[Curt]

This individual was born in Pennsylvania. In the immigration column next to the year of immigration, the letters “MH” are noted. What do these letters signify, given that he was born in PA? Additionally, for the same individual, the letters “USW” are written above the birth column. What does this indicate?

The details are as follows: State – PA, County – Luzerne, Enumeration District (ED) – 181, Page – written on the sheet as 8952 (sheet 2), also in series T620, roll 1590, page 95 (uncertain about the page number), line – 8.

[trevort55]

The sheet is from Plymouth, labeled Sheet 2A. The enumerator was careless in entering data, which is evident from the left-hand columns. Here’s my interpretation of the extra abbreviations. According to the 1920 enumerator instructions on the IPUMS site, Column 6 should indicate the relationship to the head of the family, using terms like “head,” “wife,” “son,” etc., based on the individual’s relationship to the family head.

It seems the enumerator not only entered “Head” in column 6 but also added “MH” (possibly standing for Married Head?) in the date of arrival column by mistake. Regarding the other abbreviation, it resembles “USA,” which might have been used for the place of birth. If the enumerator was uncertain about the exact birthplace, they might have noted down the United States, and in this case, it appears they wrote both USA and Pennsylvania.

For any unusual abbreviations found in the Census, the first place to check is the IPUMS site. Searching “IPUMS enumerator instructions” should clarify most questions. Keep in mind that enumerators sometimes deviated from their guidelines, leading to inconsistencies that don’t align with official protocols.

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