This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Wood Classification: Census Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/Zk.2ADE/978.1.1.1 Message Board Post: Rebecca wrote, "... Ancestry.com has her birth year indexed as 1888 because the 1883 looks like an 8...that's why I never clicked on and viewed this image." Don't ever let age/date in an index make you hesitate to check the original record. Handwriting, transcription and indexing errors abound everywhere. Besides, you never know about the accuracy of the information given to the enumerator, as it might have been provided by a neighbor or a family member who didn't know any better. "There must be some sort of story behind her not being with her parents at age 17." This wasn't particularly unusual. "... her parents must be somewhere nearby if they are still alive in 1900." Post their names and whatever you know about their birth year/place, marriage date, previous census info. I'll take a look at my resources. Thanks so much again! Do you have any suggestions on finding her parents?