Maybe They Weren't Smoking When They Answered

For years, Ellen Sargent was one of my "brick wall" ancestors. Her 1880 census enumeration indicated she was born in Missouri with parents who were born in Michigan. 

After a while, I simply concluded that her 1880 enumeration was wrong and that instead of Michigan the place of birth had to have been somewhere else. I decided to completely ignore her 1880 enumeration and work from scratch.

Funny thing is--her 1880 enumeration was just about right. Her parents were probably not born in Michigan, but spent at least ten or fifteen years there, shortly before Ellen was born in Missouri. 

Those enumerations may be wrong or they may be closer to correct than you think.