> I've run in to a wall, that I don't know how to climb over. I found > my ggrandfather listed on the 1910 and 1930 Census, but I can't seem > to find him anywhere in the 1920. Is there a specific way to go > about finding someone who is not indexed? Or am I stuck with going > through every page in a five county radius to search for him? Any > suggestions, ideas, or help would be greatly appreciated. > > Carrie Marsh <carrie1@attglobal.net> Indexes are shortcuts which sometimes work, and sometimes don't! Try the geographic approach -- the census was taken in a very organized manner. My research note for March is on this very topic. While I talk about the Minnesota cities that cross county lines, the basics of the geography work for the U.S. Terminology varies somewhat, in that a town/township in Minnesota is a little different from a town in New England. But the basic structure holds. If he's living in the same place in both 1910 and 1930, chances are really good you'll only have to search one county. My notes are at: http://www.parkbooks.com/Html/research.html Maps for the census years help, especially if the location is one that is drawing a lot of new population (meaning more cities forming). You can then determine if any of the census-enumerator boundaries changed for the time period. And of course if there are city or farm directories for the area, they might be able to place him at the right spot for you to find. If the geographic approach doesn't work and the name variants don't work either, he might be living with one of his children or some other relative, not even in the same state. You might have to do some digging to find out where they all are. Mary Bakeman mbakeman@parkbooks.com Park Genealogical Books specialists in MN and the surrouding area http://www.parkbooks.com/