Why Use the Census?

Censuses provide:

Snapshots of people’s lives
Ideas of what life of ancestor was like at the time of the Census
Information such as names of wives, children, birthplaces, and occupations
Information to estimate birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates
Information to lead researchers to land, court, military, immigration, naturalization, and vital records

To best organize the information that you have collected from the census is to make a timeline as shown below.

Example Timeline Compiled from Information in the 1930 Census

Date	Event	Name	Place
1868-1869	Birth	Bryant S. Hinckley	Utah
1880-1881	Birth	Ada B.	Utah
1908-1909	Marriage	Bryant S. Hinckley and Ada B.	Utah
1910-1911	Birth	Gordon B. Hinckley	Utah
1911-1912	Birth	Sherman B. Hinckley	Utah
1913-1914	Birth	Ruth Hinckley	Utah
1915-1916	Birth	Ramona Hinckley	Utah
1919-1920	Birth	Sylvia B. Hinckley	Utah
11 April 1930	Occupation: Secretary in Gymnasium	Bryant S. Hinckley	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

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History of the Census