A Map as a Research Log

When a manual search of census records is necessary, use a map.

A map will help you keep a geographic perspective when searching and help guide you in knowing where to search if your ancestors are not initially where they are expected to be. The map can also be used to keep track of where searches have been conducted.

The ideal map to use would be one that that shows the same enumeration regions that were used in the census. For censuses taken 1880 and after, these enumeration districts had maps created for the sole purpose of census enumeration and sometimes those districts had boundaries that followed civil government boundaries. These enumeration district maps are online at the National Archives and Records Administration website. For enumerations before 1880, enumeration regions also often followed governmental boundaries and contemporary maps are helpful for those searches as well.