U.S. Federal Census - Glitches

Here are some of the problems you will face using the US Federal Census in your genealogy research

• There was no Federal census taken before 1790.
• The earlier the census, the fewer questions were asked. The first one only asked 7 questions.
• Parts of the census were lost or destroyed.
• Many census takers were poorly trained or didn't take thier responsibility seriously.
• Families were sometimes left off the census because they were away visiting relatives or they lived in multi-family dwellings and were overlooked.
• Some census takers didn't follow directions and left off answers for some of the questions.
• If adults were not home, sometimes answers were requested of small children or neighbors or the enumerator guessed the answers himself.
• Incorrect answers were given due to poor memory or lack of understanding the question.
• Poor quality of paper and/or ink, as well as handwriting.
• The quality of microfilm can be poor, making copy too dark or too small or otherwise unreadable.
• If the person lived in a large city, you must know which part of the city or the ward in which he lived in order to perform a search.

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