Get More Bang for Your Genealogical Buck – look at Groups

Stock photo from office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/



So you want more bang for your genealogical buck? Well you can increase your chances of getting answers to questions about your ancestors by expanding your target from individuals to groups. 

Working with the census brings up a key research technique – looking at neighboring families for clues to your target family. I was first introduced to this technique by my good friend and fellow genealogist, A.S. She showed me how to make a linkage diagram listing extended family members and neighbors living near them as shown on the census and  other documents, such as land records . Then as you continue your research, you try to draw relationship links between these people.

When you find a family of interest on a census, be sure to check back three-four pages and forward three-four pages to search for related families.

I have come across the term “cohort” used in research studies to mean a group that shares a common characteristic such as age or gender. This commonality allows researchers to observe how the group reacts over time to different stimuli as compared to other groups.

From this clinical definition, the definition has become more general to mean, among other things:

“A group of people banded together or treated as a group.”  

Google Dictionary

I have found this idea of cohort group to be useful in genealogy to describe families that have been found living near each other over many years. These cohort families sometimes knew each other back in their countries of origin. They may have emigrated together. After they came to America, they moved together in search of better opportunities. Often they shared the same religion. They bought land next to each other. They intermarried.








A wonderful resource on this topic of cohort families is Emily Anne Croom’s book The Sleuth Book for Genealogists: Strategies for more successful family history research. In Chapter Three “Broadening the Scope: Cluster Genealogy” pgs. 40-53, Ms. Croom explains why we should study our ancestors not in isolation but in “clusters”, which she defines as “…relatives, neighbors, friends, and associates.” (p. 40).

 I have experienced first hand the joy of finding answers to genealogical questions through cluster research many times. One recent example happened when I was searching for Irene Kreis' (my paternal grandmother), birth certificate. I was hoping to find my Henry Kreis' (my paternal great grandfather) birthplace listed. I had already seen his birthplace given in several census documents as “St. Louis”, but I have learned one golden rule of genealogy – always try to substantiate facts about your ancestor with several documents.



I knew Irene had siblings, including a brother named Lawrence, from her mother’s divorce record. I went to FamilySearch.org and found a birth record for Lawrence Kreis. I learned several good pieces of information: the exact birth date of Lawrence, the address of the family at that time, corroboration of Henry’s birth place, and even Henry’s occupation (Teamster), all of which I would have missed if I had stopped my search for birth records when I could not find Irene’s.

Categories: research terms

Software Programs that Give You Access to the US Census

A great software program to use to work with census documents is Heritage Quest. It covers all the censuses from 1790 through 1920. And it’s free to use at home through your local library. All you have to do is get a library card. Then from your home computer, go to your library website, click on “Research” tab and scroll down to "Heritage Quest".



The Cabell County Public Library in Huntington, WV



 I found a great tutorial on how to use Heritage Quest that the Buffalo Library created.

Another good program that covers the census and so much more is Ancestry.com. And the 1930 US Census is also included here. You can access this program through your local library but you must pay a fee to use it at home. Here is a site that describes what you can find on Ancestry:

One of my favorite sites is FamilySearch.org. Like Ancestry, FamilySearch offers much more than access to census documents. Here is a site that describes what you can find on FamilySearch.

Researching the US Census

After you make your four-generation ancestor chart, in my case I could only go back to my grandparents when I made my first chart, what do you do next? Many people will tell you to begin interviewing your family. But back in 1999 I hadn’t yet unearthed more long-lost relatives besides my aunt and uncle.

The next place to go is the US Census. In many genealogy resource books, including Ann Carter Fleming’s The Organized Family Historian, we learn that “Census research should be very high, if not first, on the genealogical job list.” (Fleming, p. 115) I mean where else can you find such wonderful records of people providing answers to personal questions about themselves?

A census taker interviews a woman for the 1930 census with family members looking on. Photo courtesy of http://www.census.gov/history/www/sights_sounds/photos/1920_photos.php#



Census Bureau clerks record vital statistics data collected during the 1920 census.

Photo courtesy of US Census Bureau:

http://www.census.gov/history/www/sights_sounds/photos/1920_photos.php#

Now the first step in studying the census is to become familiar with the form for each of the years the census was administered (starting with 1790 and continuing every ten years [except for 1890 which was lost in a fire]) as the information asked for changed or was arranged differently for most of the census years. A good place to see each census form from 1790 to 1930 is Chapter 7 "Census: The Records Count" in Ann Carter Fleming's book cited above. The forms are available for download on the CD that accompanies Ms. Fleming's book.

Family Tree Magazine offers these forms free on their website: http://www.familytreemagazine.com/info/censusforms

I have also read in many reference books that the family researcher should start with the present and go backwards. In census study this means that we start with the 1930 Census as it is the most recent (at leasuntil April 2012) census to be released for public use.