1870 United States Federal Census

Validator (claude-sonnet-5-5, 2026-10-28): consistent, confidence 3/4, tier record.
The image shows Norman S. Bentley's household (dwelling 1433, family 2525) in Brooklyn's 10th Ward. It lists Mary W, age 8, born NY, after Norman, 38, and Emily, 32. Age 8 on 27 July 1870 fits a birth in 1861 (born 20 April 1861 she would be 9 by that date), so the age is at most one year off, which is within tolerance. The census supports the approximate birth year and the state of birth but not the exact date or the city.
Matches: Household of Norman S. Bentley (38, Tea Broker, b. NY) includes Mary W, age 8, female, born NY; Age 8 on the 27 July 1870 enumeration implies a birth around 1861–1862, which fits the claimed 1861; Census place is the 10th Ward of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, as in the citation; Birth in New York state is consistent with the claimed Brooklyn birthplace
Limits: A census gives an age, not a birth date, so 20 April 1861 is neither confirmed nor contradicted; The place of birth is given only as NY, not Brooklyn; The record does not state a relationship; Mary W appears as a child in the household, but the census does not say so; The image shows stamped page 322 and the citation says 477B; this is probably a different page-numbering system (Ancestry image number), so it is not a clear conflict; Nothing here links this Mary W to the person who died in 1938