Hi folks,
I highly recommend this book for purchase. It is for genealogy work in
North Carolina and although I am sharing a few of the chapters with you
on-line, it does not do the book justice. There is much, much more
information and examples which can apply to any state's research. The
book has about 626 pages and costs approx. $40.
North Carolina Research : Genealogy and Local History / Helen F. M.
Leary, ed. Raleigh : North Carolina Genealogical Society, 1996
Notes from book.
CENSUS RECORDS
Look for clues that will direct your search into other records. For
example:
Indications of other marriages: wife significantly younger than
husband, gaps in ages of children, age of wife at birth of oldest child
Age for military service: 24-year-old male in 1860 for Civil War,
for example, or 54-year-old Col. For county militia
Slaves in the household: a high value of personal estate should lead
immediately to a check of slave schedules
Evidence of migrations: different birthplaces for family members
compare with ages/birth dates to get approximate year of the move.
Within the pre-1850 census schedule itself
Do not assume that the oldest male in the household was the person
named as head of household
Do not assume that all child-aged persons in the household were the
ancestors children: some (or all) may have been grandchildren,
stepchildren, nieces/nephews, younger siblings, wards, apprentices,
servants, or boarders
Do the mathematical calculation necessary to narrow birth date
brackets of everybody in the household.
Example: if John Adams Sr. was born in 1797 in the 1850 census; in 1810
census he was in the 16-26 age bracket so his birth date was between
1794 and 1797 (1797 is the date from the 1850 census). Consequently, in
the 1800 census, he would have been in a family in the 10-16 age
bracket column.
Compare data from one census year with that of others and look for
addition:
Example: Henry Smith was of 26 & under 45 column in 1810 and 1820
census
1810 1820
26 - 45 26 - 45
1784 1765 1794 1775
According to the 1810 census, Henry Smith was born before 1784.
According to the 1820 census, he was born after 1775. Therefore, Henry
was born between 1775 and 1784, a much narrower bracket than either
census alone would provide.