MARTINEZ — Nearly one in nine residents of Contra Costa County was illiterate in 1910, and most were foreign-born men from Europe. So said the 13th U.S. census, a snapshot of a century ago. The census ...

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Here’s how to approach an unrecognized or illegible notation, as well as missing information, in a record. I have come across the abbreviation “WS” in the column for “Place of birth” in the 1910 ...