aug 1830, single, born in England.
- Sarah W. Berry, sister, born Oct 1836, single, born in New Jersey.
- Lottie D. Berry, daughter, born Nov 1874, single, born in Michigan, father born in New Jersey, mother born in Michigan.
- Alice D. Berry, daughter, born Nov 1871, married for one year, no children, born in Michigan.
- Four servants: Julia Haas, Charlotte Taylor, Martha Leyer, and Fredrica Leyer.
The only error this year seems to be that the census taker didn’t catch Alice’s married name. However, it does set straight the birthplaces of Joseph and his dead wife.
By 1920, Lottie is the head of her own household on 50 Lake Shore Drive.
- Lottie D. Berry, age 45, single, born in Michigan, father born in New Jersey, mother born in Michigan.3
- Caroline Marshall, cousin, age 60, single, born in Louisiana, father born in Virginia, mother born in England.
- Two servants: Alice M. Garden and Mary Mulrose.
On the same page are her two sisters and their families (more to come about them later).
1. 1880 U.S. census, Wayne County, Michigan, population schedule, Detroit, enumeration district (ED) 301, p. 200A, dwelling 105, family 118, Joseph Berry household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Jul 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 613.
2. 1900 U.S. census, Wayne County, Michigan, population schedule, Grosse Pointe Farms, enumeration district (ED) 188, sheet 3A, p. 191, dwelling 33, family 35, Joseph H. Berry household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Jul 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 754.
3. 1920 U.S. census, Wayne County, Michigan, population schedule, Grosse Pointe, enumeration district (ED) 730, sheet 5A, p. 45A, dwelling 74, family 79, Lottie D. Berry household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Jul 2011); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T625, roll 821.