Indexes that take us to one page are great, but they can be limiting if we only look at the page referenced in the index or linked to from the online search results.
- Some US federal censuses have more than one page. The 1840 census in particular contains names of Revolutionary War veterans on the right hand page–which many researchers fail to look at because it’s the “next image.”
- Deed books can contain multiple deeds from the same grantor recorded sequentially–if they were brought in for recording at the same time. For one reason or another the others may not have been indexed. When you find a deed always go a page or two before and after.
- Neighbors on the next census page may be relatives.
- Occasionally siblings have double weddings. Any chance that the other couple is listed on the next page?
- Children who die at birth along with the mother may have sequential death certificates.
It does not take long to look a few pages before and after the “item of interest.” You may be surprised at what you locate.
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