Lisa <llepore@juno.com> wrote: > I think Carol is asking about the yearly (in some places) census > that are taken by cities and towns, and were the results available > to the public. > I always wondered about this myself, but since I don't have any > ancestors in the cities and towns that conducted a census, I never > looked into it. I have filled out census questionaires in 3 > different Massachusetts communities, including Boston. I have never > seen them mentioned as genealogical resource material. Lisa: You must be thinking of the annual school censuses that some city/county school districts conduct. These are a relatively recent creation and as such would likely NOT be public information as to personal information - only the statistical results. Further, I don't think it is necessary to fill them out unless you have school-age children. (If no kids in the house, just check the box that says "Not applicable" or ""no children" and send it back.) Aside from the privately published city/county directories (which Ardis correctly suggested are a good substitute or can augment Federal census records), the other city/county "census" would be the annual tax rolls. As you likely know, these vary in the amount of information in them from place to place and over time. And retention of these records can be hit or miss. One good way to find out what population finding aids are available in a particular place is to check the County GenWeb site, go to the board for that locale or subscribe to the mailing list covering it. Regards, Richard "Richard A. Pence" <richardpence@pipeline.com>