1. Start with an empty mind. Do not assume you know what you will find. That blocks seeing the unexpected.

2. Check every conceivable spelling variation on the name you are searching. If that doesn’t work change the first letter of the name to every possible variation, for example Powell to Howell. (It worked for Jack!)

3. Take your time. Go slow. Read attentively. Then re-read. Then put your copies aside and come back to them later with a clear head.

4. Do not assume indexes are complete.

5. Be willing to read whole towns and counties.

6. Determine the identity of the census taker and research his credentials in order to judge the reliability of the report.

7. Be aware that there are many inaccuracies in census records from every stage of the process – an ill prepared census taker, an ill informed informant, careless copying from the original . . . .

8. Be aware of whether you are using an original or a copy of the census and the possibility of added errors in the copying process.

9. Don’t just read the family or page you are researching. Study the neighbors. Who are they? How do they change over time? What is their proximity to the family you are studying? What is the sequence of families in the neighborhood, and what possible significance does it have?

10. Chart census data to compare information over a period of decades. (A form created by volunteer, Jack Powell, is available in The Bookstore. Another may be copied from Dollarhide’s The Census Book.)

11. Get to know others of the same surname in the area. Chances are there are relationships that can reveal important information not found in records specifically related to the ancestor you are researching.

12. Do not assume when you don’t find an index that there is no census. For example, at NARA Pittsfield for 1850 New York you will find no census book index but we do have the census.

13. Read every column of the census. There are clues everywhere.

14. Use CD indexes to expand your net and capture entries of the same surname in multiple states.

15. Don’t forget to use the non-population schedules.

16. Consider ages given in the census to be loose guidelines only. (If they all prove out to be accurate, the mother may have been the informant.)