Roundtable Recap - Census Records

The February 6^th Roundtable topic of census records was a nice refresher as most of us have used census records often in our research. The question of where to find census records elicited the common responses of Family Search, Ancestry, My Heritage, the National Archives (NARA), and a couple of suggestions for international census records – Find My Past and the Danish Archives.

The Family Search Wiki is an outstanding source for census information. A quick search there on the general term ‘census’ brought up pages of hits for both the United States and international records and information. Census records can also be searched at the Wiki by choosing a specific location first then picking Census from the Record Types list.

Did you know there was a federal census taken in 1885? This census was not mandatory, and the states of Florida, Nebraska, Colorado and the Dakota and New Mexico territories were the only participants. More information about this census can be found at The National Archives. The 1885 census included four schedules: population, agriculture, manufactures, and mortality.

Other general notes from the Roundtable:

If the census copy located at one site is poor, be sure to check other sites. The scan quality can vary between websites. Likewise, if your ancestor isn’t found in the index at one provider, check with another as their name might be mistranscribed at one site and not the other.

Do not make relationship assumptions, even for the censuses that include relationship to head of household. The adult male and female may or may not be the parents of all or even some of the listed children. Early deaths often led to additional marriages and blended households. The children could be a mix of full, half, or step siblings, cousins or other relatives, or even neighbor children taken in after an unfortunate event.

The 1880 census for St. Louis, Missouri, was enumerated twice, once in June and then again in November. City officials of that time were unsatisfied with the June enumeration believing the population numbers were too low and demanded it be redone. Researchers will find inconsistencies between the two enumerations.

Mortality schedules were taken along with population schedules during the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1885 censuses. People who had died June 1^st through May 31^st prior to the census year were included. Deaths were not always reported in the past, so the mortality schedules are helpful to researchers. If you are fortunate to have had an ancestor listed on a mortality schedule, you will find a wealth of information similar to what is found on current death certificates.

Some websites are more comprehensive than others. A good one to check out is One Step Webpages by Steve Morse.

A helpful tool mentioned during the Roundtable and listed on the handout is the Narrowing Birth Dates Calendar offered for free at Genohistory.

Always review the phrasing of questions asked for each census. They vary by census and make a difference in how to interpret and record the information found. The questions may be found at various websites. The handout provided for this Roundtable also includes these questions and much more information as well as links to helpful websites.

A key thing to remember is that census records provide clues for further research but should not be accepted as actual facts without further documentation.

The February Roundtable – Census Records video is now available, along with the detailed handout provided by our President, Barbara Coakley. Members of Genealogy Friends should check their email for the link. If you are not currently a member and are interested in joining, please see the Genealogy Friends website.