United States Federal Censuses - Genealogy's Best Tool

You're all excited about tracing your family'sexample, John Smith was born in 1847 in Mississippi
genealogy! It can be very informative and fun, andand married Mary in 1869 in Oklahoma. Mary was
something you can pass on to future generations.born in 1851 in Alabama. You can search for John in
After you have found out everything you need to1850 and 1860 in Mississippi, perhaps still living with his
know from family members and old family records,parents. You can begin your search for Mary and her
your next best source of information is the Unitedparents in 1860 in Oklahoma. Beginning in 1870, you
States Federal Censuses. From 1850 forward, thecan search for John and Mary in Oklahoma, after
Censuses listed all household members, making ittheir marriage, and continue with later Censuses to
easier to find family groups. Here are some steps towatch their family grow and track where they lived.
help you:- Pay attention to the date the Census was taken.
- When you have found someone on a Census,The Census form tells the date of enumeration, but
review the pages before and after the page youthe date the answers apply to can be different. For
found. Many times you will find other family membersexample, suppose a Census in 1910 was taken on
living in the same neighborhood. When you are readyJune 12, but the answers to the questions were to
to begin research on the other family members, yoube as of April 15. If someone was alive on April 15,
will already have the Census.but had died by June 12, he or she would still be
- Look for in-laws living in the same household. Thisincluded in the Census. If someone was born AFTER
can give you other names to search, especially theApril 15, he or she would not be included in the
wife's maiden name or husband's father's first name.Census.
Sometimes you will find another relative, such as a- Look for military information. If you find something
brother or sister, living in the household of a marriedalong these lines, use it to search the military
couple and this just might be the information youdatabases on the different genealogy websites.
need to know to be sure that you have found the- Some Censuses have a special section for Native
right family. For example, you have a Head ofAmerican information. Always scroll down to the
Household named John Smith with a wife namedbottom of the Census page if you are looking for
Mary. You know Mary's maiden name isthis type of information to make sure there are no
Bergermeister because previously you found theother notes.
marriage record for John and Mary in an old family- State specific websites can be a big source of
Bible. Living with the couple you find a Hermaninformation. Many have Special Censuses, tax rolls,
Bergermeister, listed as the brother-in-law of themarriage and death information, local histories, military
Head of the Household. This pretty much indicatesinformation, and more, in addition to some of the US
that your found the correct family.Federal Censuses and, they are usually free.
- Pay attention to the States, or Countries, where- Do a Google and Yahoo search using the names of
your ancestors and their parents were born.your ancestors. You will be amazed at what will come
Compare this information from different Censuses.up. These search engines operate with different
Once you are fairly sure that John Smith'stechnologies, so your results might not be the same.
mother-in-law was born in Texas, and you previouslyYou can benefit from the research of other
discovered Mary's maiden name, you can narrowgenealogists this way and also get more Census data.
your search criteria and perhaps find John's wifeAbove all else, have fun. If you are like most
before they were married, along with both of hergenealogists, you will get caught up in the lives of
parents and her siblings. This can help extend youryour ancestors and they will become real people to
tree.you.
- Narrow your search to specific Census years. For