Facts, Tips, and Tricks for US Census Research
by Erin Bradford
Hi all!  Below you'll find a list of my tips and tricks, as well as helpful facts, about US Census research.  For the most part, this is done by year, but the beginning is a short introductory to census research and then generalized census tips.  If you have one that is not on this page, by all means, send it to me!  Good luck everyone!

Introduction:
Census records are probably the number 1 tool used by genealogist, and for a good reason.  Census records list the locality (at least at the state level) of the ancestor.  Earlier census records listed only county and town and sometimes just the county.  Not only that, but some of these records were put in alphabetical order rather than by the order of households visited.  Later census records are the best source of census information that gives more specific locality.  Starting with the 1850 census, whole households were listed rather than just head of the household, so more of a sense of order came to census records (more about this later), and households were listed in the order visited rather than alphabetical.  The closer the record is to present day, the more information on locality given.  With census records from the 1900's, it becomes commonplace to see households broken down by street and sometimes even the house number was give for each household.

Not only do census records provide a locality for ancestors, but they can help to straighten out a family line (or confuse them even further!).  For instance, say you have an ancestor named Peter Black, for example, who was alive in 1850.  If you perform a quick index search of 1850 census records, you could end up with a list of a dozen or more hits.  If you know where Peter lived in 1850 you can narrow it down.  If you know he lived in the cwest/central part of Illinois, you can narrow it down to the county level if you know what counties are located there.  If you know what county he lived in, say Vermilion Co., IL, then you can start your search there and if it's not him, spread out a little bit.  For earlier census years, before everyone in the household was listed, this can actually make it more difficult to find your ancestor.  An example is David Bradford.  In the mid 1700s, there were approximately 3 David Bradfords in North Carolina.  This can be confusing to some.  For David, 2 of them are listed in the same county, so how do you tell which is your line?  For this, you need to have an idea when your David was born and then compare the ages to the approximate ages in the census record.

1790:

States Available: CT, ME, MD, MA, NH, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT


1800:

States Available:  CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT
1810:
Occupation
In 1810, census takers were instructed to get information regarding manufacturing. However, since they were not told what questions to ask, the information collected varied widely.

Clues about livestock may lead to personal property tax records, kept by the county treasurer, county auditor, or equivalent official.

States Available:  CT, DE, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT

1820:
Immigration and Naturalization:
The 1820 census reported the number of "Foreigners not naturalized" in each household.  Although this does not specify which person(s) in the household were aliens, this clue should tip off the researcher Unfortunately, however, there are relatively few ship passenger lists (immigration records) before January 1, 1820, when the Federal Government began requiring such lists to be presented to collectors of customs.
 
 

Occupation:
    The 1820 census reported the number of persons in each household who engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing.
Although not all farmers owned land or livestock, but if household members were listed in agriculture, it is worthwhile to check for deeds and mortgages in the county recorder's office, and for real and personal property tax records kept by the county auditor, county treasurer, or equivalent official.
    If household members engaged in manufacturing, the researcher should examine NARA microfilm publication M279, Records of the 1820 Census of Manufactures (there are 27 rolls).  According to the instructions given to the census takers, persons engaged in manufacturing included both employees in "manufacturing establishments" and "artificers, handicrafts men, and mechanics whose labor is preeminently of the hand, and not upon the field." The manufacturing census schedules in M279 include information about:

    Three considerations need to made.  First, a person listed as a manufacturer in the population census may not be included in the 1820 manufacturing schedules in M279.  Second, a household may include only persons "engaged in agriculture" according to the population census, yet have a manufacturing schedule in M279.  Third, persons who are not listed as head of household in the population census may have a manufacturing schedule in M279.

States Available:  CT, DE, DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MS, NH, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA

1830:
Immigration and Naturalization:
Like the 1820 census, the 1830 census reported the number of "ALIENS--Foreigners not naturalized" in each household.   As with the 1820 census, this should tip off research to search immigration records, and later naturalization records.

States Available:  AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC,
                              OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA

1840:
Military:
The 1840 census asked for names and ages of "Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services, Included in the Foregoing [Household]."  Pensioners included both veterans and widows.  This information about pensioners should lead the researcher to Revolutionary War military service and pension records.  The pension files, which are especially useful, have been reproduced in NARA microfilm publication M804, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (2,670 rolls).  Military service records are also available on microfilm; for more information see listings for Record Group 93, War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, in Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996), which is available through NARA.  Since elderly persons usually resided with kinfolk, the pensioners' presence in these households should be a clue that the pensioner may be related to someone in the household.
 

Occupation:
The 1840 census reported the number of persons in each household who were employed in:

States Available:  AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MS, MO, NH, NJ, NY, NC,
                              OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VT, VA, WI
 
1850:
Marriage:
The 1850 census indicate whether the person had married within the year.  "Within the year" means during the year before the official census day, that is, between June 1, 1849 and May 31, 1850, for the 1850 census as the official census day was June 1, 1850.

States Available:  AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO,
                              NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI

1860:
Marriage:
Like the 1850 census before it, the 1860 census indicates whether the person had married within the year.  In this case, "Within the year" means between June 1, 1859 and May 31, 1860 as the official census day was June 1, 1860.

States Available:  AL, AR, CA, CT, Dakota Territory, DE, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN,MS, MO,
                              NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI

1870:
Birth:

Marriage:
Like the 1850 and 1860 censuses, the 1870 census indicates whether the person had married within the year.  In this case, "Within the year" mean between June 1, 1869 and May 31, 1870 as the official census day was June 1, 1870.
 

Immigration and Naturalization:
The 1870 census has a check mark for "Male Citizens of the U.S. of 21 years of age and upwards."   This can be especially helpful if the person was a foreign-born citizen because this means he become naturalized by 1870.  This can help narrow down the dates to look for naturalization records for this person.

Another clue to help with figuring out when a line came to the United States, the 1870 census have check marks if the person's parents were "of foreign birth."

States Available:  AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, Dakota Territory, DE, DC,  FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI,
                              MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

1880:
Birth:
The 1880 census indicate the person's parents' birthplaces.

Marriage:
Like the 1850-1870 census, the 1880 census indicates whether the person had married within the year.  In this case, "within the year" means between June 1, 1879 and May 31, 1880 as the official census day was June 1, 1880.

States Available:  AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, Dakota Territory, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI,
                              MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

1885:  Believe it or not, there was actually an 1885 Federal census conducted, but only a few states were listed.

States Available:  CO, Dakota Territory, FL, NB and NM
 
1890:
 
Please visit NARA's site to learn more about the fate of the 1890 census


1900:
 

Birth:
The 1900 census indicate the person's parents' birthplaces.
 

Marriage:
The 1900 census gives the number of years of marriage for each married person
 

Immigration and Naturalization:
The 1900 census reports the person's year of immigration to the United States. This information can help in locating a ship passenger arrival list.

Related to immigration, the 1900 census indicates the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.

States Available:  All states

1910:
Birth:
The 1910 census indicate the person's parents' birthplaces.
 

Marriage:
The 1910 census gives the number of years of marriage for each married person
 

Immigration and Naturalization:
The 1910 census reports the person's year of immigration to the United States. This information can help in locating a ship passenger arrival list.

Related to immigration, the 1910 census indicates the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.

States Available:  All states and Puerto Rico

1920:
Birth:
The 1920 census indicate the person's parents' birthplaces.
 

Immigration and Naturalization:
The 1920 census reports the person's year of immigration to the United States. This information can help in locating a ship passenger arrival list.

Related to immigration, the 1920 census indicates the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.

States Available:  All states and Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico,  and the Virgin Islands.
 

1930:
The census day was April 1, 1930

A total of 32 questions were asked of each household,  including 4 that were new.  The new questions were as follows:


Another interesting tidbit is that only 12 southern states were soundexed, and in some cases, only part of the state was soundexed.  Below is a list of states (and counties if a partial state) have a soundex available:

A great source is this site at NARA, all about the 1930 census and how to search the census.
 
 

Birth:
The 1930 census indicate the person's parents' birthplaces.
 

Immigration and Naturalization:
The 1930 census reports the person's year of immigration to the United States. This information can help in locating a ship passenger arrival list.

Related to immigration, the 1930 census indicates the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.
 

States Available:  All states


1940 and on:

You won't find these census records in the archives or Family History Centers.  Law stipulates that census records will not be made available until 72 years after the census.  Why 72 years?  Although I haven't found any specific information on this, I suspect it has to do with the life expectancy.  If that is the case, in the future, this time might be extended if the US life expectancy continues to rise.  Below are the dates that the next censuses will be released:
Below are related links:

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