• What is the only service the Census Bureau provides in relation to genealogy?

Willis Liburd: They sell census microfilm for 1930 and earlier to private companies, like Ancestry.com.They will look you up on later ones, for a fee, if you need to prove you were living in a certain place at a certain time under a certain name.They give the older censuses (1930 and earlier) to the National Archives, where you can view them for free....Show more

Riley Migl: Censuses, of course. The problem with using a Census in genealogy is that most Censuses do not list the parents, so there is no way of telling if the John Smith born in 1950 is your relative or someone elses.Only when you are certain that you have the correct person is there any use to a Census.When I looked up my Dad, I found more than a half dozen Census records, same name, similar places, etc. By looking for my Mom, I was able to narrow the ones with my Dad's name down to the correct ones. And I still can't believe the places they lived!...Show more