For those of you that are having trouble finding records, I've included my checklist that may hold some ideas that you haven't thought of before. Its from a group I go to at MSN.com called A Genealogy Experience. Hope this helps and good luck. Oh someone asked about why they couldn't find their person in Census lists? This are some possibilities that I came up with. 1. they were moving at the time or shortly before the census year in question 2. the census taker didn't find the family at home and asked a neighbor who hadn't known or lived in the area for very long. Information often was provided by others outside the home and whomever the census taker found to give him the information of who was living at the residence, sometimes the information was given by children living in the household or neighbors. This can account for some of the age differences in different census records. 3. the boundaries of the county changed and they were included in the change and are in another county. 4. Look for spelling mistakes, nicknames and abbreviations of the census taker, ie. using first name on one census and the middle name on the next, using only initials, Spelling variations of last name and abbreviations for long surnames (yep it happened - ex. Williams could be Wms) 5. Family could not be listed in the index, doesn't mean that they aren't in the census, perhaps the transcriber of index was wrong in his or her interpretation of the handwriting. Some estimate that indexes can be as high as 25 to 40 percent inaccurate due to nonlisting of individuals, misspelling, or incorrectly indexed individuals. In this case the only thing you can do is look for another index or go through the county family by family to see if you can find your ancestor. Look also for families that were listed in other censuses next to your ancestor, perhaps they traveled with them or it might show possible places to look if you have to go family by family. Also look at enumeration districts, sometimes this can be clues to where to look in other censuses. 6. The Census taker probably wrote down what he heard it is possible that he totally botched the spelling of the surname or the first or middle name of the individuals you are trying to find. Handwriting could have been atrocious as well. Go through the census looking for the individuals given name in the census, look for people who you believe are in the household for that year, perhaps you may find them listed that way. Ok on with the checklist Birth Records: Adoption records, Baby Books, Baby gift registries, Baby shower rosters, Biographies, Birth announcements, Birth certificates, Birthday cards, Census records, Church records, Death records, Employment records, Family bibles, Family records, Financial records, Grave markers, Health/medical records, Hospital records, Marriage records, Memorabilia, Records of Midwife / Doctor, Military records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Personal records, Photographs, Prison records, School records, Wills Death Records: Burial announcements, Burial records, Cemetery Records, Church records, Death certificates, Disease/Illness timelines, Family Bibles, Funeral records, Grave markers, Hospital records, Medical records, Memorial books, Military records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Personal records, Photographs, Prison records, Social Security benefit records, Sympathy cards, Wills Marriage and Divorce: Anniversary announcements, Anniversary cards, Annulment papers, Census records, Child Custody Court Records, Church records, Death/Burial records, Divorce papers, Empoyment records, Marriage certificates, Memorabilia, Military records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Personal records, Photographs, Prison records, Probate Records, Tax records, Wedding announcements, Wedding books, Wedding cards, Wedding gift registries, Wedding shower rosters, Wills Civil and Legal Records: Arrest records, Bonds, Bounty awards, Citizenship papers, Contracts, Court records, Deportation papers, Employment records, Guardianship papers, Land and property records, Licenses, Memorabilia, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Personal records, Photographs, Prison records, Probate records, School records, Summons, Subpoenas, Tax records, Traffic violation tickets, Voter registration records, Wills Licenses and Certificates (can help prove occupation and sometimes residency or point to other records in different counties - remember certain occupations like doctors, teachers, ministers sometimes moved from place to place on a circit and sometimes teachers lived with different families as tutors, look for them as witnesses or if doctor sometimes listed on other people's birth and death records this also should tell you around about when they were living at a certain spot): Alcohol sales, Attorney, Birth, Death, Driver/Vehicle operator, Employment records, Familiy records, Financial advisor, Firearms, Fishing, General business, Hunting, Marriage, Medical, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Other business, Other occupational, Other professional, Personal records, Private motor vehicle, Public motor vehicle, Public transportation, Real estate agent/broker, Teacher, Tobacco sales, Securities broker, Wills Employment and Occupation: Achievement awards, Apprenticeship records, Business/Industry publications, Business / Industry timelines, Census records, Citations, Disability records, Disciplinary records, Health/Medical records, Income tax records, Insurance records, Letters/Memoranda, Licenses/Certifications, Memorabilia, Military records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Occupation timelines , Pension records, Personal records, Photographs, Prison records, Promotions, Relocation records, Resume/Work Histories, Retirement records, Transfer records School records, Severance records, Social Security applications, Social Security cards, Union records, Wage records Immigration, Migration Patterns, and Citizenship: Airplane/Ship manifests, Alien registration papers, Birth Records, Census records, Church records, Citizenship applications, Death records, Deportment papers, Emigration patterns, Employment records, Estate Records / Sales, Ethnia/Religious records, Grave markers, Health-Medical records, Immigration timelines, Land Records, Marriage records, Memorabilia, Migration trails, Military records, Naturalization papers, Newspaper Clippings, Obituaries, Passports, Pension applications, Personal records, Photographs, Prison records, Relocation records, School records, Ship passenger lists, Tax Records, Visas, Wills Land and Property: Abstracts of Title, Appraisal records, Census records, Deeds, Estate records, Financial records, Homestead certificates, Land grants, Land lottery timelines, Landlord records, Leases, Marriage/Divorce records, Military Records, Mortgage records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Pension Records, Personal records, Photographs, Relocation records, Tax assessments, Tax notices, Tax records, Tenant records, Water/Mineral rights, Wills Health and Medical: Adoption records, Admission/Discharge notices, Birth records, Death records, Disease/Illness timelines, Draft records, Employment records, Ethnic/Religous records, "Get Well" cards, Hospital records, Immigration/Naturalization records, Immunization records, Insurance papers, Medical history, Military infirmary records, Newspaper clippings, Notes from doctors/nurses Obituaries, Personal records, Photographs, Prescriptions, Prison infirmary records, Probate and Court Records, School infirmary records, Vaccination records, Wills, X-ray films Military Records: Battle timelines, Census records, Church records, Citations, Disability records, Discharge records, Disciplinary records, Draft Records, Employent records, Enlistment records, Firearms Infirmary records, Insignias, Memorabilia, Muster rolls, National guard/Reserve records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Pension records, Personal records, Photographs, Promotions, Recruitment records, Ribbons, Selective Service records, Service medals, Swords, Uniforms, War timelines, Wills School Records: Band/Choir records, Census records, Certificates, Church records, Classmates, Club records, Conduct records, Dance Invitations/keepsakes, Degrees, Diplomas, Disciplinary records, Drama/Performance Art records, Employment records, Grade transcripts, Graduation cards, Grants/Scholarships, Health/Medical records, Honor rolls, Memorabilia, Military records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Other extracurricular awards/records, Photographs, Pennants Personal records, Plaques, Prison records, Project awards/records, Report cards, Scholastic awards, School songs, School histories, Special achievement records, Special event programs, Sports awards/records, Teachers (check also if the teacher died if possibly lists of people are available who came to the funeral sometimes students are listed), Textbooks, Trophies, Uniforms, Wills, Yearbooks Church and Religion: Bar/Bat Mitzvah records, Baptismal records, Bibles, Blessings, Catechism records, Cemetery registries, Church financial records, Church histories, Church membership directories, Church minutes, Church/Religious publications, Christening records, Confirmation records, Denominational timelines, Disciplinary records, Donation records, Family records, Grave markers, Health/Medical records, Hymnals, Memorabilia, Military records, Ministerial records, Newspaper clippings, Obituaries, Ordination records, Pamphlets, Parish records, Personal records, Photographs, Prayer books, Rabbinical records, Religious garments, Religious timelines, Sealings, Seminary records, Sunday School records, Synagogue records Family: Audio/Video records, Bibles, Biographies, Books, Bulletins, Census records, Charts/Pedigrees, Crests/Coats of arms, Ethinc/Religious customs, Genealogies/Histories, Health/Medical records, Heirlooms, Memorabilia, Military records, Newsletters, Newspaper clippings, Personal records, Photographs, Stories, Traditions Household (clues to hobbies and how families lived): Collectibles, Dishes, Drawings/Paintings, Embroidered Items, Engraved Items, Estate Records, Gifts, Heirlooms, Linens, Monogrammed clothing, Needlework, Newspaper clippings, Personal records, Photographs, Plaques, Quilts, Recipes, Samples, Silverware, Souvenirs, Tapestries Personal: Audio/Video Records, Autograph albums, Bank records, Bibles, Bills/Invoices, Biographies, Books, Certificates, Club/Lodge memberships, Cookbooks, Diaries, Ethnic/Religious Records, Family scrapbooks, Financial records, Genealogies, Greeting cards, Health/Medical records, Housewarming records, Insurance records , Journals, Keepsakes/Mementos, Letters, Library cards, Licenses/Certificates, Newspaper clippings, Notes/Memoranda, Obituaries, Passports, Photographs, Plaques, Postcards, Receipts, Recipes, Relocation records, Stationery, Stories, Travelogues/Itineraries, Trophies --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? 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