Do you use multiple sources for census searches? If you’re having trouble locating an ancestor in US or UK censuses, try searching at different genealogy websites.
Why Search Multiple Sites?
Now that census images for the US and UK are available online from multiple providers, it’s always a good idea to search each of them for your missing ancestors.
- Indexers (either human or computer) could interpret handwritten names differently. Family members may be indexed and found in searches at one site, but not at another;
- Image quality varies between census providers; and
- Some census years may be completely indexed at one provider and not at another.
Use Multiple Sources for Census Searches
There is no shortage of census providers these days. But be aware that free sites are usually unindexed. Subscription (pay-for-access) sites usually offer indexed census records that permit searching by ancestors’ names. Here are several sites for searching US and UK census records:
- FamilySearch
- FreeCenUK
- National Archives and Records Administration
- FindMyPast
- Ancestry
- MyHeritage
- Archive.org
One More Census Tip
Always always look at and download the original census record for more information. Don’t rely just on the abstracts. For more posts on census records and search strategies, click here.
Additional Help for Newer Genealogists
Want to know more? This Sassy Jane Genealogy eBook, Family History Resources for Newer Genealogists, explores essential US records and where to find them.
Federal and state censuses, military records, courthouse records, newspapers, and migration records for the US are included. Discover search strategies to help you uncover more records about your ancestors.
Perhaps you would you like to clean up the research you’ve done so far. Can the best practices of professional genealogists help you find more ancestors? Sassy Jane Genealogy eBooks can definitely help.
This is so true! Also, sometimes I can find an ancestor at FamilySearch but there’s no image. I go to HeritageQuest with the known information and can usually see and copy the image. I have experience with every one of your suggestions. Thanks for sharing the tip for those who don’t know and for reminding those of us who do.
This is definitely a good tip. I have found several ancestors I couldn’t find previously while searching the familysearch.org census records. Their transcription differences from Ancestry were just enough for a wild card search to find my ancestors.
Excellent tip! There are a few in my tree that have continually eluded me for certain years. I know they are SOMEWHERE because they show up in a later census. I almost always used Ancestry so I’ll give the others a try and see what happens! Thanks!