Description

The first time that an Archivist
flashed a census before my wondering
eyes, I was shocked. Was this scanty
listing of "heads of household'' (augmented
only by the age groups into
which other, unnamed, family members
fell) the cause of so much genealogical
excitement? Could it have been for such
that the Davidian census-takers had
brought down a plague upon the House
of Israel (I Samuel: 21)?
To a serious genealogist like myself,
the census appeared to be a meagre
offering indeed. So, I turned away in
some disgust, convinced that I would
never again seek out a census. And for
what seemed like a very long time, but
was in reality only a couple of years,
there was a rather headlong involvement
on my part with cemetery, probate,
church, and wel l . . . land records.