USING THE UNITED STATES CENSUS

United States Census Records are one of the easiest, and most enjoyable records to research. The United States government has taken a census of its population every ten years since 1790. The original version has the names of heads of households of the 13 original colonies. It has expanded over the last two centuries, to include much valuable information on families.

Finding the Right Census Record and Saving for Your Documentation

The United States Census has been microfilmed and copies of these films are available at the National Archives and at libraries around the county. But it is becoming less and less necessary to resort to microfilmed census records. Most larger public libraries today subscribe to the AncestryPlus.com databases, and a pricey subscription for home computers is available as well. You can search by surname and year of census. When you find the correct record, you can print-screen and save a copy of the image to MSPaint, or paste into MSPowerpoint. You can save the image as a .jpg in MSPaint to the computer desktop, and email as an attachment to yourself at home either the image or a sucession of images as a MSPowerpoint presentation. You can print then print these on your home computer if you want a hard copy, or cut and paste them into any article you want to type up about your family.

Start Your Research With the 1850 Census

After 1840, a lot of detail was added, including names and ages of all family members. Each census contains slightly different information. By 1900, birthplace of the father and the mother was included. Sadly, however, all that was often recorded was the name of the state or foreign country where the parents were born; with no clue as to what part of that state or country the person came from. However, the 1850 census does give a good picture of the family in America at a particular place and time.

How to Use Census Records

The 1900 and 1910 Census are the easiest to use because they are indexed. This index is called The Soundex, because it is based on the sounds of any particular surname. The 1900, 1910 and the 1920 are the latest available, because of a 72 year privacy rule. The 1930 Census should be available sometime 2002. A large percentage of the 1890 Census was destroyed in a fire and is not available for most localities.

Understanding the Soundex Index to the U.S. Census

A lot of information on the Census is contained in the Census catalogs available in most libraries. If you can't get online census records, then use the soundex to find the correct microfilm copy. Be sure to study carefully the explanation of the Soundex system, used to locate individuals. A code gives each sound, and no matter how it is spelled, the same number has all similar sounds. Driver's license numbers often begin with the same code. For example, Centanne is given the code C535, for the sounds C,N,T,N. Any name with a spelling that uses these consonants in this order will be filed with Centanne. The Soundex was developed for the Census during the Great Depression, when the Government had the WPA make the indexes on 3x5 cards. It is useful for census microfilms, but not really necessary for online census images.

The Soundex to the Census is also available on microfilm and both can be ordered from the National Archives, or rented from public and LDS libraries. They can also be viewed at the National Archives, in Washington, D. C., and National Archives Branches in several major cities across the country.

Be Careful About Accuracy

Not all of the indexes are correct, for the handwriting of the Census takers was not easy to read. Information given to Census workers wasn't always accurate. Ages of those not present were often guessed, Sometimes, a woman has lied about her age or about the number of children she has. All of the children living with her may not necessarily be ones she actually gave birth to. She could be raising adopted children from friends or family members who died young.. Even though the Census taker came every ten years, a woman may only state her age as 5 or 7 years older than the last Census.

Another problem is ancestors who could not speak English, and did not really understand the Census takers questions. When my husband's grandfather was listed on the 1910 Census, the names were almost correct, but in the wrong order. Thus, Rosario Centanni was recorded as Ross, Centanni and his wife Agatha Trippi Centanni was recorded as Ross, Trippi. Of course, the index to these names would list them with the Ross families, and Ross was only the husband's nickname. Luckily, the family address was known ahead of time from a death certificate, and the index was not needed to find this record.

Ordering the United States Census Microfilms

If you need to resort to the microfilm copies, the Census microfilms can be ordered from several places. The National Archives sells them for over $20.00 a piece. They are sometimes owned by public libraries where you can view them for free. They can also be ordered at some public libraries for about $5.00 for two weeks. The films can also be ordered from LDS Family History Center libraries.-

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• Table of Contents
  
• Collecting Family Documents

• Documents at Home
• Vital Records
• Government Records

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This page updated April 29, 2008

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