HOW TO BECOME A CENSUS-HOLIC, AND BE PROUD OF IT

Mary Van Dyke

Showing why you should track whole families through time using census records, and what
information can be found in them.
Using census records, this class will explain: how to do Cluster Genealogy; what information is
found in the various census years; what issues can occur to deter finding people in some years, as
well as how to overcome those issues.
We will be uploading a video of this class onto YouTube, in case you need to review anything I've
discussed. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDehOLOUPC9I9HH0rNSLnlw
Please feel free to email me at Mary.FindingGrandpa.com if you have any questions, or need me to
clarify anything, and I will be happy to help.
Why whole families? You have to do Cluster Genealogy
People lived with relatives
Track whole families through time
Track siblings of your direct line
Track siblings' children AND grandchildren
Why census records and what's in them?
Names in household - 1850 to 1870
Relationships - 1880 forward
Place of birth - 1850 forward
Place of birth of parents - 1880 to 1930
Ages - 1850 forward (range of ages 1790 to 1840 of males/females)
Year of arrival - 1900 to 1930
Year of Naturalization - 1920
Occupation - 1850 forward
Own/rent property - 1850 to 1870 and 1900 forward
Locations of where people lived at time of census
Why multiple years? Look at the big picture and not just one record
Variations of: names; ages; birth locations; and year of arrival
Family members come and go
Living locations changed (therefore, other records can be found in multiple locations)
Relationships changed
What census records are available?
America - 1790-1940
England - 1841-1911
Ireland - 1821-1851 and 1901-1911
Scotland - 1841-1911
Netherlands - 1574-1940
What websites have records?
FamilySearch.org (free)
Ancestry.com (paid, or free 'Library Edition')
InternetArchive.org (free)
Genealogy.NationalArchives.ie - Ireland (free)
Fold3.com (paid, or free 'Library Edition')
USGenWeb.org - (free)

Expect variations and take it all with a grain of salt

YOU MUST VIEW THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT BECAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING:
Why did mistakes happen?
Person speaking had an accent that the enumerator didn't understand clearly
Person speaking/writing didn't know how to spell the last name
Person speaking didn't know or remember the facts correctly
Census enumerator heard one thing and wrote another
Missing information in the record
Incorrect information in the record
Person speaking lied about something (ages are most common)
Race is incorrect
Transcriptions are incorrect (very common)
Missing pages
What might be wrong?
Last names
First and middle names
Birth years and ages
Birth locations
Relationships
Year of arrival
Year of Naturalization
Nationalization/Race

How to broaden the search results

DO THE FOLLOWING FOR ALL FAMILY MEMBERS:
If last names were spelled differently:
Use a wildcard
Vary the spelling
Try no last name
If first and middle names flip-flopped:
Use a wildcard
Try both names separately
Try no first name
If birth years and ages fluctuated:
Widen the year range
Try no year
If birth locations varied:
Try just country
Try no country
If living locations changed:
Try county level
Try state level
If missing pages during filming:
Try a different website