Washington Census Tips
United States Census 
Washington Census Tips
Value of Censuses
Census records are extremely valuable in genealogical research. They:
- Reveal specifics about the family, such as names, ages, birthplaces. See Contents of Federal Censuses
- Locate the family in the very places where other records about them were likely created. (See Using the Census to find other records
- Provide clues that help you learn even more about them.
Helping you make the most of all these values is the purpose of this article.
Effective Census Tips
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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
- Neighbors
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Check marriages for women in every county where your ancestor was found in a census, then search the SAME census for the husbands. |
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.