Census - A Public Record

So what is this thing called a census?
Well, essentially it's a public record, but let's dig a bit deeper.

According to Webster's Dictionary a census is: "1. A count of the population and a property evaluation in early Rome 2. A usu. complete enumeration of a population: specif: a periodic governmental enumeration of population."

Clear as mud?

Actually it's one of a number of resources provided by governments that unintentionally are a boon to the genealogist. I say unintentional because these record keeping exercises were not originally intended to be more than a way for governments to keep track of their populace. But we'll take whatever help we can get, so three cheers for our self-sacrificing governments!

It will come as no surprise to you to learn that a public record, whether it be a census, a birth or survey on the economic viability of purchasing low wattage light bulbs, is only as accurate as the government employee processing the information. But a public record is a public record and we always assume that they are accurate, unless we have good reason to believe otherwise.

General Tips For Census Records

Census information is taken every 10 years, but this public record archive was not introduced generally until the mid 1800s. But don't despair if your research is prior to the commencement of census records, or if the information you seek is not forthcoming in the census. This public record is only one of many in your genealogical arsenal and all of them can be accessed from this site.

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