First questions to consider:

  1. Can the data be found in the Federal Census?
  2. Was it available for each decade you are researching?
  3. Is the data available for towns less than 1,000 in population?
  4. If not, what do you do?
    1. Gather data from a larger geographic area?
    2. Contact local history centers to see what they may have
    3. Look for histories of the county (books), maps, atlases that might offer a clue