The Whiting Special Census of 1894
In April 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau will release detailed information from the 1950 census. Besides listing the names and addresses of everyone who was living in the United States at the time, the census data will supply more information about each person, including their age, marital status, state or country of birth, and what kind of work the person did.
By John Hmurovic
January 2020
Below, is a rare list. It is a valuable list if you are a family history researcher with roots in Whiting. It is the oldest list in existence of who lived in Whiting after the arrival of the Standard Oil refinery. The list is from 1894. But, let’s start with some background.
Family historians have April 2022, circled on their calendars. That is when data from the 1950 census is released by the Census Bureau. It will give researchers a chance to find the names, and other information, of family members who were living at the time.
The government makes a census public, seventy-two years after it is gathered. The first census of the United States was taken in 1790, and one was taken every ten years that followed. That means that family researchers can currently search through every census from 1790 through 1940 to gather information on their ancestors…with one exception. Most of the 1890 census was burned in a fire at the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C., in 1921. That loss left a gap in information between 1880 and 1900.
Fragments of the 1890 census survived the 1921 fire that destroyed the Commerce Building in Washington, where the records were stored. For the most part, though, there was very little left of the records from 1890. Among the records that were destroyed in that fire was the first list of names of who lived in Whiting after the 1889 arrival of Standard Oil’s refinery.
The loss is unfortunate for anyone looking for relatives who might have lived in Whiting in that period. Whiting didn’t exist as a town in 1880 and very few people lived here. But the population began to quickly grow in 1889, when Standard Oil built its Whiting refinery. 1889 is considered the year of the city’s birth. The 1890 census would have told us who lived here in Whiting’s first year of existence.
Unlike most communities in the United States, however, family researchers looking at Whiting are not completely out of luck at filling in the gap between 1880 and 1900. In the early 1890s, people living here wanted to officially incorporate as a town. To do that, a vote had to be taken. But for the vote to be legal, they needed to know who lived here, and who was eligible to vote. So, in the first half of 1894, a census was taken in Whiting.
This is a sample page of the 1894 special census that was taken in Whiting. The only names listed are those who are “heads of families” The only women listed are generally those who ran boarding houses. The census also included information on how many people were in each family, and the number of voters. At that time, the right to vote was limited to U.S. citizens who were men, and age 21 and older.
An index of the 1894 census is below. The original copy of the census consists of twenty-one handwritten pages. Some of the names are difficult to read, so the spellings of those on our list may not be accurate. There is also no guarantee that the census taker spelled the names correctly. The list below also gives the page number on which each name was listed. It’s not known whether the census taker went door-to-door in any order, but if two names are on the same page, it’s very possible that they lived close to one another. There are no addresses listed in the special census.
The Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society has a copy of that census. But the document has its limitations. While the national census lists every living person in a household, the Whiting special census of 1894 only lists the names of those described as “heads of households.” In 1894, with just a few exceptions, that meant the only names listed are men. We don’t know who else lived in the houses with them. But, on the positive side, the 1894 census does list the number of people in each family. Also included are the number of voters. The right to vote in 1894, was limited to men, age twenty-one-years and above, who were U.S. citizens. So, that number reflects the occupants of each household who met those legal requirements.
Standard Oil laborers and managers made up much of Whiting’s population in 1894. August Wuestenfeld, pictured above, was born in Whiting on December 4, 1867, well before the refinery arrived in 1889. But when Standard Oil came to town, he was one of its earliest employees, starting work with the company on June 6, 1889. Wuestenfeld worked his way up in the company. This photo was taken in 1923, when he worked as superintendent of the stills at Standard Oil’s Wood River, Illinois refinery, just north of St. Louis.
Some households have many people. Families were generally larger in 1894 than they are today, but some of the large numbers in the 1894 census could be due to the existence of boarding houses. Whiting was a boom town then, just five years after the Standard Oil refinery arrived. Houses could not be built fast enough to meet the demand. Boarding houses went up to accommodate the large population of refinery workers.
Also, many of the men who took jobs at the refinery in that era were from Eastern and Southern Europe. Yet, there are few Eastern or Southern European names on this list. Many of those immigrants could not afford a home of their own, or didn’t plan to stay here long enough to settle down. It is also likely that these immigrants were the primary occupants of the boarding houses, and since only the operator of the boarding house was listed in the census, we don’t know their names.
In all, this census counted 2,114 residents in Whiting in 1894. By 1900, the official U.S. Census showed that there were 3,983 residents. Although the detailed records from 1890 no longer exist, we do know that the 1890 census counted just 200 residents in Whiting. That means that in 1894, Whiting was ten times larger than it was at the start of the 1890s. And by 1900, the population nearly doubled. Whiting was experiencing a population boom, and the people listed below were a part of that.
Census of the Proposed Incorporated Town of Whiting, in Lake County, State of Indiana
Filed June 4, 1894, Auditor, Lake County, Indiana
Heads of Family Number of Persons Number of Census Page
in Family Voters in Family Number
Adams, Mrs. H. 3 2 11
Adams, S.P. 4 1 10
Ahlgreen, C. 3 1 12
Allen, F.P. 6 1 8
Aley, M. 5 0 11
Allison, Jim 2 1 3
Allison Jr., Jim 5 3 4
Allison, W. 5 3 13
App, J.W. 5 1 8
Arch, N. 2 1 19
Atchison, David 8 2 17
Atchison, George C. 10 6 1
Atchison, Sr., Robert 4 2 9
Atkins, W. 2 1 16
Autuchek, A. 4 0 21
Aves, F.S. 6 0 15
Axelton, Ed 4 1 17
Backus, J.W. 5 1 18
Bader, G.J. 2 1 15
Bader, H. 6 2 19
Barstow, W.H. 2 1 7
Barusick, J. 5 1 15
Bataka, George 2 1 21
Baumgarten, R. 3 1 14
Beach, C.N. 6 3 19
Bearce, L. 2 1 17
Beasen, J. 6 2 12
Beneke, Charles 4 1 13
Benson, J. 5 1 12
Berton, J. 4 1 12
Berulinski, J. 10 0 10
Black, W.T. 4 1 12
Blank, George 2 1 12
Blumguss 10 4 20
Bohencki, Ludwig 10 0 20
Bollinger, H. 9 2 2
Boufuley, P. 12 0 17
Brett, I.C. 7 4 5
Brown, J.A. 5 2 7
Brown, J.W. 8 3 2
Buczkowski, John 6 1 3
Burdes, George 7 2 4
Byrne, Luke 5 3 14
Byrne, P. 5 2 9
Callahan, Mrs. L. 11 4 3
Carlson, Phillip 6 2 14
Carpenter, P.J. 7 2 20
Carry, W.H. 2 1 3
Castillo, William 10 5 4
Cerbick, J. 3 0 11
Childs, A. 9 2 14
Childs, J.W. 3 1 17
Clark, J. 4 1 14
Close, R. 5 1 8
Coar, John 4 3 4
Colburn, J. 5 0 11
Collins, William 8 4 1
Conroy, John 7 6 2
Cook, A. 5 4 14
Cotton, John 5 1 20
Crippliver, George 9 8 5
Crissman, John 4 2 13
Cuddy, J. 9 6 2
Currigan, J. 5 1 5
Curtis, W. 7 2 16
Dalen, T. 4 1 18
Davidson, C.D. 2 1 18
Davidson, J.G. 5 1 15
Davis, G. 2 1 17
Delacy, Tom 3 1 9
Delph, J.W. 5 3 17
Demock, A. 5 1 7
Dickinson, Mrs. 8 1 12
Dils, J. 4 1 6
Dinneu, D. 5 1 10
Dobbins, L.H. 8 3 6
Doob, Henry 4 1 10
Doolittle, C.H. 3 1 7
Doran, L. 4 1 6
Dougerty, J. 5 1 10
Dougerty, O.J. 4 1 6
Downey, Peter 11 4 15
Ducey, T. 7 1 7
Duffy, A.M. 8 1 7
Dujuiski, William 10 1 4
Dunegan, Jim 1 1 13
Dusich, John 8 2 1
Eaton, Frank 4 1 14
Eaton, W.A. 5 1 16
Eddy, A. 6 2 16
Elgridge, C.C. 2 1 20
Emanuel, Jr., William 8 1 2
Emmerson, W.R. 4 1 21
Erdlitz, J.G. 2 1 15
Etter, Christ 3 1 14
Exteri, H. 5 1 7
Exton, A. 7 4 8
Exton, W. 2 0 18
Farley, Mrs. 14 5 11
Faulkenthal, August 7 1 19
Feiffer, S.C. 3 1 12
Feiffield, G. H. 4 1 9
Fields, W. 6 3 17
Fischrupp, Frederick 3 2 14
Fischrupp, John 6 4 14
Fisher, Albert 7 2 20
Fitzpatrick, J. 5 1 17
Fordyce, J.H. 9 2 11
Fournick, J. 9 4 11
France, George P. 7 1 8
Freel, John 8 1 5
Frey, Mat 4 1 1
Fry, J. 7 4 12
Gallaway, T.J. 2 1 15
Gander, A. 3 1 13
Garue, J.N. 5 2 7
Garvin, Mrs. 5 1 4
Gavit, F.N. 3 2 4
Geiser, J. 5 1 18
Gill, J.A. 4 3 8
Gillmore, H. 5 1 8
Gillmore, T. 6 4 9
Girard, George 7 2 1
Goebel, A. 11 5 12
Goldsmith, N.A. 4 1 5
Gray, G.T. 3 1 2
Greatrich, W. 3 1 19
Green, Ed 7 4 9
Green, F.B. 3 1 11
Green, George 3 1 20
Greenwald, Frank 4 1 17
Greenwald, J. 6 1 8
Griffin, J.E. 2 1 8
Halsey, Bert 4 0 17
Halsey, Charles 3 1 7
Haney, Mrs. 2 0 10
Hannover, J. 2 1 11
Harris, B. 6 0 1
Harrison, B. 3 1 10
Harrison, George 2 1 2
Hartnett, M. 8 2 6
Harvey, Theodore 10 2 20
Hathaway, C. 5 2 4
Haudloser, Charles 5 1 13
Haugh, M. 6 1 5
Hayr, Ph. 9 2 6
Hazelett, George M. 6 1 2
Hazelett, H.M. 5 1 2
Hearnes, C. 3 1 18
Helman, C.M. 4 1 8
Henry, Frank 2 1 1
Hickey, P. 7 1 9
Holt, G. 6 4 4
Horlbeck, Frank 4 1 16
Hudgen, T.J. 4 1 10
Hughes, J. 6 3 4
Humphrey, A.W. 3 2 7
Humphrey, G.W. 3 1 16
Hunny, A. 4 1 11
Hurracevido, J. 8 1 10
Hyde, H. 3 2 16
Jackson, William 2 2 19
James, A. 5 2 5
James, H. 9 4 16
Jensen, R. 6 1 16
Jennings, J.B. 5 1 7
Johnson, C.A. 5 2 15
Johnson, John 7 1 21
Johnson, M.H. 2 2 3
Jones, M. 6 3 3
Judson, A.J. 5 1 9
Kadow, Emil 6 1 13
Kaefchi, Fred 3 1 18
Keffe, Mrs. 3 0 13
Kelleher, M. 4 0 12
Keller, Charles H. 6 2 14
Kenney, John 3 1 5
Kendo, J. 7 0 11
Kerrigen, W.H. 7 2 9
Kervinicke, M. 5 0 11
Kerwuit, E.F. 3 1 6
Kieran, M. 7 2 8
Klein, Henry 10 1 18
Knapp, W.M. 6 3 5
Knight, Grier 7 1 7
Koch, Louie 4 1 2
Koch, Peter 4 1 20
Kraft, C. 10 9 1
Krebs, Gustav 9 1 19
Krebs, M. 4 3 9
Krechi, J. 11 0 11
Kutrz, J.A. 5 1 15
Lampman, S.A. 5 1 10
Lampman, W.H. 6 1 13
Lane, T. 4 0 11
Larrabee, S.W. 4 1 19
Lauer, Frank 2 1 13
Lavery, P.J. 5 2 19
Lehr, John 4 1 2
Leiner, M. 5 1 12
Levin, S. 7 1 3
Lewis, H.F. 3 2 16
Liebert, F. 6 0 11
Lingham, F. 6 1 9
Logan, J. 7 0 10
Lohse, Peter 5 1 18
Lowenthal, Ed 5 2 21
Luideman, J. 3 2 13
Mackey, J. 8 1 10
Maiter, Andrew 6 0 21
Malarkey, Ed 4 0 18
Malitz, Otto 4 0 20
Malone, John H. 4 1 3
Manbeck, C.B. 4 1 8
Manning, J.W. 4 1 20
Manning, M.F. 2 1 17
Marcus, D. 4 1 15
Mattern, L.H. 3 1 15
Maxwell, W.M. 4 1 19
McCormick, Tom 4 1 14
McCrae, E. 8 1 20
McFadden, Tomas 8 3 14
McKee, J. 9 5 16
McTyhe 7 2 6
Meculich, H. 6 0 5
Methke, William 6 1 19
Metzner 2 0 16
Meyer, W. 2 1 6
Migatz, N. 7 2 3
Miks, J. 7 0 10
Miller, J.E. 8 3 8
Miller, N. 3 1 8
Moore, A. 6 1 7
Moore, George 6 4 5
Motosku, John 7 0 21
Multun 3 1 17
Murphy, Pat 1 1 21
Nauger, Joe 11 1 17
Neaf, Charles 7 1 18
Nellis, C.Y. 17 6 1
Neu, H. 2 1 19
Nevill, F. 5 2 13
Nichols, Mrs. D.H. 6 0 3
Oakley, E. 10 1 8
Ocier, Mrs. 9 1 18
O’Donnell, Frank 7 1 3
Offinger, Albert 3 1 18
Ogram, H. 3 1 12
O’Hara, Edward W. 4 1 6
O’Hara, James 4 1 1
O’Kall, A. 15 0 2
O’Rourke, J. 3 2 20
Pallant, G. 11 9 16
Parker, J. 8 5 9
Parker, Mrs. 13 4 7
Parks, B. 4 3 8
Pasini, Joe 3 0 3
Paul, George 3 1 12
Payne, T. 3 1 9
Peiffer, P. 4 2 20
Perkins, A.T. 6 4 9
Peterson, C. 6 1 3
Petruzke, Mike 12 0 18
Phillips, C.W. 4 1 3
Pitzele, O.S. 7 1 3
Platz, Charles 7 1 14
Plaul, J. 3 1 12
Plaw, J. 4 0 11
Poppen, Fred 6 1 13
Putnam. W.E. 7 1 15
Quiggle, W.B. 2 1 8
Quingley, Frank 10 3 1
Quinn, C.J. 5 1 10
Quinn, Pat 5 1 2
Rally 4 1 13
Rehm, William 7 4 16
Reynolds, William 5 2 19
Rhodes, A. 4 3 3
Rial, Ed 4 2 2
Richards, C.R. 22 7 4
Roe, E.J. 4 1 20
Rosenauer, R. 2 1 19
Rotharnuel 3 1 11
Rouse, H.R. 3 1 18
Rusander, Gust 4 1 13
Ryan, P.F. 6 1 6
Ryan, Tom 14 1 18
Sabo, Mike 3 1 1
Sachak, Frank 5 0 21
Scheffer, Matt 7 1 20
Schlucke, Paul 9 1 18
Schmittle, Conrad 10 1 5
Schrage, Henry 8 2 4
Schultz, A. 6 2 12
Schultz, F. 2 1 11
Schultz, Paul 5 1 12
Schwalur, S. 4 1 6
Scott, C.P. 9 5 8
Scott, H.R. 8 2 6
Secuchlezki, John 6 1 1
Seiduck, Jacob 4 0 21
Shine, J.W. 11 3 13
Sitch, Andrew 6 1 1
Skellenger, A. 6 2 10
Skellenger, A. 5 2 14
Skibili, Joe 7 0 1
Smeltzer, A.J. 5 2 6
Smith, C.A. 10 8 2
Smith, Christ 4 2 14
Smith, F. 5 1 15
Smith, Mrs. 18 8 21
Smith & Bader Hotel 20 5 15
Smutz, R. 1 1 5
Soltwedel, George B. 7 1 14
Soltwedel, John 3 1 16
Spade, Jacob 2 2 4
Spencer, S. 6 1 16
Sprague, E. 4 2 17
Spurrer, W.G. 3 1 7
Squires, Steve 10 1 13
Stachiek, John 5 0 3
Stein, H. 5 2 15
Stenehaus, J. 7 3 10
Stewert, John 7 4 5
Stewert, J.T. 10 4 5
Stiles, T.P. 6 1 15
Stoll, George 4 1 3
Stoll, Mrs. 4 0 9
Stover, A.C. 11 1 5
Stromberg, A. 6 2 6
Strucker, Barthol 2 1 1
Swartz, U.G. 10 6 7
Take, T.A. 5 1 15
Tanner, S.S. 6 2 19
Tauskauch, John 8 0 20
Thice, William 5 2 4
Thiel, A. 12 4 4
Thom, Carl 2 1 1
Thompson, J. 6 1 6
Traner, Frank 8 3 19
Travis, E.J. 7 2 2
Troniwitch, John 5 2 5
Trowe, H. 7 2 17
Truitt, J.E. 2 1 7
Vater, Herman 4 1 16
Vobus, M. 17 1 21
Wagener, John 5 1 2
Waglin, F.W. 4 1 2
Wait, W.A. 6 1 6
Walker, W. 8 2 19
Waller, J.H. 9 1 7
Washlefsky, Fred 7 1 6
Watts, L. 6 2 5
Webb, H.B. 5 1 9
Webb, W.T. 8 5 16
Weber, V. 4 1 13
Wellbley, W. 4 1 10
Welsby, J. 4 1 17
Wetich, George 9 0 4
Wetzberger, George W. 2 1 1
Wille, E. 4 1 12
Willey, J. 7 2 9
Williamson, F.N. 8 3 14
Willie, H. 7 1 10
Wittlesee, C. 2 1 20
Wohucern, Charles 6 2 4
Wolff, C. 4 1 17
Wordell, W. 6 2 9
Wuestenfeld, August 6 1 15
Zeicewski, A. 4 2 4
Zweig, Charles 5 1 18
Zweig, William 7 1 19