Hello!
I've been dabbling in genealogy for the past three years, mainly through Ancestry.com. It seems that both sides of my family arrived in the US 200+ years ago. The latest arrival was at some point before 1820, when my 3rd great-grandfather on my mother's side immigrated from Switzerland.
I've found that the US Census records are a great help in identifying the correct people. But there are varying formats, and sometimes the way that the information that is presented can be misleading.
For example, I rejected a census record for my grandfather because the census put his initials between his first and last name. So, I mistakenly thought the person I was looking at had two middle initials, and that he was not my grandfather.
After additional examination and cross referencing, I was able to confirm that the census record was indeed for my grandfather. I still to this day have no idea why the census takers do that with initials, but I've seen it other records, as well.
This brings me to my question: Are there any resources out there that can help me learn some background and history about the US census?
I've been dabbling in genealogy for the past three years, mainly through Ancestry.com. It seems that both sides of my family arrived in the US 200+ years ago. The latest arrival was at some point before 1820, when my 3rd great-grandfather on my mother's side immigrated from Switzerland.
I've found that the US Census records are a great help in identifying the correct people. But there are varying formats, and sometimes the way that the information that is presented can be misleading.
For example, I rejected a census record for my grandfather because the census put his initials between his first and last name. So, I mistakenly thought the person I was looking at had two middle initials, and that he was not my grandfather.
After additional examination and cross referencing, I was able to confirm that the census record was indeed for my grandfather. I still to this day have no idea why the census takers do that with initials, but I've seen it other records, as well.
This brings me to my question: Are there any resources out there that can help me learn some background and history about the US census?
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