The dwelling number is the sequential number of the house being enumberated. The family number is the sequential number of the family being enumerated. Frequently there is more than one family in a dwelling. The second family starts with the new family "head." For example: The first family in a dwelling may include an older father, mother and younger unwed children. The second family in the dwelling may be the oldest son, his wife and an infant child. The family number will always be equal to or greater than the dwelling number - unless of course the enumerator made an error. Jim Groat jgroat1@midsouth.rr.com ---------------- johnglindemann@webtv.net wrote: > > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Classification: Query > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/VRB.2ACE/1821.1.1 > > Message Board Post: > > do you know 1850 and 60 census hudson dwelling # and family # meaning? it sounds like government housing. could it be native american ? virginia