I have found that many times the last names are badly mispelled. If you have acess to that census you can go through the township you think they might have been in. I find that even though you use the similar name search it never ever comes up with the mispellings that I have found for my family. Good luck. You might search the county with just first names plus birth states. Marie --- Karen <gtskjs@mvn.net> wrote: >> You all were so helpful with the Sweets, now here's >> another mystery. Eliza Sweet married William Smith April >> 4, 1849 in Madison County, Illinois. I can't find them >> in the 1850 census. Eliza's mother, Mercy Sweet, is in >> Omnighent Twp. Eliza's brothers Lafayette & Andrew are >> nearby in Macoupin County. Eliza was born about 1826 in >> Vermont and William Smith was born about 1799 in >> Massachusetts. The oldest child in the household in 1860 >> was born about 1853. Both William and Eliza had ties to >> Massachusetts, Eliza's two sisters had probably remained >> behind in Bristol County, Massachusetts and moved to >> Illinois after the rest of the family. Because of his >> age, William may have had children before he married >> Eliza. Any clues about where they could have been in >> 1850? Is some of the Madison County 1850 census damaged >> or missing? >> >> Karen >> >> >> ==== ILMADISO Mailing List ==== >> Search Engine for Genealogy Madison County Illinois >> http://www.google.com/search?q=Genealogy+Madison+County+Illinois&btnG=Google+Search >> >> ===== ILMADISO-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: