Searching Census Records Part 1

In our last blog, we gave you some tips for using Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. This week, we begin our series on the U.S. federal census. The census is the most widely available primary sources available in genealogy research. The first United States Census was done in 1790 and has been completed every 10 years since that time. The most recent census available for public access is 1940. The census is only released to the public 72 years after it is taken. This means we expect to get the 1950 census in 2022, and we are super excited!!!! The census is a tremendously helpful document. As it does now, the census serves to record all living persons in a particular area. It tells you the state, county and district and on what day the census was taken. In later years, the street name is provided. 

From 1790 to 1840, only the head of household was listed by name. Other occupants were identified by number of people of a particular gender and age range. Starting in 1850, additional household members are listed by first and last name. We also get their age, marital status, race, gender, employment status and literacy. 1880 is the first year that relationship to the head of household is listed specifically. Prior to this, you may see a man and woman in the same household and assume they are married, but can’t be certain. 

If I can find a family in multiple census records, I can see how their family has grown and if they’ve moved. As parents age, it’s not uncommon to see them show up in the home . If people are widowed or divorced, they may end up living with other relatives. You never know who you’re going to find. Not only can you find some interesting people like aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and in-laws in the house, you may find them living next door. It’s very important to look at the actual image of the handwritten census document. If you can  get past the handwriting, it can be very telling to see who is living in the households around your family. Often times when a couple marries, they stay close to one or both of their families. 

When it comes to race, it was up to the census taker to determine a persons race. They did this based on appearance, the community and also the social political climate of the time. For example, in 1930, anyone mixed race person with some black blood was classified as negro. This same year, any mixed race person with some indigenous blood would be classified as Indian. People were not allowed to choose their race until 1960. 

Just from one document, I know where my ancestor lived, who they lived with, when they were born, where their parents were born, what they did for a living and if they could read and write!  This is a lot of information, so I’ll stop here.  We will continue this series next week with some of the common inconsistencies in census records.