Washington Census Tips

United States Census Washington Census Tips

Benefits of Censuses

Census records 1) Reveal specifics about the family, such as names, ages, birthplaces. (See Contents of Federal Censuses); 2) Locate the family. (See Using the Census to find other records); and 3) Provide clues that help you learn even more about them.

Census Tips

Why:

• Relatives, such as grandchildren or married children, may live with them
• They may live with a child, such as a married daughter, in their later years
• Neighbors may be relatives or old friends from their home state.

Why:

• You may find sisters living in the area.
• Your ancestor's widowed mother may have remarried. In those censuses, were the women the right age(s) to be sisters? Aunts? The mother?
• One of the husbands and your ancestor may have witnessed one anothers' deeds or other documents, perhaps suggesting they have become relatives.

Why:

• Gaps in ages of children may be a clue to:
  • A second marriage of the couple: Check marriage records for this.
  • A child died young. Check cemetery, church, funeral, and other records.
• Where the children were born (state, nation) may be a clue to:
  • When the family migrated
• Ages of husband and wife may be clues:
  • In a second marriage, the husband may be older than the wife.
• Compare ages of the wife and the children:
  • The oldest child: was the wife too young to be the mother? (Child-bearing years for most women were between 16–40.)
  • The youngest child: was the wife too old?

For example:

Census Tips for What You Want to Learn

Immigration and Naturalization

Some federal censuses give the year of immigration.