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U.S Census Records
By Cheri Mello
The U.S. began census taking in 1790. But you would start with the 1920 which is the most current year available and begin working back in time by moving from the known to the unknown. A 72 year waiting period exists for the censuses to be released (1920 was released in 1992 to protect the privacy of those people in 1920). In 1920, a fire happened which burned a little bit of the 1920 and most of the 1890 census. If you are looking for your ancestors in 1890, you may want to use the state census, if one existed. It probably won't be indexed either.
The U.S. Censuses were soundexed (indexed) for 1920-1900. A soundex is a coding system for surnames. It will group your surnames with other surnames that sound or are spelled similar. Once you locate the number, the soundex is alphabetized by first name after that. If I were looking for Mello, Manuel in 1910, my code would be M400. I would see Mellos and other similar surnames. I would roll the film past the Antonios and Joses until I hit the Ms. I would then look for Manuels.
The 1910 is soundexed for 21 states only. The remaining states are indexed via street addresses/census tracts on fiche. It is now also on film supposedly. Also, "Research Guide - United States" says, "For the 1910 census there is an index on 51 fiche that can help you identify the enumeration districts in 39 cities if you know the address." That's FHL fiche 6331480-81. The 1880 is soundexed for families with children 10 and under only. For 1870-1790, you will look up the surname in an index book. Be aware that 1870 is not completely indexed. The 1860 is mostly indexed. A 30% error rate exists in indexing 1790-1840. You'll be fine if you have an uncommon surname and you know the state the ancestor was in.
Always, always go to the census itself. Don't use the index or soundex card for the record. Make a photocopy of the census. This gives you an exact copy. Writing on it changes it, and it is no longer considered an exact copy. This drives those certified genealogists crazy. I do write my references on the back (state, county, ED (enumeration district), sheet and line, or page number.) I also highlight my family. The certified genealogists wouldn't like it, but after shrinking down the census to make a copy, you will barely be able to read the family.
From 1840 -1790, you will not find the names of all family members listed. You will find the head of household and how many males and females of various ages are living there. Some problems with the U. S. Census are: censuses were incomplete and inaccurate; the census taker was indifferent; the family may be split between 2 pages; women lied about their age; sometimes the country listed may be the country of the grandparents, not the parents. Always look a few pages ahead and back for other family members (especially in 1880).
You may also want to check the Family History Catalog for state censuses. Censuses are really for residence only. The only thing you really know is that your ancestors were at that location at that time. Knowing that, and the problems of census research, you are probably wondering why you should use them. On the 1920 it asks: address; name; relationship to family head; sex; race; age; marital status; if foreign born, year of immigration to the U.S., whether naturalized (Na means naturalized, PP or Pa means papers filed, Al means still an alien), and year of naturalization; school attendance; literacy; birthplace of person and parent (I have seen the island listed--usually I see Azores); mother tongue if foreign born; ability to speak English; occupation, industry, and class of worker; home owned or rented; if owned, whether mortgaged; for nonfarm mortgaged, market value, original amount of mortgage, balance due, interest rate. The 1910 also asks for number of years of present marriage; and for women, number of children born and number now living and some other things. This is a far cry from the 1800 census which asks for name of family head; if white, age and sex; race; slaves. Much information can be gleaned from these censuses.
Sources: Author's own experience with the records.
© 2003 Cheri Mello
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