HERE IS A BRIEF SUMMARY ON CENSUS RECORDS
However, there is a 72 year privacy act so currently census records are only available until 1940.
In genealogy, these records are a valuable resource for reconstructing the lives of your ancestors. The reason why is that each census schedule represents a point in time or chapter in the lives of the people listed on the schedules. Each record tells a story about the person(s), where they were and to a great extent who they were.
While the early census schedules only listed the head of household, subsequent ones also list the other members of the household.
It is important to point out that census records from 1790 to 1860 only listed free persons. Hence, most African Americans unless they were free persons of color were not listed in the Southern states. Most were not enumerated until 1870 census, 5 years after slavery ended.
However, if you are African American, you should always check the prior census records anyway since your ancestors may have been a free person of color or a person of another race. Also, for certain Northeastern states such as Vermont, freedom came early as 1777 for African Americans so again it is important determine when slavery ended in the state where your ancestors resided.
So what can these records tell you? A whole lot. There is a wealth of history hidden in these records.
You can learn the paternity of known ancestors which may enable you to locate different branches of your family. You can also find out when and where your ancestors were born and some census records give the birth places of their parents. The names of their spouses, children, ages and their birth order are also provided on most census records.
You can also learn the occupations of the members of the household and whether they were educated. The location where your family was living and whether or not the Head of Household owned or rented property is documented on some census records.
Again, census records are like a snapshot of your ancestors lives at a particular point in time. By locating them on multiple census records over the span of their lives, you can follow the progression and changes that occur over time with regards to their family structure.
Review of a series of records on a particular familial line can reveal a newly married couple, a growing family with a few children, a household full of children, the children leaving home to start their own family, "Empty Nesters" and finally widowed spouses.
Here is an excerpt from a census record.
Census records can be found on various websites including Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.