Who Does Not Get In?

Before using a genealogical record, ask yourself how some one gets listed in a record and what would prevent them from being listed in a record?

Land owners are in property tax records. Residents of a certain location are in a census record. An individual who dies with no money is usually not the subject of a probate record. A person who is not born in a certain location is not in a birth record there. Sometimes the reasons are obvious and sometimes they are not, but thinking about how someone gets in a record and what might preclude them from being in a record is always helpful.