United States Census 
Washington Census Tips
Find your ancestor in every census taken while he/she was alive.
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.
*Follow the children through censuses.
*Neighbors may be relatives or old friends from their home state.
Check marriages for women in the county where your ancestor was found in a census. Then find those women and their husbands the SAME census.
Why:
*You may find sisters living in the area.
*Your ancestor's widowed mother may have remarried. Were the women old enough to be sisters? Aunts? The mother?
*Did any of those husbands witness your ancestor's deeds and other records? Were they near neighbors?
Pay close attention to the ages and birthplaces.
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.
*The state or nation where the children were born is 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?
Check a map to see county boundaries for the census year you want to search.
Why:
Ask questions to analyze what you are seeing: It is possible? Is it probable?
For example:
Check another index if you did not find your family.}}
Why:
*Indexers vary in skill and accuracy
*The quality of the image or copy they used affects the quality of the index
*Some indexers are local and more familiar with the names or families of the area than others
Check county census indexes when online indexes fail.
Why:
*Created by local societies or groups who knew the families of the area, these indexes are often more accurate
*Footnotes or information about the family may be added
Where to find county census indexes:
How Censuses Can Help You Find[edit | edit source]
A child's middle name is sometimes the maiden name of the mother
Obituaries sometimes list maiden name of wife/mother
On this Wiki - Maiden Names in the United States
How do I know this is MY person?[edit | edit source]
Family members - the more you know the more you will recognize
Occupation
Other people your ancestor knew
How is this going to be explained?
Migration from another state[edit | edit source]
Immigration and Naturalization[edit | edit source]
Some federal censuses give the year of immigration.
Washington Census 
