When the soldier and his family live outside the US

Recently, we had a soldier from Ireland. He was never found in the United States census and his children were all born and lived in Ireland. It was not uncommon for foreign-born soldiers to return to their countries of birth after the war.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you encounter this situation:

• Make sure you enter ALL the soldiers children on the grid. Even if you never find them on a census manuscript, you need to add them to the data. Add the spouse as well (if she had children with the soldier)
• If you have evidence that the soldier, his spouse, or his children were living outside the US during a given census year, then mark that decade on the grid with black Xs (not searched) instead of yellow Xs (not found). If they live outside the country, then they are not at risk to be found in the census.
• Even if they live outside the country, go ahead and search for death information, just in case. Family Search is a good place to do this because you can access international records. If you don't find death information for the soldier, his spouse, or his children, mark the death column with a yellow X.

Any questions?