i posted a page from the 1940 us census to viewmate, and i would like some expert advice on figuring out just one line, EPSTEIN Antol line 78, and exactly one field, "marital status". the original entry is scratched out, and i'm having difficulty with the correction. it's strange that it needed correcting, but i also wonder what the rules were for making changes?

please reply directly within viewmate:

http://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/viewmateview.asp?key=VM83042

thank you,


....... tom klein, toronto

Image is quite blurry. However, at his age and how it looks, probably not S for Single. So that leaves M for Married or W for Widowed. So, was he a Widower? 

Bill Wolpert in Minneapolis 
WOLPERT VOLPERT WOLPER WOLFE GROSSBERG 
Vieksniai Tryskiai Lithuania 

D is for divorced.

The enumerator first wrote M for married, then struck it and wrote WD for widow.  Look at the name 2 above where exactly the same thing happened.  The W is easier to see on that one but provides an example.  The W on Epstein is partly hidden by the earlier M

Minor correction.  On the 1940 census WD is used for widowed not just W.  The top of the column shows the options available.  Of course the individual enumerator may not always follow directions.

The original request on Viewmate was "...his wife died in December 1940, (I think)"  The most likely, and simplest  explanation is: The original entry was W and was changed to Wd to agree with the instruction to enumerators, and his wife did not die in December 1940. She died prior to the 1940 census.

David Rosen
Boston, MA