Secrets of the U.S. Census

We were excited to see another good turn out for our second meeting on February 28th. It's a great bunch of people sharing information, ideas and tips.

We have a good mix of people with different levels of experience. The folks that are new to genealogy have an opportunity to learn and ask questions, and those who are more experienced can offer up their hard-earned advice on searching for ancestors.

This month we discussed the "Secrets to Maximizing the U.S. Census in your Research."

The following is the information we discussed on using the U.S. Census records in order to get the maximum amount of information from it. Click here for a "printable version."

#1 - VIEW THE ORIGINAL RECORD – By looking at the image of the original U.S. Census record you will be able to gather a lot of additional information about your ancestor:

The 1850 census provides:

* The names of all family members (this will help you build a family group).

*    The state or country your ancestor was born (this will lead you in the right direction when        searching for additional records).

*      Indicates if your ancestor couple were married that year (this may help you find a marriage record). 

*      Indicates the value of real estate owned by an individual (this may lead to additional information in property records, as well as a family cemetery on their homestead).

The 1860 census provides:
*     Personal Property (including slaves).

The 1880 census provides:
*      The relationship of each person in that family to the head of household (this will help you verify the family from census to census, especially when a spouse has remarried).
*    The birthplace of the father and mother for each individual listed (this will provide a different state where your search will go, or the foreign country where they emigrated from).
*      Whether the individual was sick or temporarily disabled (this may indicate that a death is near).

The 1900 census provides:
*      The number of years a couple has been married (this will give you a time frame in which to search for a marriage record)
*      The month in which an individual was born (this will be helpful when searching for birth or baptism records).
*    Lists the total number of children born and the total living.

The 1910 census provides:
*      Information on the military service of an ancestor in the Union or Confederate Army or Navy (military records can be found if your ancestor served).
*      If the marriage is a first or second one (if it’s a 2^nd marriage you will want to check the birth dates of children to ensure the right line).

Links to see what other information is available on the various census forms:

Family Search Census Page

High Point Checklists & Census Forms

#2 - BUILD A FAMILY GROUP – Start your census search with the 1850 Census. It is the first census that lists all members of the family. Check all subsequent censuses as this will give you an idea of births and deaths in the 10 years between censuses.

Include names of all family members (siblings, too) listed on the census to your family tree. This one simple step will help you verify that you have the right family when researching other Census years. It also may be helpful when you run up against a “brick wall,” and you’ll need to research a sibling’s life in search of the country where the parents were born.

#3 - DON’T DISCOUNT MISSPELLED NAMES – Assuming that a family is not yours because their surname is spelled differently is a common error. The education of yesterday was not at all like now. In rural areas it was considered a good education if they stayed in school until the eighth grade. That goes for census takers, too. Sometimes the census taker was lazy or couldn’t spell and used initials. They may have provided both initials, and that second initial may be helpful to differentiate between cousins and their correct parents.  Names could be spelled a dozen different ways and still be the same family (Ex: Estis, Eastis, Eastus, Eastuis, Eustis, Euctus, Eastuce, Ewastas and Ewastus). You might find the same members of the family in the same county spelled it differently, and it most likely might be the fault of the census takers. In addition, sometimes they used a middle name instead of a first name, and the names may have flip flopped from census to census. This is another reason why “building a family group” will help you in your research. Names might also be spelled differently in the same family’s documents (i.e. wills, marriages, etc).

Note: When families immigrated to the U.S., they wanted to be Americans so they “Anglicized” their names: Johanna might become Ann, Wilhelm became William, Gerritt became Garrett, Franco became Frank, Antonio became Anthony, and so forth. This can change from one census to the next.

#4 - DON’T DISCOUNT THE AGES LISTED - Ages are a tricky item on Census records. Not all censuses were taken on the same day every 10 years. The dates of the censuses are: 1790-1820: First Monday in August – 1830-1900: June 1 – 1910: April 15 – 1920: January 1 – 1930-1940: April 1. This will impact the ages listed which many times will differ from census to census. It seems easy to remember your age, but there may be several reasons why your ancestor gave a wrong age. Just because the age is off 2 to 5 years doesn’t mean it’s not your ancestor. The ages listed on the censuses will help narrow a time frame for a birthdate. Referring to your ‘family group’ will assist you in determining if it is your ancestor.

#5 - VIEW THE NAMES OF ALL PEOPLE LISTED AS LIVING WITH YOUR ANCESTOR IN EACH CENSUS – You may discover that the elderly parents of your ancestor is living with them. This is a great way to discover another generation back. You may also find nieces and nephews which will provide a circle of family surnames to assist in your research down the road.

Neighbors should also be checked, especially if a father has died and his children inherited his land. The mother may not own the land, but has retained dowry rights to live on the land.

#6 - TRACK THE MOVEMENT OF AN ANCESTOR – Some folks remained in the same place once they immigrated, but others did not. By looking at every available census taken during your ancestor’s lifetime, and taking note of the area they lived will help you track their movements. Telephone directories and State Census’, which occur in between the Federal Censuses will also help you track their movements and know where to search for records. Note: the person may not have moved at all, but the county/state line may have moved, so your ancestors could now be listed in a different location even though they are living in the same home.

#7 - LOCATE ADDITIONAL FAMILY MEMBERS – Immigrants usually traveled in groups. Your 2^nd-great grandparents may have traveled to the new world along with their parents and/or the wife’s parents.  Or, your ancestor may have traveled with an adult brother. Search the entire census page, as well as one page back and one page forward for similar surnames. This information may prove helpful down the road in tracking your ancestor down.

#8 - DISCOVER THE EVERYDAY or NICKNAME USED BY YOUR ANCESTORS – People generally provided a shortened version of their birth name or a nickname to the census taker. You may discover that these names show up on other records in lieu of their birth name. Sometimes these names can vary quite a bit from their birth names (Ex: My great-grandmother Frances Regina only used her nickname of Maud on all records. Another ancestor shortened her name from Seraphine to Seraphe).

#9 - ESTIMATE THE PERIOD OF TIME AN ANCESTOR DIED – Your great grandmother might show up on a future census listed as a widow. Now you will know the time period in which to search for a death record for your great grandfather and most likely, in what city if they are still located in the same place. If not, you will have two locations in which to search for his death record.

#10 - TRACKING WOMEN ANCESTORS – The Biblical ‘thing’ about women came from the fact that when you married, you became part of your husband’s family. You left your parents and “cleaved to your husband.” Once they were married they took on the husband’s surname. Sometimes this can become a “brick wall” that will give you fits. Marriage records will be one of the best resources for tracking women. A lot of families didn’t bother to document their women as well as they did their men.

When husbands and wives died, it was not unusual that the remaining spouse remarry within a very short period of time. It seems heartless at times, but they had children to rear and families to support. Often times it was a necessity. You might find a different wife in three subsequent censuses. Sorting the children is the difficult part, but an important one to ensure you’re following the right line. The 1900 census lists the year of the marriage of the present couple. It also includes information on how many children the wife had and how many were living.