This section is a long term project, and to be honest, a bit tedious. I’m not sure when (or if) it will every be completed.
One difficulty is that the boundaries of the Hamlet are amorphous — who’s in, who’s not? Maps with dwelling occupants identified are helpful, but there are large gaps between the dates of the maps available to me. (If you want your family to be “in,” I accept bribes.) It’s therefore not clear that I will be able to separate out the Brookhaven Hamlet (Fire Place) population from the remainder of Town of Brookhaven, especially in the early years when neither local community, dwelling sequence, nor street address is recorded.
The 1850 Census is the first Federal Census in which all members of a household are identified by name. Prior to that time, only the “head” of the household is identified, and but limited summary information on the overall family recorded.
One of the great boons to researchers is the recent availability of census images online. No longer is it required to traipse off to a library and pour through reels and reels of microfilm. I can get bored in the comfort of my own office! I use Ancestry.com.