You shouldn't skip any census information because you think you may know what you will find in the record. Many times you might discover an elderly relative, like a mother-in-law, or father or other relatives may have been living with the family in the year you skipped, thereby missing new names and new clues for your search. I've found several entries showing a cousin or grandchildren living with the families I have been researching and I wouldn't have found the connection if I had not looked up that family in that particular census year.
I found on one line I was tracing that both parents of a family of five had died and I found all five children parcelled out between the father and mother's siblings, and the children were usually listed as "boarders." Someone tracing the families of their aunts and uncles may not have realized the relationship of these "boarders", or their circumstances.
The problem is that census records are prone to a many errors. The enumerator does not say who he spoke with when he knocked on your ancestors’ doors. It could be that a neighbor or a family member who was unsure when supplying the names, ages or birthplaces of the family members. Consider yourself and imagine what answers your neighbors might provide a census enumerator about your present family. Even if the census taker received correct information, they might have written it down incorrectly. You should accept what you find in the census records with a grain of salt, but record the information just as you found it — copy it exactly as you found it, mistakes and all without trying to correct the record. And remember to cite your source.
Researching US Census Records From 1880 To 1930
The censuses from 1880 til 1930 provide an increasingly more detailed level of information about families than the previous census records. For example, the relationships between family members are are given. As mentioned earlier, a person in the household may be listed as a “boarder,” but keep an eye out for clues, because that “boarder” may actually be a relative. Always record EVERYONE in the household, and it is also a good idea to look at the families living on either side of your family. They may have some connection to your family. And it is always a good idea to check for families of the same name as your family nearby as families tended to live in near each other.
Also, be sure to take a look at the reported birthplaces of the the children as well as the parents — as they obviously can provide valuable clues not the just to where the father or mother were born, but where you may need to look when trying to locate their parents. The birthplace of the children will give you an idea where to look for the family in previous census years if the family has moved around.
The same can be said for the parents - if the father or mother was born in a different state, you would need to check the records of that state to find their family. If the mother or father was born outside of the USA, these later census records may give the year that he or she came to this country, or give the year they became naturalized citizens which could help find those records.
Researching US Census Records From 1850 To 1880
The census records for 1850, 1860 and 1870 list the names of everyone in the household and other valuable information, but their relationship to the head of the household is not stated. You will need to prove the family's relationships with other records.
Researching US Census Records From 1790 To 1840
Census records for 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840 only provide the name of the head of the household, and columns for others in the household grouped together by their approximate ages and their sex.
Let's use an example from let's say the 1800 census. They may show a name like "Moses Thompson" age 45 and show that he had 7 others living in his home, but the record would not reveal their names. It may show that 1 male under 10 years of age, 2 males between 10-16 years of age, 1 female, 10-16, another female, 26-45, and one older female listed as "over age 45". What would you deduce from this information? I would look at it like this:
1800 Census entry
Moses Thompson, Head of the Household
male, 26-45 (most likely Moses)
female, 26-45 (presumably the wife of Moses)
male, 10-16
male, 10-16
female, 10-16
male, under 10
female, over 45 (may be mother or sister of Moses or his wife?)
From this, it appears that Moses was born between 1755-1774 as was the unnamed female who may or may not be Moses' wife. The 4 children seem to have been born about 1784-1790, with the youngest male between 1790-1800. The older woman who was born pre-1755 could be the mother or sister of Moses or his wife, but without more information about her, we cannot make that determination.
I would look for Moses and his family in the 1810 Census for more information. Let's say you're lucky and the family stays in the same area for a long time and you find this Thompson family in subsequent census returns.
1810 Census entry
Moses Thompson, Head of the Household
male, over 45 (most likely Moses)
female, over 45 (presumably the wife of Moses)
male, 26-45
female, 26-45
male, 10-26
This 1810 census record narrows down the dates of birth for most of the family. According to this, Moses was born before 1765 and combined with the 1800 Census information, we can figure that Moses and the over 45 female we think may be Moses' wife were born between 1755 and 1765. The two older children would have been born about Also, one of the older sons was not listed, which may indicate he may have moved away, married or possibly died. I would check nearby for any other Thompson families in the area. Let's say you do find one, with the Head of Household listed as Moses Thompson with the following information:
1810 Census entry
Moses Thompson, Head of the Household
male, 26-45 (possibly Moses junior)
female, 26-45 (presumably the wife of Moses junior)
male, under 10
female, under 10
Although you cannot state that this is definitely the family of the elder Moses that we are tracing, it definitely looks like this may be the oldest son who may have married and started his own family. He could be a nephew or he may not be related at all, so more research would need to be done before concluding this is the son of our Moses, but I would suggest hanging on to this Thompson family's information for future study. But let's go back to Moses Thompson senior.
If you look at the example, you will see that the female over 45 shown in the 1800 census was missing from the 1810 return. This could indicate several things: she may have died, or married or simply moved elsewhere. Like the Moses junior problem, more work would need to done to find out her identity and what happened to her.
1820 Census entry
Moses Thompson, Head of the Household
male, over 45 (most likely Moses)
female, over 45 (presumably the wife of Moses)
female, 26-45
male, 26-45
This 1820 Census return doesn't really help us, but it does show another son missing, so I would look for him as well as the suspected Moses junior nearby. The two young adults are most likely the children of Moses and his wife. We cannot narrow Moses' (or his possible wife's) age, and the two children can now be deduced as having been born about 1784-1794.
1830 Census entry
Mary Thompson, Head of the Household
female, 70-80
female, 40-50 (presumably the daughter of Mary)
In this last example, it looks like Moses senior may have died, leaving his widow Mary (is this Moses' wife's name?) and the one unnamed daughter. The problem is that we don't know if this Mary Thompson is actually the widow of Moses so we would need more proof, maybe by finding a will by Moses Thompson mentioning his wife, Mary, and hopefully also mentioning his children's names.
Also, looking for death information could help, such as a newspaper obituary or death notice. You could try to track down the children's marriage or death records which may say that their mother was indeed named Mary (and providing a clue to HER maiden name). There are many, many avenues you would need to check before you have conclusive proof about just who the family of this Moses Thompson actually were.
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