The Year Ahead – August 2

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 you rbest research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

August 2 – The first US census was taken today in 1790. Have you checked all the census your ancestors might show up in?

I remember when the 1880 US census was available for free on Ancestry, when I didn’t have a subscription. I would search for people who lived in that time period and see if I could gather family units.

My current research is a little more methodological. When researching a person, I try to go from the most current time and work my way back to their birth. Thus, when I look at US census, I look for the one closest to today, if they are still alive or the one closest to their death date. I try going back every 10 years to find them in census records. However, those earlier census records can be a challenge since they only list the head of the household and the remaining family are recorded as hash marks based on their ages. I have had some luck trying to figure out if this is my family, but I will be honest and say that I do not like using the Census Records before 1850.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!