Census returns are beyond doubt the most informative source of genealogical information for the period of 1790 through 1920 (and beyond). It cannot be over emphasized that every possible census must be researched and compared for every person of your surname of interest in order to get a full picture of the family structures they enumerate.
The first Federal Census was taken in 1790 as a method of proportioning representatives in the government as well as a means for distributing the tax burden according to the spread of the population. A count of able bodied men for military purposes cannot be overlooked either. An excellent genealogical research tool is merely a great byproduct of this endeavor.
The 1790 census enumeration was limited in that its purpose was to count the population. It did so by listing the number of males under 16, males 16 & over, and females (all ages listed together). There was also a column for slaves and another for "other free persons". Fortunately the names of heads of households were listed. In 1908 the 1790 census was printed in book form for each state and nicely indexed. It is of course advisable to look at the original (on microfilm), especially if you cannot find the family where they should have been. These statewide indexes are a great aid in locating families when you are not sure where they lived within a state.
The federal census records from 1800 through 1840 are also very limited in information. They also list the name of the head of household and a breakdown of household members by sex and age. The age increments, as we shall see, became smaller with each succeeding census allowing us to get a closer idea to the ages of each child. As earlier stated, only by comparing all available census years for a family and all persons of your surname of interest, can you get them most out of these early enumerations. The information, when combined and studied, can easily lead you to other sources such as deeds, wills, church or other local records.
The censuses of 1800 and 1810 listed five age categories for white males and 5 for white females, but otherwise contained no more information than the 1790 census.
The census of 1820 added one addition age category for white males in addition to giving age categories for other free male and female persons. It asked how many "foreign and not naturalized" and whether engaged in agriculture, commerce, or manufacturing.
The census of 1830 listed 13 age categories for white males and 13 for white females, 6 each for other free persons and 6 each for slaves. The family picture begins to get much clearer at this point but we must remember that all person listed were not necessarily family members. Questions about the blind, deaf and dumb were asked for the first time.
The census of 1840 had the same age and sex breakdowns but counted persons engaged in mining, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, ocean navigation, canal or lake or river navigation, and learned professors and engineers. The often overlooked bonus of the 1840 census was the listing of names and ages of revolutionary war pensioners.
Beginning with the censuses of 1850 and 1860, a clearer picture of the households can now be seen. Besides the head of household, other persons living in the house are listed showing their sex, age, color, profession, value of real estate, place of birth, married within the year, in school within the year, able to read & write, and whether or not deaf & dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict. There are also slave schedules listing the owner of the slaves and other information by age and sex.
The information that you have assembled from the various previous census schedules will probably start to take better shape. You may also find a few surprises. It cannot be over emphasized that it is equally, if not more, important with these records to record all information from each census year about all the persons of your surname of interest in the locality (and surrounding areas) you are searching. A household with just one person with your surname might later turn out to be important relatives that will lead you to more information.
The census of 1870 adds information about value of personal property, whether or not the parents are foreign born, and the month of birth or marriages if the event occurred within the year. It was asked whether or not the males were eligible to vote.
The census of 1880 is in a class of its own due to the fact that relationships to the head of household (but not to each other) are now added and no longer have to be guessed at. Do not assume the relationship is as stated -- perhaps the niece is really just a wife of a nephew. Marital status, health questions, and unemployment questions are asked. Alleged states or countries of birth are listed for each person's father and mother (these are often incorrect). A partial Soundex index (households with children under the age of ten) was done by state will be discussed under indexes.
The census of 1890 has mostly destroyed by fire in 1921. Very little exists at all but the Veterans (or widow of a veteran) special census also taken that year has survived.
The census of 1900 added the questions of "month and year" of birth of each individual, "number of years married", and the "mother of how many children". Important questions of "year of immigration and "number of years in the US" along with occupational, educational, and financial information make this a gold mine of information.
The census of 1910 asked how many children still living, what language spoken, and if a Civil War Veteran in addition to the same questions as the 1900 census except birth date was omitted.
The census of 1920 was similar to the 1910 but also asked the "mother tongue of the parents of each individual.
A sneak preview of the census of 1930 shows that they asked if a
radio was owned, age at first marriage, and if a veteran of any war.
New York State conducted census enumeration for 1825, 1835, and 1845 that were similar to the federal returns for that period in that they only listed the head of household and grouped the rest of the household by age and sex. 1855, 1865, and 1875 took the format of the 1850 Federal census with the major difference being that relationship to head of household was given. The 1865 and 1875 NY State censuses also contained deaths and marriages for the period of 1 year prior to the census date of June 1st -- a great source of untapped vital records for the most part. The 1865 NYS census also listed persons who had died in or of injuries from the Civil War since April 1861.
Probably the most important NY State census enumeration is the 1892 which was kind of the halfway mark between the 1875 and 1905 that nicely fills the gap left by the destruction of the 1890 Federal Census. Unfortunately many have been lost including Orange County but they do exist for some other areas. 1905, 1915, & 1925 have been a great help in recent years because of the delayed release dates of the Federal 1910, 1920 and the anticipated release of the 1930. State censuses are not indexed unless done locally. Again -- check all censuses and all families with your surname of interest.
There are now indexes for the 1800 through 1860 (and some 1870) in book form by state. Remember the printed 1790 had its self contained index. Never assume the surname is was spelled as you know it now. These indexes can be very helpful but bear in mind there are certainly a multitude of mistakes contained within them and they certainly not complete. Names were misread and occasionally skipped, and some of the basic index rules were not followed to the letter. Naturally 1800 - 1840 indexes contain only the head of household while the 1850 and later indexes also list a person who lived in a household with a different surname and sometimes the person at the top of the next page even if they have the same surname. This can be very helpful when trying to locate all family members as many times older children were hired out and living with friends, neighbors, and often relatives.
To find an individual name among the millions listed in the 1880, 1900, 1910 (Only 21 States were indexed in 1910, New York not included) or 1920 Census records you must use an indexing and filing system known as Soundex. The Soundex is a coded surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than the way it is spelled. In this way Smith, Smyth, Smithe, and Smit will be filed together allowing you to easily find a surname recorded under various spellings.
The 1880 Soundex was limited and only indexed families that contained children under the age of ten. If the child was not a child of head of house hold, he and the family were indexed on separate cards.
To search for a surname, you must work out the Soundex Code, which will consist of the first letter of the surname followed by 3 numbers. These numbers are figured according to the Soundex coding guide listed below.
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 the letters A E I O U W Y H
Most surnames can be coded using the following 4 steps. See the three special easy rules below that apply for surnames with double letters, letters side by side that have the same number on the Soundex Coding Guide, or surnames that have prefixes:
Step 1 On line 1, write the surname you are coding. Step 2 On line 2, write just the first letter of the surname. Step 3 On line 1, disregard the first letter and slash through the remaining letters A, E, I, O, U, W, Y, and H. Step 4 On line 2, write the numbers found on the Soundex Coding Guide for the first three remaining un-slashed letters Note: Since there must be three numbers, use only the first three code numbers in long names. Names that have less than 3 code numbers, simply add "Zeros" to the end to obtain your three numbers.
If your surname has double letters, they should be treated as one letter. Slash out the second "r" in the name "Burrows" and the second "l" in Lloyd.
If your surname has letters side by side that happen to have the same number from the Soundex Coding Guide, keep only the first letter and slash out the remaining side by side letters that have the same code.. Slash out the "K" and the "S" in the name "Jackson" It does not matter where the side by side letters are located. Even if the first two letters of the name such as "Pfister", the f would be slashed out.
If your surname has a prefix such as Van, Von, De, Di, or Le the Soundex Code should be figured both with and without the prefix because it might be listed under either code. (Mc and Mac are not considered prefixes)
Now that we have discussed what can be obviously be found in the various census returns, let us move on to the not so obvious.
In the census returns that show the birthplace of an individual and the birth place of the individual's parents, much circumstantial evidence is present as to the family structure. If it shows the mother of the household's place of birth as New York but the place of birth of some or all of the children's mother as Massachusetts, one can start making other assumptions as to how many wives the husband had and which children if not all might be from another marriage.
The presence of an elderly person in the household of the same surname might indicate a parent, aunt or uncle of the husband. If the surname is different, it might be a mother or father in law and watch out for remarriages of this newly found grandma before jumping to the conclusions that you have discovered a maiden name for the wife.
Always take note of the families nearby (census takers usually took the houses in order that they were situated) and also take note of any families that are housing one person of your surname of interest. The data you transcribe in doing this will very often reap rewards of family connections later down the line.
Take note of the places of birth of your family and the other families in the area with the same origins whether it be the same state or the same country. You will often find that people moved in groups or invited friends and relatives from their former home to join them.
Taking note of the places of birth of all the children can tell a story of family movement and judging from the length of time they lived in a particular area (perhaps 3 children were born in Vermont over a 10 year period) one can determine whether or not a search for a deed or other documents in that area would be worthwhile.
The education of a family can be determined from the number in a family who can read and write and if the children did or did not attend school.
The value of property and other monetary facts might give you a clue as to whether a will or other estate papers might be found. It could also help you determine whether they might be mentioned in a local history.
Beginning with the 1850 Federal Census and ending with the 1880, Congress authorized a listing of persons who died within the census year to be entered into a separate schedule. These 4 sets of records were turned over to the States in 1918-19 and those few states that did not want them had theirs sent to the National DAR Library who in 1980 turned them back over to the National Archives.
These are not on the same roll of film as the regular census records and must be consulted on either microfilm or in the location at the state level where they were deposited. NYS Mortality Schedules are at the State Library. The type of information typically found in Mortality Schedules is the name of the person, his age, sex, state of birth, month of death and cause of death. The 1880 schedules also included the state of birth of each parent of the deceased, but not their names.
Now that the good possibilities of census searching have been covered, it is equally important to look at the limitations and other downsides of this research tool. Due to the fact that federal census enumeration was not done until 1790, a large gap is open in American History and other records must be used for the colonial period. As before mentioned, earlier census records give far less information that those taken in 1850 and later.
Many families were missed completely and others listed twice during enumeration because of the length of time needed to take a complete census combined with the mobility of American families. Earlier censuses took 9 months to complete. In 1850 the time was reduced to 6 months and in 1870 it was further reduced to 1 month.
Many families that lived in multiple dwelling units were missed because the census taker did not know that a large house had more than one family. Schedules for certain census years are completely missing for some counties or even entire states.
Incorrect data was given to enumerators by family members. Anyone who has researched multiple census schedules for a particular family can tell you of the inconsistencies in ages, places of birth and other important data. It is often hard to tell whether the errors were intentional or not and who made the errors. Was dad's memory slipping? Did the enumerator not care or was he hard of hearing. Was the information given by a child home alone or did the neighbor supply the information. Perhaps an enumerator being paid by the number of families he counted deliberately list a family twice but changed the data slightly to make it look good.
Even though the census page you are researching was taken on a certain date, only the information for the census year was to be included. If a child was born on Aug. 2nd, the just before the census taker took the information, he would not be listed in the enumeration if the census date was June 1st. The census dates for various years are as follows: 1790 - 1820 First Monday in August; 1830 - 1900 June 1st; 1910 April 15th; 1920 January 1st; 1930 - present April 1st.
Do not stop with Soundex finds -- do look at the original record. Do not assume census indexes are correct or complete Do not assume spellings are as you think Do not assume relationships are exactly as stated Do not assume a wife is the mother of all or any of the listed children Do not assume ages listed are correct Do take note of all of your surname in the county and pay close attention to the neighbors of your ancestors Do study all possible census years for your family Do copy down all information from all columns and the top of page also Do believe that all census records are important -- even the earlier ones Do make use of the Veteran's column in the 1840 census Do use the 1890 Veterans ( and widows of Veterans) Schedules Do use the state census records Do not believe all census data to be true and correct Do study the enumerator's handwriting so you can make comparisons Do watch for families split onto two pages with the surname not repeated at the top of the next page Do try to find your ancestors in every census taken in their life time. Do check family histories and other sources of neighbors who might have come from the same state to locate a town of residence if you can not determine that information on your ancestor Do remember that when searching an entire town for ancestor, the town enumeration may be split and not be kept together on the film --- cities are often listed separately from the town they are connected with Do take note of real estate and personal property values to determine if a deed or will search is appropriate Do use maps in conjunction with your census searching Do search across state, county, and town lines if your ancestors lived near a border Do go back and look again at census records to see what you might of missed -- especially if you have learned of new surnames (maiden names) or other family connections Do consider typographical errors when using indexes -- know the keyboard and what letters could have been punched in by mistake.
The foregoing by courtesy of Daniel H. Burrows, reaching us by way of Barbara Bonham.
