Tracing back my line, but I'm stuck. Help?!?

Question:I am trying to track back my family line, but I have hit a brick wall. I am good through the early 1800's, finding many links through census and voting records, however, that is where I hit a wall. Up until the mid 1800's, it looks like the census only listed the head of household and tallied up the members of the family, not listing them by name. I am pretty certain that I know who my grandfathers are then, but I can't find any solid info to prove it. I've used searches through Footnote, Ancestory.com, and online forums. I'm reasonably learned on how to research geneaology, but I can't find squat from before my line moved to Tennessee from Virginia. Any advice?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am trying to track back my family line, but I have hit a brick wall. I am good through the early 1800's, finding many links through census and voting records, however, that is where I hit a wall. Up until the mid 1800's, it looks like the census only listed the head of household and tallied up the members of the family, not listing them by name. I am pretty certain that I know who my grandfathers are then, but I can't find any solid info to prove it. I've used searches through Footnote, Ancestory.com, and online forums. I'm reasonably learned on how to research geneaology, but I can't find squat from before my line moved to Tennessee from Virginia. Any advice?

In one key word... LAND.
Land was survival. No land, no food. No one bothered if you had kids (or their names), and church was important (but you could live without it). But land records are the one most reliable source I can point you to, pre 1850. Deeds, grants, boundary lines (who lived near who), land that wound up in probate files if someone died without a will. Barring courthouses burning down, most land records will survive back to the first settlers.
This is really where you need to get the full copy of the deeds, if possible. Indexes only say who sold to who.. the BODY of the deed can contain the gold mine.
And when you get into VA, you'll also have to really get an awareness of the counties and how they changed, due to westward settlement AND NEW counties being formed. Example.. so and so was granted land in Lunenburg co in the 1740's.. 10 years later, that same parcel of land "fell" into what became Halifax; 10 yrs later, Pittsylvania is formed. (my dates are not exact.. the process is the goal). The original owner may never have moved, but he can show up in 3 different counties over the years. It gets tricky, to say the least. You CAN use the census, but it needs matching against other records, to determine if man A had 3 daughters, and man B had no children shown. You eliminate man B as the possible father.
Due to sheer volume, deeds are seldom transcribed, to be online. If you really want the answer, it is even more likely now than before, that you realize that much of genealogy is not on the internet. If you are fortunate, you can use online to find relatives who have already been 'working' those records and have them to share.
It's a whole different ball game pre 1850. But also more rewarding.

If you expand the types of documents you're using, you may find more details. Have you tried obituaries, cemetery records, or wills?

I had the same situation -- I had lots of information on my ggg-grandfather who was in the 1850 to 1880 US Censuses, but I couldn't track down his father. Then I found my ggg-grandfather's obit which gave an approximate date of his father's death. I searched for wills for his father -- and found a possible match. When I ordered and read the will, the children, including the daughters' married names, all matched -- as did the land locations. All this added one more generation to my line!

That reminds me -- Complete as much research as you can on every sibling -- They have the same ancestors after all! If I hadn't have found the daughters married names beforehand, the will would have been meaningless to me.

Also, research the land records thoroughly.

Hope this helps! Good luck in your search!

Expand your records searches to Land Records, Wills & Testaments, The older census only recorded Head of household his property worth and how many dependants within that House/Property its archaic by todays standards but that was the practice. oh the previous poster is right don't forget to follow other children of that household sometimes it leads to the missing piece of information.