Census search!

[seekerofknwoledge]

I'm pretty sure that this is the correct forum to post this in, but if I'm wrong just let me know.

This is actually kind of an odd request, but I'm trying to find a couple that lived in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1700's. The husband is Stephen Sims, and the wife is Sarah H. Sims (died in 1767, possibly July of that year). The wife is buried in the Salem cemetary that is right across from the visitor's center. I've tried just searching their names but that comes up with too many results, and not enough of what I'm looking for. Does anyone know a good search engine, a geneology website, or even a place I could find censuses from that time? Thanks so much!

[Lorrie]

Familysearch is good, but sometimes a bit overwhelming with the results. Rootsweb is good, there are a few ways to use it, the best is to use US genweb project, click on the state, then the county. Some of these are a gold mine and some you want to strangle someone, but they are volunteers that do these and they can only work with so much! One of my favorite genealogy sites is called Cindi's list, if its genealogy, it's on her list. She's my hero! Another one is RAOGK, it is a list of volunteers that will do look-ups, I used to do this until my doctor took me off my feet and I can't get around. The volunteers do like maybe two requests a month, I was getting 5-10 a week and still had people on waiting lists. Make sure to read before requesting! Any of these will get you going. I lost my membership to ancestry, so I can't look it up for you, but I will write down your information and keep an eye out for anything.

[seekerofknwoledge]

Wow, thank you! It's funny that you mentioned those, because I've already taken a peek at Cindy's List, and a bit of RootsWeb. But I think I'll give it another try and see what I come up with! Thanks again!

[Lorrie]

Are you fairly new to genealogy? I have been doing it for almost three years, it sure is addictive. It's not bad trying to find info for the US, it's other countries that can be a pain! If you have questions, feel free to contact me, I think there are a few other genealogists here also!

[Wulfleaf]

Actually, a good thing to do is to contact the vital records department of the town government. Since census, and other vital records, weren't centralized, and overseen by a federal bureau until about 1840, the best thing to do is contact the town itself. You can usually find an email address or phone number to a vital records office, or at least give you a number where you could get that information.

It is a good thing to have the name of the husband and wife, the dates of birth, a date of marriage, and parents' names and childrens' names. It is not required to have all of this information, but it really helps to narrow it down. As an example, I needed some information on some of my relatives, when I was trying to solidify my lineage. Thankfully, my family stayed mostly in and around Sandwich, Massachusetts during the period I was researching. All I did was find the webpage for the town of Sandwich, and from there, I emailed a clerk, who told me the person I needed to contact. I emailed the lady, and explained that I was researching my family history, but I was in Iraq, so I couldn't make it there. I provided names, dates of birth (if I had them), and spouses' information. She was very helpful, and provided me a ton of information, as well as the evidence to back it up.

Another website that is decent is Ancestry.com. It, however, is a pay site, so if anyone needs some research done, I have a subscription. Just send me a PM or email with all of the information you have.