In “Census Hurdles: How to Jump Over and Go Around,” attendees will explore the complexities of using the U.S. Federal Census as a foundational resource for documenting families and social history. While the census is an invaluable record, researchers often face significant “hurdles” such as language barriers, indexing errors, illegible handwriting, and the critical twenty-year gap caused by the loss of the 1890 census. This session provides practical solutions and creative strategies to overcome these obstacles, including the use of wildcards in digital searches, analyzing phonetic spelling variations, and leveraging the FAN Club (friends, associates, and neighbors) methodology. Participants will also learn how to navigate pre-1850 census tallies using specialized comparison forms and how to corroborate findings across secondary record sets to resolve both accidental and intentional errors, ensuring a more accurate and comprehensive genealogical narrative.