Do you use multiple sources for census searches? Now that census images for the U.S. and UK are available online from multiple providers, it’s always a good idea to search each of them for your missing ancestors.
Why it’s a good idea to use multiple sources for census searches:
• Indexers may interpret handwritten names differently, leading family members to be indexed correctly at one provider, but not the other.
• Image quality may improve from another provider
• Some census years may be completely indexed at one provider and not at another
Heaven knows I’ve found more Scottish census information indexed clearly on FreeCen than I often do trying to read and understand abbreviations on my own.
FamilySearch, FreeCenUK, FindMyPast, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Heritage Quest: there is certainly no shortage of providers these days.
And one more tip: always always look at the original record. Don’t rely just on the abstract information.
Searching multiple sources for census searches may lead to elusive family members. Has this worked for you?
This is so true! Also, sometimes I can find an ancestor at FamilySearch but there’s no image. I go to HeritageQuest with the known information and can usually see and copy the image. I have experience with every one of your suggestions. Thanks for sharing the tip for those who don’t know and for reminding those of us who do.
This is definitely a good tip. I have found several ancestors I couldn’t find previously while searching the familysearch.org census records. Their transcription differences from Ancestry were just enough for a wild card search to find my ancestors.
Excellent tip! There are a few in my tree that have continually eluded me for certain years. I know they are SOMEWHERE because they show up in a later census. I almost always used Ancestry so I’ll give the others a try and see what happens! Thanks!