by Abby Glann
Sticking with our census theme, keep in mind census data is usually going to give you estimates. Even so, using averages, you can *usually* come to something close to the truth. If you find a census where your great Aunt Joan’s birth year comes to 1888, another where she is born 1887, another at 1888, then another at 1889, you can estimate she was born in 1888. Now, she may have been born in 1887 or 1889, but 1888 is still a great guess that is going to help you get closer to the truth. One tool I use when searching censuses for someone is to give myself around a 5 year range to look, if I have a good idea of when they were born.
So for Aunt Joan, I would use a range of 1886 to 1890 when searching, considering that her birth could be listed as any of those years.
Don’t discount those finds you make that look like they may be the right person but the year is off a bit in census data. Look closer-it may be who you’re looking for!
image courtesy of Twisted Twigs on Gnarled Branches on Facebook
