Hi, Stan.  

Yep, it depends very much on the censuses you seek.  The enumerators of the
Decennials were not required to list member other than the HoH.  As have
most, I work at those dead ends by first making line drawings of the HofH,
showing simply that name and adding the range of birth years during which
those unnamed members of that household must have been born.  I then move
ahead to the next census, seek the same HofH (seeking a neighbor in case my
person had moved or died, and again draw a simple line.  Then, I move back
in the censuses - always also in the same or nearby "wheres" -  seeking any
or all of those same names  - the individual family - and also, again, the
neighbors, and then draw their lines. I move to and fro and draw those
simple lines for all the censuses from 1840 back.   If you find your family
in 1850, you will have accomplished much through your searches of earlier
years. Remember always to seek any local/colonial additional censuses or
enumerations.    

With the results as shown in those lines before me - and surely the places
WHERE they were in all those earlier enumerations - I see if any of those
names might have lived through to 1850, after which it is easy, of course,
to move forward.  Though movement of families and individuals was common,
many more families, in whole or in part, did NOT move from the areas of
their births.  That fact leads me to the church and courts' records, local
histories, local societies and local researchers.  

If the probable life span of my sought-after person includes any war during
his likely military service age, I immediately check the records of that
war, again, first locally, than at the state level and lastly at the Federal
level.  Remember always to seek any local/colonial additional censuses or
enumerations.

You will find many avenues for further research through those simple line
drawings (with a lot of thought added).  

Good luck

Paul
www.DrakesBooks.com      

-----Original Message-----
From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 10:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] While we are on the subject...............

Paul,
Would it not depend on the census? I know some of the earlier census' that
showed others than head of household, did not state relationship to head of
household. So I had to find another source to prove relationship. Just
because they were living in the house, about the same age as the rest of the
grown children, I couldn't assume that they were related. 
Thanks,
Stan

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