There’s more to analyzing a census entry than trying to figure out the relationship among the various household members. Several additional things should be considered–depending up on the census year and what details are actually provided.
How much geographic specificity does the entry provide? Is it just the county? Is it a general region of the county or a more precise one? Is there an address given? Is it possible to determine from the names of neighbors where in the county the individuals likely lived?
How does the family’s likely structure compare to that of neighbors? How do the places of birth for members of the household compare to that of neighbors? Does the family appear to have recently moved into the area? What about their neighbors? How similar are the family’s occupation(s) to that of neighbors? How does their home ownership, property values, and other economic pieces of information compare to their neighbors?
Unfortunately many of these questions cannot be answered from censuses 1840 and before.
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