Daily AncestorWhat records exist for my ancestor?
Enter a birth year and a few facts, and the plan lists every census, war, draft registration and family record to look for, year by year, each linked to a guide.
Example: a man born 1868, died 1931
Born 1868, died 1931. 15 records to look for, oldest first. Fill in the form above to make one for your own ancestor.
- 1868Life event
Birth record, 1868
Most states did not record births this early; look for a church baptism, a family Bible, or a delayed birth certificate filed later in life.
Church registers recorded baptisms, marriages and burials long before states kept vital records, often naming parents, godparents and the family's home village.
- 1870Census
1870 census, age about 2
He would be about 2 on census day.
The 1870 census, dated June 1, 1870, is the first taken after slavery ended, so formerly enslaved people are listed by name for the first time.
- 1880Census
1880 census, age about 12
He would be about 12 on census day.
The 1880 census, dated June 1, 1880, is the first to give each person's relationship to the head of household, plus marital status and parents' birthplaces.
- 1886Life event · if they married
Marriage record, probably 1886 to 1903
Licenses, bonds and church registers are kept by the county or the church.
Marriage records include licenses, bonds, consents, banns, ministers' returns and registers; each step left a different paper with different clues.
- 1890Census
1890 census, age about 22
He would be about 22 on census day.
Most of the 1890 census was destroyed after a 1921 fire, but fragments naming over 6,160 people and special schedules of Union veterans and widows survive.
- 1898Military · if he served
Spanish-American War, 1898
He was about 30, of an age to serve. Look for service and pension records.
Service records show when and where a soldier served; WWI draft cards, filled out in 1917 and 1918 by about 24 million men, give birth dates and places.
- 1900Census
1900 census, age about 32
He would be about 32 on census day.
The 1900 census, dated June 1, 1900, is the only one to give each person's month and year of birth, and it counts how many children each mother had.
- 1910Census
1910 census, age about 42
He would be about 42 on census day.
The 1910 census, dated April 15, 1910, asks if each man survived service in the Union or Confederate Army or Navy and records years of the present marriage.
- 1920Census
1920 census, age about 52
He would be about 52 on census day.
The 1920 census, dated January 1, 1920, adds the year an immigrant was naturalized, and its winter date can make ages look a year off.
- 1930Census
1930 census, age about 62
He would be about 62 on census day.
The 1930 census, dated April 1, 1930, asks the value of each home or the monthly rent, whether the family had a radio, and each person's age at first marriage.
- 1930Military · if he served
1930 census, veterans
A column asks whether a man was a veteran and of which war.
- 1931Life event
Death record, 1931
Look for a death certificate in the state where the death happened.
A death certificate gives the date, place and cause of death, and often the parents' names and birthplaces, but those family details came from an informant who may have guessed.
- 1931Life event
Gravestone
The stone may give an exact age to the day.
An old gravestone can give exact dates, an age to the day and a spouse's name, but it was often carved years later, so read it carefully and never harm the stone.
- 1931Life event
Obituary or death notice
Newspapers often name the spouse, children and birthplace.
An obituary or death notice can name a person's spouse, children, birthplace and funeral; to find one, first pin down the date and place of death, then search every nearby paper.
- 1931Life event · if they left property
Will or estate file
Filed at the county court after the death.
A will and its probate file can name a wife, every living child, married daughters' husbands and grandchildren in one place, often decades before any birth certificate existed.
Worth searching at any age
For your ancestor. Made free at dailyancestor.com/tools/research-plan. It lists records that usually exist for someone of this age and place; not every record survives for every person.
Where do you start with an ancestor you know only by name and a couple of dates? With a list of the records that should exist for someone of that age, sex and place. This tool builds it: every census the person was alive for, with their age, the wars they were old enough for, the draft registrations that match their birth year, and the birth, marriage, death and immigration records worth asking for.
Each line links to our guide for that record. Treat the plan as a checklist of places to look, not a promise: not every record survives for every person.
How to use it
- Type the year the person was born and, if you know it, the year they died. Without a death year, the plan assumes a long life of up to 90 years.
- Choose man, woman or not sure, and the state where they lived longest. The state adds facts from our state guide, such as when it began recording births and deaths.
- For an immigrant, add the year they arrived. If the person was born into slavery before 1865, say so; the plan then adds slave schedules and Freedmen's Bureau records.
- Work down the list in year order. Press "Found it?" on each record you find, and print the plan or save it as a PDF to keep beside your notes.
Worked examples
A man born 1880, died 1950
Every census from 1880 (as a baby, if born by June 1, 1880) to 1950 (if still alive on April 1, 1950); the Spanish-American War of 1898 and World War I, when he was about 18 and about 37 to 38; the third World War I draft registration on September 12, 1918; the fourth World War II registration, the "old man's draft", on April 27, 1942; the 1930 census veterans column if he served; a Social Security application; a marriage record, probably 1898 to 1915; and a death record, gravestone, obituary and will in 1950.
He was too old for the first two World War I registrations. The third, on September 12, 1918, took men 18 to 45 who had not registered yet, which for him meant everyone born September 11, 1872 to June 5, 1886. The 1942 "old man's draft" took men born April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897.
A woman born 1885, arrived 1905, died 1960
A passenger list from about 1905; Ellis Island if she landed at New York; naturalization papers, with a note that before September 22, 1922 a married woman usually became a citizen through her husband; the censuses of 1910 to 1950; the 1940 alien registration if she was not yet a citizen; a Social Security application; a marriage record, probably 1903 to 1920; and a death record, gravestone, obituary and will in 1960. No wars or draft cards.
She was not yet in America for the 1890 and 1900 censuses. Military items appear only for men, or when you choose "Not sure".
A man born 1840 in Ohio, died 1915
Every census from 1840 (as a baby, with a note that only heads of household are named before 1850) to 1910; the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, when he was about 21 to 25; the Civil War draft registration of 1863, at about 23; the 1890 veterans schedule if he served for the Union; the 1910 census Civil War veterans column; a marriage record, probably 1858 to 1875; and a death record, gravestone, obituary and will in 1915.
The Union draft of 1863 enrolled men aged 20 to 45. For a man from a Confederate state the plan drops it and points the Civil War line to Confederate pensions.
Did my ancestor serve in a war?
The plan lists a war when the man was between 17 and 45 for at least one year of it. That means he was old enough, not that he went. Each war line is marked "if he served" and links to service and pension records, which are the proof.
The censuses help here. The 1840 census named military pensioners, the 1890 veterans schedule counted Union veterans and their widows, and the 1910 and 1930 censuses had a veterans column.
Which draft card would my grandfather have?
Draft registrations went by exact birth date, so the plan checks every one. In World War I there were three: June 5, 1917, for men 21 to 31, June 5, 1918, for men who had turned 21 since, with a supplement on August 24, 1918, and September 12, 1918, for men 18 to 45 who had not registered yet. World War II had six, including the fourth registration of April 27, 1942, the "old man's draft" for men born from 1877 to early 1897.
When the birth year sits on the edge of a registration, the plan says so, for example "if born on or before" a date.
Questions people ask
Why is my ancestor not in a census he should be in?
The census taker may have missed the family, the name may be spelled or indexed badly, or the person may have been living with another household. For 1890 the reason is usually a fire: most of that census was destroyed after a fire in 1921, and only fragments and the veterans schedules survive.
Why are only heads of household named before 1850?
The censuses of 1790 to 1840 named only the head of each household. Everyone else is only counted, in columns by sex, race and (in most years) age group, so look for a household with children of the right ages.
Did women register for the draft?
No. The World War I and World War II draft registrations were for men, so the plan shows no wars or draft cards for a woman. A husband's or son's pension file may still name her, so make a plan for him too.
What if I only know an approximate birth year?
Enter your best guess, then try a few years either side. Census ages are rarely exact anyway, but draft registrations depend on the exact birth date, so a guess near the edge can add or drop a draft card.
Is my information saved?
No. The plan is worked out from what you type and is not stored on our server, and you do not need an account. Your "Found it" marks stay only in this browser. Print the plan or save it as a PDF to keep it.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "What records exist for my ancestor?." Tools. https://dailyancestor.com/tools/research-plan. Last checked 2026-10-28.