Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! There are many reasons why you might be having trouble finding your ancestors in census records. It’s true that the census enumerators missed some people while taking the census. However, it’s more likely that your ancestors are “hiding in plain sight” because their names or other information were recorded in unexpected ways. You may find some useful tips in 20 Tips for Census Research Success and Twenty Reasons You May Have Trouble Finding an Ancestor in the Census.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!
Claire Kluskens, NARA Genealogy/Census Records Subject Matter Expert
Some? Why don't you take your highest priority person, and share with us their information: name, birthplace and date, location you think they were at, other people they might have resided with, and post it here so we can see if a new pairs of eyes can break through your brick wall. And if you have their address at the time of your targeted census, they could be looked up with that information as well. But some people were missed on censuses and only a residence search would rule out their participation.
