Notes for: Nancy Lou "Babe" Haught
Nancy was always sensitive about her age, and no one in the family was ever sure exactly when she was born. The official Jan 19 1884 birth date was provided at the time of the delayed recording of her birth record in 1944 and was based principally on the testimony of her sister Rosa. Age 23 given at time of Dec 1910 marriage would put birth date in 1887, as would age 43 in the 1930 Census. The SSDI reports her birth date as Jan 19 1885, while her headstone shows her birth date as Jan 19 1889, also incorrect. A birth date of Jan 1882 was given in the 1900 Census, correctly placing her between older sister Icy Dell (listed as b. Jul 1880) and younger brother John Homer (b. Nov 1883). An analysis of the 1900 Census data for that household leads to the conclusion that Nancy and siblings Elizabeth, Icy & Homer seem to have shifted their birthdates in later years to make themselves appear a few years younger than they were. In Nancy's case, the shift seems to have occurred at about the time of the 1910 Census (when she was listed as being only 4 years older than in the 1900 Census), as her given age stayed fairly consistent after that. In the end, although we list her birth date as January 1884 to conform with her official birth record, the likelihood is that she was actually born in January 1882 as indicated in the 1900 Census.