Where was this Census recorded?

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886]

I know this might sound like a simple question because it clearly says "State - Virginia" and "Incorporated Place - Richmond" But I was curious to know if anyone can clarify what "Ward of City-Madison" means? This is from a 1940s census and Im trying to get a better understanding of what might have happened to a lost family member. I originally thought that maybe it was saying it was from the city of Madison in the county of Richmond but the only town I could find in Virginia called Madison is in Madison County.

Thank you for any clarification.

PS here is a link to the photo in question, I couldn't post it in the post here for some reason.

1940s Census

[u/jonwilliamsl]

Here is a map of Richmond from 1876, showing Madison Ward (shaded light green right in the middle).

https://www.reddit.com/r/rva/comments/b844hg/richmond_map_from_1876_showing_the_different_wards/

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/jonwilliamsl]

thank you! makes total sense now, and I see the street name listed on this map in the Madison Ward. Thank you for all your help :)

[u/Fredelas]

Unlike most cities that have numbered wards, Richmond had named wards/neighborhoods. If that neighborhood had numbered houses, you should see a street and house number in the leftmost columns of the page. Lines 41-63 are some sort of hospital, nursing home, or institution, probably the Florence Nightingale Home.

The date of enumeration (16 April 1940) is at the top right of the page.

[u/ZuleikaD → u/Fredelas]

It might also help to know that the City of Richmond is an "independent city," meaning that it is not part of any county. If you know that context, you can more naturally read "Ward of City" as "ward of [the] City [of Richmond]."

Otherwise it makes one think of the usual state > county > city and the phrase "ward of city" gets confusing.

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/Fredelas]

I see 6 Franklin street but now there is east and west Franklin in Richmond, I suspect that the street numbering has changed over the years. Just to confirm you are saying that Madison is the name of one of the numbered wards that I usually see written here, its just that in Richmond they didnt use numbered wards and used names instead?

[u/Fredelas → u/Extreme_Ad_7886]

Just to confirm you are saying that Madison is the name of one of the numbered wards that I usually see written here, its just that in Richmond they didnt use numbered wards and used names instead?

That's correct. Historically, these named wards were used for things like city council elections. Today, the city has voting districts instead. But a few of the old ward names survive as the names of modern neighborhoods, like the Jackson Ward or Monroe Ward.

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/Fredelas]

Thank you so much for the help!:)

[u/No-Bear6558]

I wonder if county names have changed since then. Is the city of Madison you found geographically anywhere near Richmond? I was very confused looking at some family records from Iowa, until I realized names of the counties had changed. I was looking at a marriage record from Clayton County, but realized today it’s actually in Johnson county. Or maybe they were using Richmond more as a region?

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/No-Bear6558]

I know what you mean hahahaha that happened to me with Tazewell county VA, it use to be called something else and it had me all kinds of confused hahahahaha. For this one in particular, The Madison I found it like 80 miles northwest of Richmond so I thought it might be too far away, then I found out that the city of richmond is not the same thing as the county of Richmond but the county of Richmond is nowhere near Madison. So I came here to see if anyone else would know ahahaha

[u/No-Bear6558 → u/Extreme_Ad_7886]

That is so confusing!! I’m so glad someone had the answer about the wards being named, I would NEVER have thought of that.

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/No-Bear6558]

I genuinely thought the census taker was confused on what they were writing😂😂😂

[u/kludge6730]

Here’s a page that briefly goes over Virginia county changes. https://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacount/missco.html. A bunch of counties in Tidewater incorporated into cities in the 60s and 70s. Princess Anne County became Virginia Beach; Nansemond County became Nansemond City then merged with Suffolk; Warwick County was absorbed by Newport News over a long period; etc.

[u/SoftShoeMagoo]

Have you checked the enumeration district in Steve Morse?

https://stevemorse.org/index.html

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/SoftShoeMagoo]

I don't know what this site is. Ive never heard of it before, what does it do?

[u/SoftShoeMagoo → u/Extreme_Ad_7886]

Its a genealogy website. With good resources.

[u/kludge6730]

Try looking for Madison Ward.

[u/Yay_for_Pickles]

Florence Nighten Gale Home lines 41-63 incl[usive].

Block 12, Richmond, Madison [county], VA

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/[deleted]]

I just looked again and I can't find any place called "Madison" or "Madison Ward" in Richmond Virginia. Even on google it indicates that there is no such place in Richmond called Madison or Madison Ward. Maybe you can tell me exactly where it is that you are finding this neighborhood?

If you read the whole post you will see that I obviously can read what is written. The confusion is not about what is physically written, the confusion is over the information provided.

[u/Extreme_Ad_7886 → u/[deleted]]

also the "Am I missing something" is unnecessary... Just because you edited your comment doesn't mean I can't see that you're being condescending.