My Herrings weren't on the index but they were on the census roll. Always check when in doubt! Carmelita ------- In a message dated 11/08/1999 1:25:50 PM Eastern Standard Time, mvolker@unicomp.net writes: > Crawford Best wrote: > > > > My great grandfather Benjamin Best was listed in the 1830 and 1850 census > > INDEXES for Fairfield County, SC, but not in the 1840 index. I checked > the > > actual census and found him there. The name was a little hard to read but > he, > > the other family members, and their ages, were exactly as they should have > been. > > > > MORAL: the indexes save time but there is no substitute for the primary > > document(s). This example was easy to figure out but I expect people > could be > > easily missed when you rely just on indexes. > > > > Crawford Best > > I believe the entire southern district of Duplin County was omitted from > the index in, I think it was 1850, but they were on the film. I knew > something was wrong when it was missing 3 of our 4 surnames that heavily > populated that area! > > Judy