Janet, Just to add to the comments about census takers. I understand that the census takers were paid by the person/household for their work so they would be more inclined to include a person visiting another family. I have seen entire families entered twice in the same county. They had evidently moved and were counted more than once. It used to take several years to complete each census, (thus children born a year after the census year were counted). It would also work in reverse and a family could relocate to an area where the cenus had been taken from an area that had not been enumerated. I have heard that an average of 10% of the population was missed in each census. :( Sad! I also heard that in these most recent years as many as 60% of low income families are were not counted in a county near my home. Clarice n a message dated 08/29/2001 8:17:17 PM Pacific Daylight Time, jimgilmer@alaweb.com writes: << Janet, You are right; it just depended on how the census taker handled it. In the case you mention, most likely the census taker in Washington Co., Tenn took a list of all the children from the parent informant; whether or not he (the census taker)was aware that Ellen was away on a visit with her grandfather we'll never know. At the same time, the census taker in Greene Co., Tn included Ellen with the enumeration of her grandfather's family there. Again as to what details were given him about her "visit", we obviously don't know. So what your are saying, is to look in other family members' household censuses, if you might suspect someone was left off the census. It could have happened that under the same situation you described, in terms of a child visiting with grandparents, that the child was not listed in either place. Jim >>

For all you that answer my question on Visit and Census takers. THANK YOU. I have one question for you all. What if the family is on the move. Do the Census takers not list them for they are not in house? A wagon is not a house so they can not be list? I have family that can not be found and that is only thing we can see could have happen. What do you all think. There is place were up can find the Census takers rules and question. But my computer crash and I lost it. I do remember one thing if a child is under 1 do not list the child. I have one born after 1838 before 1840 Census but is not on the list in Greene County,TN. I have read the originial myself.. I order the same census twice to make sure and she is not there. One more a friend of my ancestor was visiting a friend down the road and was list there. He when home before the Census taker got his house. When Census taker got to his house he as counted there too.