Genealogical Research Using U.S. Census Data

Exactly what is a census record?

A census record is an official count of population and recording of economic status (age, sex, race, etc.) In 1789, the United States government adopted the constitutional provision for taking a census. Since 1790, the government has taken a census every ten years. Due to the privacy act of 1974, only census records up to 1920 are available to the general public.

What type of information will I find on a census record?

The census can shed light on everything from family relationships to economic status. You should try to find your ancestors on as many censuses as possible. If you have the name of your great-grandfather, but nothing else except the names of all his children, try to locate as many children as possible in census returns. The grandfather may appear within the family of a married child in a later census return. If you find a 35 year old man and family and two or three households away, a 65 year old man with the same surname with his 60 year old wife, there is a strong chance they are related. If you're searching for the parents of the younger man, it would be worthwhile checking the property and probate records of the older man and looking for an obituary for him.

Why are there restrictions on access to post-1920 census records? To protect the right of privacy of living individuals, access to population schedules is restricted for seventy-two years after the census is taken. Unless an exception is granted, these records are not available to researchers during that time.

If you feel your situation warrants an exception, you must contact the Personal Service Branch, Bureau Of The Census, P.O. Box 1545, Jeffersonville, IN 47131. If your reason for an exemption is granted, this agency will provide, for a fee, official transcripts of census records from 1930 to 1990. Access is restricted to whomever the information is about, their authorized representatives, or, in the case of deceased persons, their heirs or administrators. You must first write to the agency and request FORM BC-600. The instructions and requirements will be included with the form itself. No personal handwritten correspondence will be accepted. The

decisions on granting exemptions are based on each individual case. The guidelines for access are very stringent.

CENSUS DATES 1790-1940 **Like anything dealing with a bureaucracy, one must realize there were exceptions to these dates. A variety of factors ranging from weather conditions to political considerations on a local, state, or regional level could affect the accuracy of these dates. Under the circumstances, the dates were fairly close to accurate.

1790, 1800, 1810 The First Monday In August.

1820 First Monday In August (August 7).

1830-1900 June 1st.

1880 (Indian Schedule). October 1st.

1910 April 15th.

1920 January 1st.

1930,1940 April 1

ORGANIZATION

Census schedules are arranged by census year (1820, 1830, 1850, etc.) Within each

year, they are arranged by name of state, then alphabetically by name of county. If a researcher doesn't know the county an ancestor lived in, but can narrow it down to a state, they can try using an index from a state census to track an ancestor down, or for censuses taken beginning with 1880 and beyond, utilize the Soundex. Each roll can contain up to five counties, but for larger urban area, there may only be one county or section of counties per roll. Researchers must know the county where an ancestor lived during the actual census year in question.

The arrangement of surnames on a page of census schedules is in no particular order. The families were listed in the order the census taker gathered it as he either went door to door or when the families came to the designated census station. No efforts were made to keep names in any alphabetical order. Searching for a particular name on the schedules involves scanning each page from top to bottom until the desired name is located. For large urban counties, this may involve scanning thousands of names in no particular order that makes sense to the researcher.

The information contained in census data has evolved over the various decades. **See handout

# 1 for a subject breakdown, question breakdown by decades, and census fast facts. See handout #3 for a blank worksheet for each individual census from 1800-1920.

In the first six censuses taken from 1790-1840, only the full name of the head of the household (usually the father) is recorded. During this era, 95% of the heads of household were male. If the father died, the oldest surviving son was normally listed as head of the household. On rare occasions, there were some females listed on heads of households. All other family members are represented by numbers or check marks under specific categories of age, sex, and color.

Beginning with the 1850 census, the name of every household member, age, sex, and state of birth appears. In 1860, American Indians were included for the first time. 1870 marked the first time questions were asked about the value of individual property holdings. This can provide the researcher with clues about wills, deeds, and other related legal records on file at local courthouses. In 1880, forms were expanded to include the relationship of each person to the head of the family, marital status of each member, and the place of birth of his/her mother and father.

While relationships were not specifically addressed in earlier censuses, they can often be inferred. However, your assumptions should always be verified through at least two other sources before you accept them as fact.

The 1890 census was burned and outside of certain data for civil war pension information, the bulk of information was lost. In 1900, census information included the months and years of birth, lengths of marriages

Most people tend to begin their searches with the 1920 census and work backward. In most cases, we will discover our ancestors had arrived in America by the time of the 1920 census. By this time, the questions had become more specific and answers were more reliable. It is also easier to establish links to earlier censuses by beginning with 1920. This is especially true in establishing fairly exact locations. The 1920 census was the first to collect data regarding the naturalization of foreign born persons of both sexes and all ages. Previous censuses (1890, 1900, 1910) had only gathered the information for males twenty-one years of age and older.

The 1920 census was also the first census to ask naturalized citizens for the year of final naturalization. Information on the 1920 census regarding the place of birth of the foreign born may prove more useful than that of previous censuses. Due to modifications in European boundaries resulting from World War I, individuals were not always certain to which nation their place of birth corresponded. Census takers were instructed to report (and spell out the names of) the province (state or region) or city of persons declaring they or their parents were born in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, or Turkey and according to some sources, any other countries whose boundaries were affected by the war.

INDEXES

Most census records are indexed. Indexes allow the researcher to locate an entry in the schedules without having to scan name by name. Usually, an index is limited to a specific geographic area, such as a county, group of counties (regional), or an entire state. The early censuses have been indexed by private companies, usually in the form of bound volumes. Because of the expense involved, most libraries will only have a limited collection. The Family History Center Library in Salt Lake City is one of the few places that has an extensive collection. Some large public libraries with genealogy collections will have a complete set for their state or region. Book indexes were generated for the years between 1790 and 1870. In 1880, the government began producing indexes for individual states. These indexes, commonly referred to as the "SOUNDEX" are available for the 1880 (partial), and for the entire 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses.

If you cannot find your ancestor in an index and you feel reasonably confident that he should be there, or if you have no other leads, do not hesitate to check the whole county, especially if it is a rural area. Indexes have been wrong. If you are searching a name that is not extremely common such as Jones, Smith, or Brown, it might be worthwhile to note everyone with the surname you are searching for (at least noting the name of the head of household and wife, their ages and page number of entry). If your search is in a large city, it will be very difficult to check the entire city. Your time would be better spent checking city directories and street indexes to narrow down the search area. If the ancestor belonged to an ethnic group, a history of the city will usually discuss what neighborhoods were settled by what ethnic groups.

SOUNDEX

The Soundex is a coded surname index based on the way a surname sounds rather than how it is spelled. Except for privately published city or county indexes, this format of indexing replaced book indexes beginning with the 1880 census. **See handout # 2 for a detailed explanation of the Soundex coding system. For example, there are three variations of the proper name SHERMAN: Sherman, Schurman, and Scherman. Yet on the Soundex, they are all indexed together as S655. Surnames having the same code are arranged alphabetically by given name on the Soundex film.

Every Soundex code consists of a letter and three numbers. The letter is always the first letter of the surname, whether it is a vowel or a consonant. Disregard the remaining vowels and W, Y, and H, and assign numbers to the next three consonants of the surname according to the Soundex coding guide. If there are not three consonants following the initial letter, use zeros to fill out the three-digit code.

Soundex Coding Guide

The Number Represents The Letters

1 B,P,F,V

2 C,S,K,G,J,Q,X,Z

3 D,T

4 L

5 M,N

6 R

DISREGARD LETTERS: A,E,I,O,U,W,Y, and H.

Once a name is located on the Soundex, the entry will show that person's street address (including county name), age, place of birth, and the numbers of the page and line in that county's schedule where the census record can be found. The Soundex entry may also include information on other members of the household.

MICROFILM RENTAL

Researchers wanting to borrow census microfilm in Lee and Collier counties have two options:

1) LDS Family History Center. 2) National Archives Census Microfilm Rental Program (available through some public libraries) or at any branch of the National Archives Library System. The Seattle branch of the National Archives Library System has a complete set of all census schedules and Soundex film available at their branch. **Note: The Lee County Library System does not participate in this program at the present time. The Lee County Library System will order Canadian microfilm.

CENSUS RETURNS FROM CANADA & GREAT BRITAIN

Canada & Great Britain have taken a census for every ten years since 1841. There are not nearly as many indexes for these census as for the U.S. ones, but there is an on-line index of the 1871 census for Ontario, Canada. Because of their 100 year confidentiality rule, only the census data covering 1841-1891 are open to the public for research. The most complete holdings for this census data is through the Family History Library System. The New England Historical Genealogical Society Library also has a partial collection.

CENSUS SUBSTITUTES

If you find yourself in the position where gaps exist that cannot be filled with regular census data, there are other types of censuses which exist that can be used as possible substitutes. For illustrated examples taken from a variety of different census formats, see handout # 4:

1) School Censuses: Traditionally, school censuses have been taken to insure that local facilities and teachers are adequate and to plan for future appropriations. These schedules count the children of school age. Some will list the complete family unit, others list children with ages only and name of school. Arrangement, availability, and contents of this type of census can vary from each jurisdiction.

2) Sheriff's Census: This census can also be known as a Constable's or Police census. The data collected was used more for administrative decisions than for law enforcement. The data was usually statistical in nature. It could range from the number of children within certain types of families (an average), bushels of wheat within the farms in a jurisdiction, number of settlers in a given frontier area at a specified time

3) Church/Civil Census: In areas where a church was established and supported by the civil authorities, the authorities charged the church with the responsibility of conducting periodic church censuses. This was most common in New England, other examples can also be found among church-warden records in Virginia and South Carolina. In previous generations, the church was the major cornerstone of a community's social life and structure. People were far more loyal to their church than to any governmental authority. This also played a role in why some governmental authorities preferred the church to gather this type of information . Several censuses were taken by various Mormon churches as the settlers followed the Mormon trail into

Utah. These special enumerations appear in state censuses for each of the states that were located along the Mormon trail, especially Iowa and Illinois. Information included in these schedules

could include names of families members, numbers of wagons, guns, animals (healthy oxen, cattle, and horses) number of ill and infirm family members.

4) Company Censuses: Various businesses conducted censuses of their employees on a periodic basis. They would list employees and family members, addresses, salaries, years employed, and

job titles. Companies and Businesses which had programs that offered incentives to settlers to emigrate to other parts of the country for employment opportunities were required to provide periodic enumerations for the people who participated in their relocation programs. These were done annually in most but not all cases. Censuses such as these were sometimes also called Settlers Census. One other reason these companies did these enumerations was financial. The companies would often have difficulty in getting payments from the settlers once they arrived in their destinations. The census would provide the company with an economic profile of the settler and his family. **Note: a special manufacturers census was incorporated into the federal census for the years of 1810 and 1820. Data on these include the name of the owners, location of the establishment and branches (if any), number of employees, kind and quantity of machinery, capital invested, articles manufactured, annual production, and demand for its products. The 1840 census only asked for statistical data on company assets & production, no names of owners or employees. From 1850-1870, the name was changed to industry schedule. The purpose was now to collect information about manufacturing, mining, fisheries, and all businesses that had an annual gross of $500.00 or more. In 1880, the name reverted back to the original Manufacturers Schedule. Most schedules were ordered destroyed by Congressional order, but some schedules for individual states survive in the respective state archives, companies that still exist, or are included in with some federal schedules. Most schedules no longer exist.

5) State & Local Censuses: States and local jurisdictions took periodic censuses in off years to supplement data collected by the Federal census. In some cases, the questions followed the same pattern of the Federal census with some additional questions asked to allow for circumstances unique to the state or local municipality. In other cases, these censuses were a list of statistical profiles for the communities. For many local areas, the purpose of these censuses were designed to collect specific types of data, such as the financial strengths and needs of a given community. These censuses can be used to determine the number of people living within a household and compared with birth and death records. They may also be used to verify specific residences of individuals who moved too rapidly to be recorded in other sources or the Federal census. They might also identify neighbors and other community members whose records could provide additional clues for tracing families and individuals back in time.

6) African-American Census Schedules: From about 1830 onward, northern cities and states increasingly felt the need to monitor African Americans who were moving from the South seeking freedom and employment. Some examples are illustrated as follows: 1) In the middle of the civil war, the state of Ohio called for an emergency census of the names and whereabouts of all African Americans who had emigrated to Ohio from other states since March 1, 1861. Thirteen counties

in Southeastern Ohio submitted schedules. Others refused because of staff limitations and questions about the morals of the effort. 2) Household censuses of Philadelphia's African American population were taken in 1838 and 1856 by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, and in 1847 by the Society of Friends. Although some of the information follows the same pattern of the Federal census, some schedules may also include items such as: membership in a church of societies, income, education level, rent, how/where freedom was acquired, and amount of property owned in all areas of the area being enumerated. The Southern states also took a slave

census in 1860 but the names of slaves were for the most part omitted. The only name that appears is that of the slave owner.

7) Censuses Of Native Americans: In some years, separate censuses of Native Americans were taken by the Federal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. While some early Native American populations were tabulated by missionary priests/ministers and colonial authorities, many of these have been lost or are mixed in with church censuses. The 1860 and 1870 Federal censuses noted only Native Americans living in non-Native American households. In 1880, a special enumeration was taken of Native Americans living near military reservations in the territories of the Dakotas and Washington, as well as the State of California. The information

included the name of the tribe, reservation, agency, nearest post office, number living in the household with a description of the dwelling, Native American name with English translation for each family member, relationship to the head of household, marital and tribal status, occupation, health, level of education, land ownership, and means of support. The 1885 to 1940 Indian census rolls were taken regularly, though not annually, by Indian agents on each reservation. The 1898-1906 Indian Census Card Index was compiled by the Dawnes Commission to verify individual rights to tribal allotments for the five civilized tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole). To search this index, send the name of the tribe, name of individual, approximate date of birth & death, and location to the National Archives-Southwest region, Box 6216, Ft. Worth, Texas 76115. 1910-1939 Indian School Census was compiled by the Bureau Of Indian Affairs and was taken for individual Indian schools each year during this period. Information included the names of all children between six and eighteen years of age, sex, tribe, degree of Native American blood, distance from home to the school, parent or guardian, and attendance during the year.

Factors that can influence the accuracy of census data:

1) Though Congress stipulated that data was supposed to be furnished by each individual, the husband usually provided the information for everyone. Some husbands took this directive as a direct threat to their status as a free man. Experience has shown husbands to be very poor sources of ages and birth dates.

2) Families were sometimes left off the census because they were away visiting relatives or they lived in multi-family dwellings and were overlooked (sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose).

3) If adults were not home, sometimes answers were requested from small children or neighbors, or the census taker guessed at the answers himself.

4) Many younger people who had elderly parents or relatives living with them tended to under or over estimate ages and seldom knew exact birth dates. In cases where parents met a "sudden death" there were no formal avenues (compared to our system today) for what would happen to the children. The surviving children were frequently raised by neighbors or relatives. The same problem with over/under estimating ages and lack of knowledge concerning birth dates and other vital information also applied in this situation.

5) Acknowledgment of age was (and still is) a problem with some people.

6) Census takers were frequently viewed with fear and distrust. In some cases, they had to be escorted by military security forces. This was particularly true after the Civil War when the

Southern states were under military occupation and in rural areas throughout the country. Many Census takers were poorly paid, or were forced to perform the task as part of their "miscellaneous duties as assigned". Many made no effort to question any statement or situation that seemed questionable.

7) In some cases, neither the census taker nor the people being interviewed could understand the questions being asked. Both parties were poorly educated.

8) The handwriting has completely faded over time, or was very poor from the beginning. Many people could read but not write.

9) Early censuses were poorly preserved. When microfilming was done, this further damaged them.

10) The quality of microfilm can be poor, making the copy too dark, too small, or unreadable for a variety of other reasons.

11) The census enumerator took this information orally. Because of the lower quality of transportation available during these times, they frequently were in a hurry. Many of the foreign immigrants still had heavy accents and most families were large. The enumerator didn't always take the time to ask how a name was spelled.

Bibliography

For a listing of materials within the Fort Myers-Lee County Library collection dealing with U.S. Census data, see handout # 6.

Compiled by Bryan L. Mulcahy, Reference Librarian, Fort Myers-Lee County Library, 8/28/99