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Use census substitutes! Directories are the perfect way to track your ancestors year by year.
Directories can be among the most valuable resources to a genealogical researcher. There are many types of directories: city directories, telephone directories, business directories, alumni directories, union membership directories, professional directories, Who's Who, and a wide variety of others. They can be invaluable in pinpointing the location of an ancestor or relative at a specific point in time, especially in those years between the Federal population censuses and in lieu of more recent censuses not yet released. Long before the telephone was invented, there was a need to locate residents of a community for delivery of mail and other goods, and governments certainly kept track of residents for taxation purposes. The development of a printed directory became a convenience, and having your name and/or your family included was often considered something of a status symbol. It proved you were 'important,' a part of the community.