The Census Was Not Created for Genealogists

Despite lamentations to the contrary, Censuses are not taken to be a genealogical document. They are taken for a variety of governmental purposes and the data theyt contain is used by a host of governmental and private agencies.

They are not meant to provide a genealogical record for future generations. No census was ever taken as a means of providing a genealogical record for the future. Public records may provide information of use to genealogists, but those records were created for other reasons.

Military records, land records, pension records, court records, probate materials, and other records generated by a government body were not created to leave a genealogical record. The census was not either.

Instead of lamenting the details of the Census questionnaires, ask yourself
have I preserved all the unique materials in my possession?

Would your descendant want to find a record of you kvetching on Facebook about inadequate census questions (if the Facebook post was even preserved in twentysome years) or would they rather find copies of letters and other materials you had worked to preserve and perhaps even some writing about your own life?

Abridged from 
http://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2020/04/09/the-census-was-not-created-for-genealogists/