How Can I Find An Ancestor Who Is Missing From The Census?

If you’re looking for an ancestor at a particular period of history, but you can’t find them in the relevant census, do not despair – there are several other record sources that you can look in for your missing relative. For example, try travel records – including immigration or emigration records, and passenger manifests – or armed forces records. Closer to home, they may also be present in sadder records – those of workhouses, asylums or other institutions. And don’t forget to try different spellings or permutations of their names – they may have been recorded incorrectly by officials.