Where to find 1850-1940 Censuses Clues overview.
The 1850-1940 Censuses have been extremely valuable in helping me create extensive and complete profiles of individuals and families through generations. As a result of the censuses, I have been led to other records and research that has made my role as researcher and writer very fun, interesting, and thoroughly engaging. This article will provide you glimpse into what you can expect to find in the 1850-1940 censuses.
Table of Contents
The following topics help to outline what you can expect you find and how to use the 1850-1940 Censuses.
- Information You Will Find
- Clues You Can Find
- Where You will Find Clues
o Where to Find Clues in the 1850-1900 Census Records
o Where to Find Clues in the 1910-1940 Census Records - How to Build an Identity Profile
Information You Will Find
What information will you find in the 1850-1940 Censuses?
From 1790-1840, only the head of household is listed, along with the number of household members in selected age groups. Beginning in 1850, the name of every household member was recorded, along with their age, color, occupation and place of birth. As other censuses were taken, additional questions were added.
From the 1850 census, the names, ages, occupations and birthplaces (country or state only) of each member of a household were included.
The 1870 census gave, in addition to previous information, the month of birth if born during the year, the month of marriage if married within the year, and whether the father or mother of each individual was foreign-born.
The 1880 census (and later censuses) added two valuable pieces of information: the relationship of each person to the head of the household and the birthplace of the father and mother of each person.
The 1885 census was a special census, with population and mortality schedules conducted by the federal government to help five states or territories — Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, New Mexico and the Dakota Territory.
The 1890 census was largely destroyed by fire in 1921, and only fragments of it are available.
The census 1900 and 1910 asked the questions on the 1880 census, including the age of each individual, how many years he had been married, his year of immigration, and his citizenship status. The 1900 census also gives the month and year of birth. For mothers, it lists the number of children born and surviving. The 1910 census identifies Civil War veterans.
The 1920 census includes the same information as was found on the 1910 census. It gives ages but not the month and year of birth. It also lists the year of naturalization, the only census to do so.
The 1930 census asks questions on the 1920 census and asks for marital status and, if married, age at first marriage. If the individual was an American Indian, it asks whether they are full-blooded or mixed blood and tribal affiliation.
The 1940 census included several standard questions: name, age, gender, race, education and place of birth. But the census also introduced some new questions. The instructions ask the enumerator to enter a circled x after the name of the person furnishing the information about the family. It also asked whether the person worked for the CCC, WPA or NYA the week of March 24-30, 1940, and asked for their income for the 12 months ending December 31, 1939.
The 1940 census also has a supplemental schedule for two names on each page. The supplemental schedule asks the place of birth of the person’s father and mother; the person’s usual occupation, not just what they were doing the week of March 24-30, 1940; and for all women who are or have been married, whether this woman had been married more than once and age at first marriage.
Clues You Can Find
What clues can you find in the 1850-1880 U.S. Censuses?
Whether you are doing individual or family research connecting generations or (filling out family group sheets in a genealogy software program) or family history (getting to know your individuals and families), either a federal or a state census can be your best friend. Let’s take a closer look at what you will find in the 1850-1880 U.S. Federal Censuses.
Census Firsts. The following are the firsts for the 1850-1880 censuses.
- 1850 was the first census to list all living in the household; it listed those alive on June 1st, not listing those born after June 1st. The first census to use steel-tipped pens instead of quill pens.
- 1860 was the first census to list the value of personal estates.
- 1870 was the first census to list former slaves by name.
- 1880 was the first census to list relationships, months unemployed, and whether sick on the day of enumeration; street addresses were given.
Names
It may or may not be spelled as you spell it, depending on the nationality of the enumerator. If you cannot find the name in an index, try another index. The written index published in books (at the State Archives) has a 5% error rate. Workers created Ancestry.com’s index in the Orient, so they may have up to a 15% error rate, as they are unfamiliar with some of our names. If one member of the family had an unusual first name, search on that. If you cannot find your individual in an index and are sure they were there, read the films looking for them.
Occupations
Occupations are great! If an individual was a farmer, check in the agricultural census. If they had a different occupation, they might be listed in the industrial census for that year. Couple this with either real estate or personal value to gain further insights into an individual’s life.
Migration Patterns
Where was an individual born? Their spouse? Their parents? Their children? Answering these four questions from 1880 or three questions from the 1850-1870 census will help you establish an individual’s migration pattern, as well as a possible marriage place. Look at neighbors for 3 or 4 pages on either side of an individual’s entry to see if there are similar patterns. These could be relatives, kinfolk (distant relatives), members of the same church, etc. People tended to travel in groups.
Disabilities and Death Enumerations
What was politically correct a hundred years ago is often not politically correct now. If there is a social enumeration available for your county that year, read it to find more clues to community life. More clues can be found in the mortality index for the county. Did an epidemic sweep through the county within the last year? Use the complete enumerations (on film or Ancestry.com) to see the county.
Voting Problems
The only ones who could vote in 1870 were males over the age of 21. This particular question was asked on the census to identify problem areas to the government, mainly in the Southern states.
Using Census Enumerations as Documentation
If using the census as documentation, try to find your family in at least three census enumerations. Compare the information and note the differences. Which is correct?
Looking at the Community
Were there relatives in the community? Who did an individual do business with? Where did his children find their spouses? Is it an ethnic community? If so, what language did they speak at home? When was the community founded? What records were available? What disasters had the community weathered? How had wars affected the community and its records?
Do a case study of an individual’s community
By using the occupations listed in the census, you should be able to find further records. Many grocery, dry goods, and hardware stores did almost all of their business on credit. It is incredible how many of these account books are available.
Further the study by using town and county history books. Many of these contain early photos, as well as information about individuals.
Was there a military unit in the community – look for their history. These are available for about every unit used in the Civil War, many online. Go to a search engine, type in the unit’s name plus the word’ history,’ and see what comes up. The Adjutant General of each state holds the records for state military units. Check to see if they have a web page containing information, or write to them.
What churches were in the community? Are their records available? The book, The Source lists religious repositories that hold many records from the mid-1800s. Sometimes the nearest university holds these records in their special collections.
The funeral home and physicians records are often found at the local universities or the State Archives. Check the catalogs of the archives to see what other records are available.
Many older newspapers are available digitally online now.
Where You Will Find Clues
Where will you find clues in 1850-1940 Censuses?
This section will find an overview of some of the essential clues you will find in the 1850-1940 Censuses. In addition, I have created a chart that will help you know in which census to find topic-related information.
The earliest census records contain information on people born well before the American Revolution. In contrast, the 1940 schedules — the most recent ones open to public inspection — contain information on many still living people. Using these records, a researcher might conceivably trace a family line from a living person down to an Ancestor born more than 250 years ago.
Where to Find Clues in the 1850-1900 Census Records
The following chart outlines the topic-related information you will find in the 1850-1900 census records.
| Name & Personal Description | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Names of all individuals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Relationship to the family head | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Color | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Age | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Year of birth | Yes | ||||
| Month of birth | Yes | ||||
| Month of birth that year | Yes | Yes | |||
| Place of birth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deaf, blind, insane, idiotic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Marital Description | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Married that year | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Marital status | Yes | Yes | |||
| No. of years present marriage | Yes | ||||
| Month of marriage that year | Yes | ||||
| Number of Children | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Number of children living | Yes | ||||
| Mother how many children | Yes | ||||
| Education | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Attended school that year | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Highest grade completed | |||||
| Read or write | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Months attended school | Yes | ||||
| Real Property | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Value of real property (Land) | Yes | Yes | |||
| Owned or rented home/farm | |||||
| Owned property with mortgage or mortgage free | |||||
| Value of home or monthly rental | |||||
| Real estate value | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Personal estate value | Yes | Yes | |||
| Military Service | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Revolutionary War Veteran | |||||
| Civil War Survivor | |||||
| Military Service | |||||
| Immigration & Naturalization | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Year of immigration to USA | Yes | ||||
| No. of years in USA | Yes | ||||
| Male citizen over 21 years | Yes | ||||
| Male over 21 denied vote | Yes | ||||
| Naturalization status | Yes | ||||
| Year person naturalized | |||||
| Foreign-Born Parents | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Father of foreign birth | Yes | ||||
| Mother of foreign birth | Yes | ||||
| Father’s birthplace | Yes | Yes | |||
| Mother’s birthplace | Yes | Yes | |||
| Occupation | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1900 |
| Profession or occupation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No. of months unemployed | Yes | Yes |
Where to Find Clues in the 1910-1940 Census Records
The following chart outlines the topic-related information you will find in the 1910-1940 census records.
| Name & Personal Description | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Names of all individuals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Relationship to family head | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sex | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Color | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Age | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Year of birth | ||||
| Month of birth | ||||
| Month of birth that year | ||||
| Place of birth | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Deaf, blind, insane, idiotic | Yes | |||
| Marital Description | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Married that year | ||||
| Marital status | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No. of years present marriage | Yes | |||
| Month of marriage that year | ||||
| Number of Children | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Number of children living | Yes | |||
| Mother how many children | Yes | Yes | ||
| Education | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Attended school that year | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Highest grade completed | Yes | |||
| Read or write | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Months attended school | ||||
| Real Property | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Value of real property (Land) | ||||
| Owned or rented home/farm | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Owned property with mortgage or mortgage-free | Yes | Yes | ||
| Value of home or monthly rental | Yes | |||
| Real estate value | Yes | |||
| Personal estate value | ||||
| Military Service | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Revolutionary War Veteran | Yes | |||
| Civil War Survivor | ||||
| Military Service | Yes | |||
| Immigration & Naturalization | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Year of immigration to USA | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| No. of years in USA | ||||
| Male citizen over 21 years | ||||
| Male over 21 denied vote | ||||
| Naturalization status | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Year person naturalized | Yes | |||
| Foreign-Born Parents | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Father of foreign birth | ||||
| Mother of foreign birth | ||||
| Father’s birthplace | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mother’s birthplace | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Occupation | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 |
| Profession or occupation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No. of months unemployed |
How to Build An Identity Profile
Can I build an identity profile about individuals using the 1850-1940 Censuses?
Yes. The identity of an individual is more than a name. When I am researching and writing about individuals, I use the U.S. Federal Census extensively to help me build individual and family profiles and locate information about them. The U.S. Federal Census does not provide all the information I want. But it gives me a great start.
When I am building an identity profile, I will try to include every known detail of their life, including information about the individual, their relationships, and their origin.
Begin by targeting your research location
Search for any document created during the time the individual lived. Ensure you understand the circumstances under which every document was created, continually comparing, contrasting and questioning details.
From this analysis, you will be able to do the following:
- Build a profile about the individual. This is not just about collecting birth, marriage and death data. Consider all aspects of their life that make them unique: their name, education, occupation, religious and civic associations, social and financial status, precise locations of residences, personality traits, and signature. Next, place the individual in their family, neighborhood and cultural context. Search for and identify individuals from the same place and time who have the same name and sort their identities.
- Learn about their relationships. Relationships are proven by linking people through known interaction, the proximity of where they lived, common ownership and patterns of migration, naming and so forth. Knowing these things will give you a fuller picture of life and provide ideas for sources to find additional records.
- Determine their origin. Origin can be established from statements and documents associated with the person and by identifying associates and family migration patterns.
Learn to analyze the documents you find
The first time I searched my mother’s vital records (birth, marriage, divorce and death records), I copied names and dates and put the records aside. When I re-examined her vital records several years later, I found more than 50 data points instrumental in learning about my ancestral lines. I’ve learned a series of questions that helps me analyze and extract available source information. The questions include the following:
- What is the source citation of this document?
- Is this an original document or a derivative?
- Where did the document originate?
- When was the document written?
- Who is the primary individual listed in the document?
- Who are the other individuals named in the document? What are their roles?
- What relationships are stated?
- What is the purpose of the document?
- What information is directly stated within the document (such as dates or places)?
- What information is implied (indirect) by this document?
- What information is not stated (name of wife, names of children and so on)?
- When was the document recorded?
- Who had jurisdiction over the document then? Who has current jurisdiction over the document?
- What hints are contained within the document, suggesting additional research?
