I would regard a census document as a primary source though as with any primary source it still needs careful evaluation. Primary sources are first hand contemporaneous accounts. They provide the raw material that we use to compile our family trees. Secondary sources are those which have interpreted the raw material to form conclusions. Secondary souces includes family trees compiled by other researchers and biographies. http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/help/sources.html http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/primarysecondary Best wishes Debbie

Hello Everybody, This is an interesting thread. Another way of looking at what is "primary" is to think of it as "the best available" evidence. If an age is known/believed to be wrong that can be covered by an appropriate note. In that is the situation on a death certificate there are other evidential points such as where died, when died and who was present at death. Happy Christmas to everybody. Rod in Hampshire. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus