The Mighty Census -- Proceed with Caution!

Every genealogist and family historian is familiar with the Federal Census.  It is a snapshot, freezing time, of one particular moment in the lives of our ancestors.  Depending on when the census was taken, you can see their occupations, who is in school and who isn’t, where they were born, how many of their children are still alive and if they own a radio.  The census is a wealth of information and is every researcher’s dream come true…right?? Eh, maybe.  While the census is a valuable tool, there are hidden pitfalls in relying on it too much.  It should be used as a starting point for your other research, but should never be taken as gospel.   

How about a little history?  The census was started in 1790 as a tool for taxing the citizens.  Census takers would go door to door and get the name of the head of the household along with a count of how many people that were in the household broken down in general age categories and whether they were free white or slaves.  Between the years of 1790 and 1840, that was about all the information the census provided.  Starting in 1850, after the government realized that this was not that bad of an idea, they started listing everyone in the household by name.  Information was gathered on each person including their age, gender, occupation, place of birth, marital status and if they could read and write.  Each decade the census would glean more and more information, building profiles of citizens.

Still don’t understand why the ‘proceed with caution’ jibe….

**Census takers were local citizens who went door to door getting the information from the different households.  They were only human.  If there was no one home when they came knocking, they might get the information from a neighbor, or a child that lived down the street.  The information on the census reports may not have come from anyone who actually lived in that household.  The informant could be wrong about the information, but it is still preserved for posterity and for research.

**Ages and places of birth could be second hand knowledge or educated guesses.  If the census taker asks the wife how old her husband is, she may not have known the answer.  She might know that he is older than her, so she makes the best guess possible.  As for his place of birth and where his parents were born, that is also possibly a guess.  Even if they knew the parents were born in a European country, borders changed so frequently that what was Poland, may now be Germany or Austria.  The same holds true for the states…borders changed in the early history of our country.  What might have been Kentucky is now West Virginia or Tennessee. 

(Of course, you can be like my great-grandfather and just lie outright.  He is listed on Indiana censuses as being born in 1855 in Canada.  Truth is, he was born in 1853 in Cornwall, England.  The family emigrated to Canada in the 1870’s, but by no stretch of the imagination was he born there.  He also made himself 2 years younger – perhaps a mid-life crisis going on there.)

**Ages can be off a year or so in the census schedules because of the month and day the census was taken.  Was it taken before or after the person had a birthday for that year?  Be sure to check the date at the top of the census sheet to see the day and month it was taken and take that into consideration when calculating ages.

**Census takers did not have it easy.  Depending where they were enumerating, they had to deal with heavy accents and people who might not speak English.  They had to enter the information phonetically, the way they heard it said.  This language barrier also went a long way in causing some of the errors you will find in the census schedules.  Eliza might be Elizabeth, J.T. might be James Thomas or Joseph or John.  My father was listed as Clyde in the 1920 census of Kentucky.  That was his middle name, his first name was James.

So, if there are so many ways this can be wrong information, why even use it?  Because it is a wonderful starting point.  If you find your family in the census, you know where they are and when they were there.  It is an exciting snapshot into how they lived. 

You can use the census to track birth, marriage and deaths.  How?...I’m glad you asked.  If your Aunt Mabel was in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses, but was not in the 1930 census, and Uncle Fred is listed as a widower, this gives a timeframe of when she died.  You can now look at mortality schedules (if they are available), death certificates, death registers, cemetery records, etc. to pinpoint her death date.  Same with a birth.  If a child shows up on a census when they weren’t there a decade ago, you have a timeframe to check for their birth records.  Also, many censuses will ask married couples how long they have been married or their age at the time of their marriage.  Here again, the census gave you the timeframe to look for records to support or disprove the information it gave you.

You can use the census to give you an idea of when your immigrant ancestor came to the United States.  Starting with the 1900 census, it asks for information about naturalization or the year they came to the U.S.  By using this as an estimate, you can begin searching for their immigration records.  You can also use the censuses to track the movement of your family from decade to decade.  Did they stay in the same general area, or did they pick up and move to another region that may have better opportunities?

If nothing else, it is a fascinating look into their lives, occupations, salaries and if they had a radio set in their home (1940 census actual question).

So where can you find censuses?  In the old days, before internet, we would go to a library and spend hours viewing page after page of censuses on microfilm.  Now we can search most of them in the comfort of our homes or public libraries.  Paid sites, such as Ancestry.com and Fold3 have digital images of census schedules we can look at.  (Don’t forget to check if your library has Ancestry.com available for free).  Heritage Quest can be used at many libraries, or if you have a library card, you may be able to use it in the comfort of your own home.  You can always rent microfilm through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  They will send it to your local Family History Center or a public library close to you.

Don’t limit yourself to just the Federal Census Schedules.  Many states had state censuses (usually fell on the year ending in 5) that provide a wealth of information to start researching.  Also many states had mortality schedules to track the people who died after the previous census.  There were slave schedules released in 1850 and 1860, and a Veterans Schedule in 1890. (The 1890 census was almost totally lost in a fire with very little information remaining.  The Veterans schedule may help fill in some of the blanks.)  There was also an 1880 Schedule of Defective, Dependent and Delinquent Classes.  (This was before the age of political correctness.  These were citizens that were listed as blind or senile, etc.)  There are also Indian (Native American) Census Rolls between 1885-1940.

Don’t give up on using the census, it can be a wonderful tool to start your research.  Just be aware of some of the pitfalls that it may contain.

I would like to recommend a great book to help you understand the Census and learn about using military records.  The title is (drum roll, please) “Mastering Census & Military Records” 3^rd Edition by W. Daniel Quillen.  He has written a series of books for genealogy and I think you will find him an enjoyable and informative author.

Until next time,

Happy Hunting!!