Van Buren County, Missouri is used when Cass County, Missouri should be
Originally this problem appeared with:
Raymore Cemetery, Raymore, Cass County, Missouri, United States
But then revealed itself as a larger problem as I worked to document the extent of the problem. I have left my initial observations as they were first written, and then added the larger problem that I found.
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When I attempted to enter the following
"Raymore Cemetery, Raymore, Cass County, Missouri, USA"
from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8762400/randall-ross
into the Place of Burial at
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/L7VM-SSK
I was provided as options the Standardized Place "Raymore Cemetery, Raymore Township, Van Buren, Missouri, United States / Cemetery," [ a "/" here means on the next line]
Or "No matching standard".
There is NO current Van Buren county in Missouri. That county was renamed in 1849 as Cass County
I do not know when this cemetery was started (a search there found that the earliest deaths recorded in this cemetery are in 1871) but this burial in 1877 occurred long after the county name was changed.
I believe that the Standardized Place name for this cemetery should be
"Raymore Cemetery, Raymore, Cass, Missouri, United States".
I note that using "Raymore Township, Van Buren, Missouri, United States"
provides the user with two options: "Raymore Township, Van Buren, Missouri, United States / Township," and "Raymore, Cass, Missouri, United States / City, 1874-present"
[ a "/" here means on the next line] as it should with the county name change in 1849;
BUT one more wrinkle is that Raymore Township was apparently established in 1873,
and therefore never would have existed in Van Buren county which ended in 1849! This observation needs to be better substantiated than the source I have provided, but the removal of the place name "Raymore Township, Van Buren, Missouri, United States" is likely appropriate.
From the Wikipedia source http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_cass.html
Place name: | Raymore Township |
|---|---|
Description: | In the northwest corner of the county; organized March 31, 1873 out of Big Creek and Mt. Pleasant Township. Named for George H. Rea, and H.C. Moore of St. Louis, Missouri. (Glenn's HIST. CASS (1917), 106; HIST. CASS & BATES (1883) 264; County Court Record, Book G, p. 560) |
Source: | Johnson, Bernice E. "Place Names In Six Of The West Central Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1933. |
I note that the reference to County Court Record, Book G, p. 560, possibly available here https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS1X-29QB-J has no mention of township creation, and is dated April 8, 1871. Nothing relevant was found in the volumes H-p.560 or I-p.560, or in I-p.63 at the end of the term dated March 22, 1873.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C39Y-VGD1
Whatever the County Court book used, it does not appear to be in the FamilySearch.org collection.
The other cited works are here Glenn's HIST. CASS (1917), 106;
HIST. CASS & BATES (1883) 264; (also discuss Raymore Township but no formation dates)
The Name change from Van Buren to Cass is discussed on page 93
The Family Search wiki
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Van_Buren_County,_Missouri_Genealogy
Links to an interactive map
which in the 1830 Census overlay shows VB county (western edge of Missoui, but NOT listed in the Abbreviations list !) and then labeled Cas in 1840. Using the Formation Years selector, VB first appears in 1833, then disappears in 1849.
The Probate records which begin in 1835 are on a bound book labeled Cass county AB, but inside labeled County of Van Buren. That volume ends with the May term 1849 as Van Buren County. Probate record "C" begins with Nov 1849 as Cass County; so no surprises.
The earliest appearance of "Raymore Township" at Newspapers.com is in January 1875.
So little that supports or refutes the information from Wikipedia.
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ADDITIONAL ERRORS 1870 Census Place Mount Pleasant Township, Van Buren, Missouri, United States https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6WLQ-J6X?
with an incorrect page Header
Missouri, 1870 federal census : population schedules: Van Buren. Census 1870When it should clearly be labeled Cass County !
and 1860 with an incorrect page Header
Missouri, 1860 federal census : population schedules: Van Buren. Census 1860https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBS7-YM
One of the Founders of this area of Missouri (George J. Yost, named on page 264 of History of Cass and Bates County, 1883)
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KGYW-YMR
Demonstrates some of the problems with this Standardized Place name problem.
Fortunately searching Van Buren, Missouri redirects to Cass, Missouri for 1850 and later. Unfortunately for 1840 it also returns Cass, Missouri, for which
John Anderson
has the page Header St. Francois. Census 1840 | Saint Charles. Census 1840 | Ste. Genevieve. Census 1840 | St. Louis. Census 1840
about which I am not able to draw immediate conclusions except that the two places appear to be on opposite sides of the state. If I find something more specific it will be a different question.
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I am unaware of my ability as a general user to make changes to Standardized Place names, but the standard of proof necessary for making changes I would expect to be higher than what is required for most of the work that I do. I hope that the information I have provided will assist whoever has the authority to make these changes.
Thank you.
Answers
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To permanently change the standardized place name for Raymore Cemetery and/or Raymore Township, submit the request to Places and provide the necessary documentation as you have here. They do have a backlog, but they are usually very responsive.
Your concerns over census place name errors are not associated with our Standards Database, but with ongoing issues with automated place standardization and with our systems that manage and display record metadata. I have tracked these errors for two years and recognize their impact on data integrity.
In the 1870 Census example you cited, the correct jurisdiction of “Mount Pleasant Township, Cass, Missouri, United States” displays in Search Results, Record Details, Citation, and also transfers correctly in Source Linker. The error you see in the title was the result of a bulk treatment updating the index to Van Buren County. You can edit the place name in the index, but that will not change the title. The fix requires updating the metadata.
The issues with place names are varied and complicated. Currently engineers are testing bulk updates to prevent and repair similar problems. They appreciate your patience as they work on resolutions.
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