Hi, Dee - I think the "in-law" was supposed to be in relation to the head of house, but you will never know for sure. Some census takers may have done better at getting it right than others. The census taker always recorded in relation to the head of house where I have come across in-laws. Bob -----Original Message----- From: Dan & Dee Yeager [mailto:dyeager@urx.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 9:27 AM To: ILKNOX-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ILKNOX-L] Census relationships I have a general census question if no one minds. It has nothing to do about Knox County specifically It regards relationships in the various census reports. The head of house is listed as just that, be it a man or a woman. Sons are sons and daughters are daughters. But what about mother-in-laws? I have a family in which first cousins married each other, so they shared the same last name, before and after marriage. In a census report a mother-in-law is living with them. Would the mother-in-law be the mother-in-law of the head of house? Or could it be the mother-in-law of the wife, if she were the one to give the information. The problem is that both mothers shared the same first name and were born just a few years apart and the age given is right between the age of both mothers. Does anyone know if the census takers would ask? Dee