Use census records in ancestry and genealogy immigration research.
Census records provide your research building blocks, allowing you to confirm the information and learn more. The following is an outline of the type of information
Using Census Records to Trace Immigrant Ancestors
Table of Contents
- Census Records Reveal Naturalization Records
- Federal Census…Population Schedule
- Other Resources to Help Trace Immigrant Ancestors
From 1790–1840, only the head of household is listed, along with the number of household members in selected age groups.
From 1850 to 1940, details such as the following are provided for all individuals in each household:
- Names of family members
- Ages at a certain point in time
- State or country of birth
- Parent’s birthplaces
- Year of immigration
- Street address
- Marriage status and years of marriage
- Occupation(s)
- Value of their home and personal belongings
- Crops that they grew (in agricultural schedules), or other occupation-related information
Census Records Reveal Naturalization Records
Census records help you to learn the following information about a person/family:
- Their movement over time
- Names and rough birth years
- Relationships
- Birthplaces
- Clues to the previous generation (such as birthplace)
- Street address
- Whether an individual was an enslaved person or an enslaver
- Occupations
- Another country of birth
- Other children who likely died young
- Year of immigration and naturalization
- Naming patterns in your family
- Clues to your family’s economic status
- Some clues about the persons’ education level
- Some clues to military service
- Some clues to medical conditions
- Year and place of marriage (or at least narrow it down)
- Employment status
- Exceptional circumstances, such as convicts and homeless children
- Native tongue
- Death dates (at least narrow down)
- Other potential branches of your family living nearby
Federal Census…Population Schedule
Federal census records provide the building blocks of your research, allowing you to both confirm the information and learn more. Since 1790, census “population schedules” are compiled every decade, detailed records of the federal government’s decennial survey of American households. The federal government uses information from the schedules for timely demographic analysis. The schedules themselves, of interest primarily to Genealogists, contain the personal information of the survey respondents. To protect the privacy of the people whose names appear in each schedule, census records are restricted for seventy-two years after the census is taken, not available to researchers during that time. I have prepared a series of census tutorials on how to search each U.S. Federal Census.
Essential censuses research guides
Click on any of the following years, and you will be taken to that years’ essential census research guide:
Other Resources to Help Trace Immigrant Ancestors
Are you developing a family history for an individual or family? Are you trying to find their immigrant origins? Start by seeing the articles
- 5 Steps to Finding Immigrant Ancestor Country of Origin
- Overcome Research Brick Walls to Find Ancestor’s Country of Origin
The following videos can help you get a head start in understanding immigration and country of origin ancestor research.
How to Find the Origin of Immigrants Coming to America
An introduction to immigration and migration historical research. You will be introduced to a five-step methodology to find the immigrant origins when conducting individual and family history research.
Addition videos include:
- What Records to Search to Discover Immigrant Origins-Part 1
- What Records to Search to Discover Immigrant Origins-Part 2
- How to Find Immigrants Real Surname and Life Event Dates
The following are records I have found extremely helpful and full of clues to finding an individual’s birthplace and immigrant origins. It is designed to provide a quick reference and direction of finding and searching for records as probable places to find information. You can use these records to develop an immigrant paper trail to assist you in finding and tracing an individual immigrant’s origins. Check out these articles:
Check out the following country profiles to learn more about their immigration and migration in America.
| Immigration and Migration in America | ||
| Czechs and Slovaks | Danish | Dutch |
| English | Finnish | French |
| German | Greek | Hungarian |
| Icelandic | Irish | Italian |
| Norwegian | Polish | Russian |
| Scandinavian | Scottish | Swedish |
| Welch | United States Western Migration | |
Articles include:
- British Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Scandinavian Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Western European Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Eastern European Immigration to America for Ancestry Research
- Western Migration in America for Ancestry Research
Learn more about immigrant records at “Immigrant Records at the National Archives.”
