90-60 Census Workbook – GENOHISTORY

A 90-60 Census Workbook Case Study: Mystery of the Hanna Men

June 6, 2026October 4, 2023 by Donna Cox Baker

Imaginary depiction of three brothers named Hanna, arriving to the joyous welcome of relatives--the Crook family.

Why were young men named Hanna starting to show up in multiple households of the sons of James Crook, the hub person of my current genohistory project? Getting an answer meant facing the PIP censuses, but with the 90-60, bring them on.

The PASSED Method: The Systematic Conquest of PIP Censuses

June 5, 2026September 18, 2023 by Donna Cox Baker

An explorer crosses the dangerous Sea of Potential Ancestors, trying to get to his true ancestral family. To get there, he steps from stone to stone--the stones engraved with the letters "PASSED."

I felt reasonably smart as I began my genealogy education. Not MENSA smart, mind you, but at least a bit above average. My ego took a bashing though, when I first hit the infamous roadblock—the PIP censuses (often inappropriately labeled “pre-1850”) that only name the head of household with a string of tally numbers. It mystified me that anyone found them useful. An old spreadsheet had bested me until the PASSED Method emerged, made viable by an alignment tool I call the 90-60 Census Workbook.