Exciting Family History Search

by Henry Matthias

Embarking on a task like searching for your family history can be quite complicated and tedious. You have to persevere and be resourceful especially if your search is met by road blocks and it seems like you have hit a dead end. You have to be equipped with the proper know how to succeed in your search. You have to know what possible impediments you will encounter in your search. One source material that will make family history search logical would be the census. Let’s see how a census can help you find what you precisely need.

A common census consists of the accounted number of people in a certain place. Aside from the actual population of a group of people names, birth, death, ages, marriages, and even divorces and separation are well-documented. So how did the census started in the first place? The word census came into being due to the Roman title censor which was given to the official who took charge of taxation and civil registration. He was also responsible for overlooking public works and morality. Early civilizations thrived because of a good census mechanism. Examples of which are the Babylonians, Egyptians, and the Chinese.

The procedures during the first times of the census taking were quite primitive. Workers were required to provide their own sheets of paper. This paper which had lengths of up to three feet was used to document information. The responsibility of the enumerators was solely to write down responses given to them. Supporting documents and evidences were not asked such as records of birth, ownership, and marriage.

The information collected through census is categorized into locations and years. Two most prominent census records all around the world are those from the United States and the United Kingdom. The United States Census Records is composed of significant years like 1790, 1810, 1800, 1820 and 1830. Slave schedules were tracked back to the 1850 and 1860 censuses.

The record runs through the census of 1930. Alternatively, the Census Records of the UK were taken in the following years: 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930. These were all taken in Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Wales and England. It is a wonder though, why the UK records why the UK census contains records from the Canadian and American states as well.

So how can you play with census records in order to help you in the family history search? Census extraction is one method that is very helpful. The concept available is that format and column headings for different census years especially those that are not really easy to read are presented in a more readable form. It also offers filing and extracting information methods. Another thing to look for regarding census is the census indexes.

They facilitate provision of information regarding the individual to be located and can save a considerable amount of search time. These indexes commonly include the name of the household head, the location of the residence during the year the census was taken, and the exact page where the original census records can be traced.

All the aspects of your search for your family history should be done with diligence. Even the minutest detail should be investigated. You should be fully knowledgeable on how you can manipulate specific resources to be able to attain a logical method of searching for our family history.

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