When you have found a relative on a particular page of a census, it's worth a few extra minutes to check a few pages before and after the page you've found. Very often, family members lived nearby. Adult children might be living near their parents. Or the in-laws... especially if your ancestor married "the girl next door"!
Watching a family "grow up" in succeeding census records can verify names, ages or potential relationships. For example, parents with 6 or 7 children in the 1860 census may only have 3 or 4 of those children still in the household in 1870. A quick check of the neighborhood could provide you with newly married adult children who may have children of their own still living nearby. After all, there are 10 years between census records and a lot can happen!
All of this could help build your family tree and fill in the blanks.
[…] Census Records—Check the Neighborhood!. […]
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