It can be difficult when you only have one census enumeration to tell you anything about an ancestor.
I was working on a Benjamin Butler who was enumerated in Iowa in 1870. The problem was that his place of birth in 1870 (Canada) was shown as New York in the 1880 census where I eventually found him. And his 1880 enumeration had him listed as William.
Fortunately the wife and all the other details matched. When using just one enumeration to search for others, considering that any one piece of information could easily be incorrect.
My search for Benjamin will be mentioned in an upcoming issue of Casefile Clues. Subscribe now and get in on the fun.
