Locate and access census records in the digital age
Understand and work with United States census records
Discover the history of the English, Scottish, and Irish censuses
Learn more about the census in Canada
Locate information about censuses in other places
Gain access to census records
Among the most important records that exist for confirming the presence of an ancestor at a particular place at a specific point in time are census records. A census is defined as an official count of a population carried out at regular intervals. Censuses have been taken for many centuries in many countries and territories. Enumerations of populations were conducted for purposes of taxation, determination of legislative representation, analysis of trends in population growth and movement, and other planning purposes.
Census records are the documents most frequently used by genealogists, and their use continues to accelerate and grow. This is especially true with the availability and expansion of Internet-based databases containing digitized census document images and searchable indices.
We are going to focus on the available census records in the United States, the British Isles, and Canada in this chapter. Unfortunately, early Australian census records have been destroyed by the government and no known copies exist.
Certainly other countries have taken censuses at various times and, if you are interested in learning more about them and accessing extant records, you can use your web browser to locate archives and other repositories in which the records may be located. Other census indexes, transcriptions, and images may be accessible at various websites. For example, Ancestry.de at http://www.ancestry.de, the German genealogy subscription database, contains some German census records (Volkszälung) such as the image shown in Figure 6-1.
FIGURE 6-1 A German 1900 census record
In order to access census records for various locations and time periods in earlier times, genealogists had to visit an archive and tediously work with original census books. The 20th century saw the microfilming of many census records by respective countries’ governments. In addition, the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS) sent photographic teams across the world, beginning in 1938, to locate, access, and photograph records. This included census documents. Their photographs were placed on microfilm, and these films were available at the LDS library facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah, and through rentals at LDS Family History Centers throughout the world. Indexes to some censuses were prepared, as you will learn in this chapter. Some of these indexes were published in book form for researchers’ use in libraries and archives. Others were published in microform format, and some of these were published on diskettes and CD-ROMs. With the arrival of the so-called “digital age,” microfilmed census documents have often been digitized and the images placed online in databases. Those databases have often been indexed for rapid access.
As great as that all sounds, you will not always find that entire countries’ historical census record images have been captured. We are fortunate that most of the extant original census documents for the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada were preserved and microfilmed over time. The governments of these respective nations are prohibited by privacy laws from making census records accessible to the public until proscribed time periods have passed. The United States has a 72-year privacy law, for example, and the most recent federal census records available to the public at this writing are from the 1940 census. (The 1950 census records will not be available until 2022.) The most recent available census for England and Wales is the 1911 census. The 1901 census is the most recent available for Scotland. The most recent available Canadian census dates from 1921. In recent years, the microfilmed census documents have been digitized, indexed, and placed online at such sites as Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca), Ancestry.co.uk (http://www.ancestry.co.uk), Archives.com (http://www.archives.com), FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com), findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com), MyHeritage (http://www.myheritage.com), and the Library and Archives Canada (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca).
The digitization and indexing of these census records, however, does not mean that literally everything is available online. Some documents have been misplaced, damaged, and/or intentionally destroyed. In other cases, some of the microfilmed census documents may not have been digitized yet. This means that you may sometimes find gaps that may confound your research, and you may need to seek out alternate records to verify that your ancestors were in a specific location at a particular point in time.
Other countries’ census records may exist in fragments, and these may or may not have been microfilmed and subsequently digitized and placed on the Internet. You may be able to locate census records that have been placed online by using your favorite web browser and searching for the name of the country and the word census. I suggest using Google Translate (https://translate.google.com) to translate the word “census” into the native language for the searches, and even use the name of the country in its native language. Here are some examples:
France census: France recensement
Germany census: Deutschland Volkszählung or Deutschland zensus
Another possible help would be to use the Google search engine for the particular country whose census information you want to find. There are more than 150 different country versions of Google. For example, if you were searching for German census records, you might use the German version of Google at http://www.google.de. You can then review the search results for a specific time period. You can determine in advance the years and locations in which census enumerations were conducted by visiting the FamilySearch Wiki and searching for “German census.” The wiki will include, in many cases, links to existing websites at which you might find descriptions, extracts, and even indexed census images. You can visit the site at http://www.checkdomain.com/list.html to obtain the two-letter Internet country code/domain name. While Google does not have a version of its search engine for every country, you can try entering http://www.google.[xx] (where xx is replaced by the country code) to see if there is a version of the Google search engine for that native country.
As we discuss census records, be aware that they can be a source of primary information to help establish a person’s location in a specific place at a certain point in time. Even that is suspect at times, as you will see. All other information on a census document should definitely be considered secondary information, and should be verified and corroborated with other evidence sources whenever possible. Some of the reasons why this information may be secondary include
• Names entered on the census forms may have been nicknames or diminutives of first names/forenames. Initials may also have been used.
• The census enumerator may have misheard the response to the question or entered wrong information.
• The respondent at the residence may not have known the information.
• The respondent may have misremembered details about events that occurred many years ago, such as years married, age at marriage, age or birth date, year of arrival in the country, whether naturalized, or other data.
• The enumerator may not have interviewed a member of the household, but instead asked a neighbor about the family.
• There may have been errors introduced in transcribing data from the original copy of the census schedule to second and perhaps third copies.
These are the primary reason that we find errors and misinformation in census records. Therefore, it becomes important to verify the data with other sources of evidence. Keep this in mind as you work with census documents, and maintain some skepticism about possible secondary information.
In the United States, the federal government has taken censuses every ten years, beginning in 1790 and continuing to the present. (A federal census was taken in 1885 for five states and territories and was intended to supersede the results of the 1880 census for those areas. Refer to Table 6-1 further in the chapter for the 1885 census and the areas affected.) A number of state and territorial censuses also have been conducted periodically, and these can supplement your use of federal census records in American research. In addition, Native Americans on reservations were enumerated every year from 1885 to 1940.
TABLE 6-1 U.S. Federal Censuses, Number of Copies, and Disposition
Prior to 1790, a few of the original 13 colonies performed partial or complete enumerations of citizens for their own purposes. Some of these records still exist and, in order to locate them, it is a good idea to contact the respective state archive or state library to determine what might have been created, what might still survive, and where to locate the materials. Online sites for digitized images of U.S. census records include Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Archives.com (http://www.archives.com), FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com), Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com), HeritageQuest Online, and MyHeritage (http://www.myheritage.com). (Please note that HeritageQuest Online is a database that is only available to libraries as an institutional subscription.) Not all census documents have been digitized, however; some may be available only in original paper records at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA at http://www.archives.gov) or in a microfilmed format.
The United States Constitution, which took effect on 4 March 1789, established the taking of a national census on a regular basis. Article I, Section 2 specifically called for a census to be taken every ten years. Direct taxation of the population to support the federal government’s operation was to be based on census information. The Constitution stated that each free person counted as a whole number, including those bound for service for a term of years, and that free males would be taxed and could vote. Indians living on treaty land were excluded from direct taxation and voting. Other, non-free persons (slaves) were to be counted as three-fifths of a free person for legislative representation. An Indian who joined the white population was to be considered a “free person” and could vote. The entire text of the Constitution is available at the Library of Congress’ website at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental and an extensive article about the Constitution is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_states_constitution.
Federal censuses have been taken every decade from 1790 through 2010. An official Census Day was established for enumerators to ask questions “as of” that date. The official United States Census Day for each census is shown here:
The enumerators, or census takers, were given a deadline by which time they were to accomplish their work, instructions to follow, and a set of questions to be used. Census forms for the 1850 to 2000 censuses are available at the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) website of the Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota, located at http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/tEnumForm.shtml. The enumerators’ instructions for the 1850 through 1950 censuses can be found at http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/tEnumInstr.shtml. Refer also to the website at http://usa.ipums.org/usa/voliii/tQuestions.shtml for only the questions for 1850 through 1950 and for both the questions and the instructions for the 1960 through 2000 censuses.
Assistant marshals of the U.S. judicial districts performed the earliest census enumerations, from 1790 through 1870. At the time of the 1790 census, there were 16 federal court districts. These represented each of the original 13 states and Vermont, which was included in the first census even though it didn’t become a state until 1791. The 2 additional districts comprising the 16 represented the area of Virginia that became Kentucky and the area of Massachusetts that became Maine. These marshals performed the census enumerations in addition to their ordinary duties. They were poorly paid for their work and often had to purchase paper, pens and ink, horse feed, and other supplies with their own funds. They had little incentive to do a good job. They sometimes erred in the areas in which they were assigned. When they failed to reach the state and county boundaries they were assigned to enumerate, or when they enumerated past these boundaries, the result was either omitted residents or duplication of other marshals’ enumerations. During these decades, Congress provided funding for the enumeration time period and a subsequent tabulation only. This funding was appropriated in the Congressional session prior to the enumeration year.
It is important to note that the early federal census forms from 1790 through 1840 contained only the names of the heads of household, with the other members of the household represented numerically in categories organized by age, gender, and race. Figure 6-2 shows an example of the 1820 census, which recorded this type of enumeration.
FIGURE 6-2 The 1820 U.S. federal census contained only the names of the heads of household and included numerical counts of persons by age group, gender, and free or slave status.
The first central Census Office was established and opened in 1850 in Washington, D.C., with the purpose of centralizing the coordination of the taking of a decennial enumeration. It was not until the 1850 census that the names of all persons within a household were listed. When the enumeration by the marshals was complete, the documents were sent to Washington and the final tabulation and reporting was performed. When these activities were finished, the office was disbanded and all census activity was discontinued until preparation for the next census. The same process was used for both the 1860 and 1870 censuses.
A Congressional act established and provided funding for a permanent Census Office beginning with the 1880 census. That year marked significant changes to the U.S. federal census process in a number of ways. For the first time, the assistant federal marshals were removed from the process. The Census Office hired employees to conduct the enumerations, devised formal Enumeration District maps and descriptions of the areas to be enumerated, revised the enumeration instructions, and revised the census forms (or census schedules, as they are called).
The most common of the federal census documents is the Population Schedule, a sample of which from 1880 is shown in Figure 6-3. These and other schedule documents are discussed next.
FIGURE 6-3 An 1880 U.S. federal census Population Schedule for Floyd County, Georgia
The 1880 census marked another significant change in the Population Schedule. While the 1850 census called for the names of all inhabitants to be listed on that document, the 1880 census required that each inhabitant’s name and their relationship to the head of household be included. This is a very important addition for genealogists. Table 6-3 at the end of this chapter defines for each federal census each of the census forms, or schedules, used for each enumeration year, and what information can be found on each schedule.
I mentioned earlier that errors might have been introduced during the transcription of information from the original census forms to copies. It is therefore important to know that there have been requirements for different numbers of copies to be made of the original documents created as part of the census enumeration process. From 1790 through 1820, the enumerators provided their original copies to the district court by which they were employed. As part of this process, the states sent only summary data to Washington, D.C., and kept their original census documents. The summaries for 1790 through 1810 were destroyed during the War of 1812 when the British burned Washington, D.C.
In 1830, Congress passed legislation that required the states to send all pre-1830 original documents to Washington, D.C. Some states had lost or destroyed their originals. Some states complied with the federal order while others, unfortunately, sent nothing or only partial documentation. As a result, you may find that no census materials exist for certain states for certain years, or that only incomplete records exist.
If you examine Table 6-1, you will notice that for census years 1830 through 1885, copies of the original census schedules for each state (not summaries) were sent to Washington, D.C., and not the original documents, which were kept by the states. It is important to note that for 1790–1820 the census schedules that ultimately ended up in the possession of NARA are the originals returned by the states as a result of the 1830 legislative directive. Documents submitted for the 1830 through 1885 censuses were transcribed copies of the original documents completed by the enumerators. The copies are transcriptions and, by their very nature, are prone to the possible introduction of transcription errors. In the case of the 1870 census schedules, a transcription of a transcription was actually sent to Washington. That doubled the possibility of the introduction of transcription errors. The census documents sent to Washington for all subsequent enumerations were originals.
All of the digitized U.S. documents that you find online for the 1790 through 1930 censuses at sites such as Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Archives.com (http://www.archives.com), FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com), findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com), HeritageQuest Online, and MyHeritage (http://www.myheritage.com) were produced from microfilmed images of the NARA documents. All of those census documents were microfilmed in the 1930s as part of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) assignments. The 1940 census documents were never microfilmed, and they were digitized directly from the census schedules before their release to the public in 2012. Therefore, whenever you work with census images on microfilm and in online databases, remember that the “copy censuses” may be prone to a higher error rate than the originals because some are transcribed copies of the original schedules. Transcription errors may have been introduced.
The census Population Schedule is the most comprehensive of the U.S. federal census documents, and contains entries for each household. The completeness and accuracy of the enumeration was, of course, dependent on the quality of the work performed by the enumerator, the answers provided by the respondent, and any transcription work done to generate a copy or copies.
Certainly there are omissions in any census. This can be the result of an enumerator missing a residence for whatever reason. An important strategy for every genealogist when working with census records is to locate the family you are researching in one census, and to make note of three to six other families on either side of your family. The reason you will do so is to create a reference group for researching other census years. If you find your family in one census and cannot locate them in the next, check any indexes for that census and look for the neighbors next to them in the previous or subsequent censuses. If you can find the neighbors but your family is not there, there are four possibilities:
• The enumerator omitted or skipped your family’s residence.
• Your family was not home, or refused to participate, when the enumerator called.
• Your family moved.
• Your family was deceased, which is more probable when there was only one family member at that location or if the family members were elderly at the time of the previous census.
Another important strategic consideration is that families who lived next door or close to one another, especially in the earlier times, may have intermarried. A check of marriage records in the area may reveal a marriage between families, in which case your “missing” family member may have relocated to live with the newly married couple. I have found numerous examples in my own family ancestry in which a husband died and the wife relocated to live with a son or daughter and their family. Don’t be surprised to find a mother-in-law living with her daughter and son-in-law, and even buried in their cemetery plot.
Perhaps the best advice I can give you when doing your genealogical research is to learn how to misspell your family members’ names. Heaven knows, they misspelled them and so did the other people who created records about them. Consider the many spellings of the surname of SMITH. There are SMITH, SMYTH, SMYTHE, SMIT, SCHMIT, SCHMIDT, and even extended spelling versions of the names such as SMITT, SMITTY, SMITHERS, and many more. One of my ancestors, John Swords, has military service and pension records from the Revolutionary War filed under the spellings of SWORDS, SOARDS, and SORDS, and that doesn’t include several other errors in indexes other people have prepared. You can prepare yourself for your research in any type of records by considering the spelling of the surnames, and even the given names, and by preparing a list of alternate spellings and possible misspellings. Using the list, make sure you look for these spellings in census indexes and schedules, or any other records of genealogical importance. By doing so, you can avoid missing records for your own family. Remember, too, that the people who index the digital census images may have introduced errors. The enumerator’s handwriting may have been unclear or the indexer may simply have misspelled or omitted a name.
The enumerations for the U.S. federal census were scheduled to be performed every ten years. Following the 1880 census, however, some states and territories complained that there had been errors and that their populations had been undercounted. As a result, they argued that their congressional representation that was based on census population data had been compromised. Congress agreed that it would share 50 percent of the cost with any state or territory desiring another census enumeration. Only five states and territories took advantage of this federal offer and, in 1885, a special census was taken for these areas:
• Colorado
• Dakota Territory (only a part survives)
• Florida (four counties missing)
• Nebraska (two counties missing)
• New Mexico Territory (four counties missing)
Ancestry.com has digitized and indexed the surviving 1885 federal census documents. Each of these areas’ documents are titled as a state census even though the federal government paid half of the expense and the format forms were identical to those used by the 1880 federal census. The only differences were in the header, which stated that this was an 1885 census, and that the enumerations were performed in June of 1885.
You should be aware that a number of states conducted their own censuses halfway between the federal enumerations. Some of those were done in addition to the federal enumerations of the five areas listed previously. We’ll discuss state censuses a little later in the chapter.
The 11th census of the United States, taken in 1890, was different from all others before or since. The Population Schedule included information on only one household per form. It also included a special Veterans and Widows Schedule on which Union soldiers, sailors, and marines, or their surviving widows, were to be enumerated. Again, Congress only financed one copy of the census documents, as it did for all later censuses. States or counties wishing to obtain a copy for their own records would have had to pay for a transcription for their own files. There is no known request having been received for a state or county copy. All original copies of the census documents were sent to the Census Office.
The federal government, recognizing that the tabulation of the 1890 census schedules would be an enormous job, called for a competition to be held for a mechanized method of processing the data to be collected. Herman Hollerith, who had been working on data entry and tabulation machines for a number of years, entered and won this competition. His system utilized punch cards created by use of a manual keyboard resembling a telegraph key. Clerks were able to process an average of 700 cards per day, after which tabulators tabulated an average of 2,000 to 3,000 families per day. As a result, there were over six million persons counted by Hollerith’s machines in a single day!
Once the census was complete, the original documents were placed in cartons and stored. In 1896 or 1897, the Census Office destroyed all but the Population Schedules and the Union Veterans and Widows Schedules. The Population Schedules were stored in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C., and the Veterans and Widows Schedules were stored on an upper floor. Around 5:00 P.M. on 10 January 1921, a fire broke out in the basement of the building. Records that were not destroyed by flames had been inundated with water from the firefighters’ efforts. The documents were relocated to another storage location but, unfortunately, no salvage was ever performed on the documents. The entire remainder of the 1890 census was destroyed in either 1934 or 1935.
The 20-year gap in census records between 1880 and 1900 can seem, at first glance, devastating to your research. However, there are other types of records that can be used as a substitute for this lost census. You will need to use some creativity and refer to reference resources that still exist. These include
• City directories
• Jury rolls
• Voter registration cards and lists
• Land and property records, including plat maps and tax lists
• Newspapers and journals
The primary type of census document used by the U.S. federal government is the Population Schedule. As we have discussed, the amount of information requested and entered on the Population Schedules varied over time. All surviving documents that were created through 1930 and that were accessioned to NARA have been microfilmed and are available from NARA in Washington, D.C., and at many of NARA’s regional branch locations. In addition, copies of the NARA microfilm are available through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (LDS) Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, and can be ordered for use in the LDS Family History Centers (FHCs) around the world. Many have also been made available at Ancestry.com and other online genealogy database sites. Additional schedule forms were used at various times, and these include the following types of schedules:
• Slave Schedules Used in 1850 and 1860 to determine the numbers, vital statistics, and living conditions of slaves. The slaveholder’s name, number of slaves, the slaves’ age, gender, and color are listed (B = Black; M = Mulatto). Columns are also included for: Fugitive from the State; Number manumitted; Deaf & dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic; and Number of Slave houses (this last column was used only in 1860). The slaveholders’ names can be cross-referenced to the Population Schedules on which they were listed. (See Figure 6-4.)
• Mortality Schedules Used in the 1850 through 1885 censuses to determine how many persons died in the 12 months prior to Census Day, their vital statistics, duration of illness, and cause of death. (See Figure 6-5.)
• Union Veterans and Widows Schedule (also titled as Special Schedule, Surviving Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, Etc.) Used in the 1890 census to enumerate the Union veterans of the U.S. Civil War and widows of Union soldiers. (This is the only substantial surviving fragment of the 1890 census.) The upper portion of the document identifies the name, company, and rank of the veteran, and the name of the regiment or vessel. It includes the dates of enlistment and discharge, and the length of service. The lower section of the document includes the post office address, disability, and any pertinent comments. (See Figure 6-6.)
• Agricultural Schedules Used in the 1840 through 1880 censuses to determine what agricultural activity was being conducted (farming, ranching, forestry, mining), the value of the land and agricultural output, and production in some key products. These can be used to determine the location and size of an ancestor’s land holdings, the commodities in which he was engaged in producing, and the livestock he owned. They provide detailed context of your farming ancestor’s life. Many of these agricultural schedules for some states are available at Ancestry.com in a database collection titled “Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850–1880” at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1276. The information varies from census year to census year, but the detailed data provides a keen insight into the activities on the property in the year prior to the census date. This can provide you with contextual information about your farming ancestor and the family members and their lives at that time.
• Industry and/or Manufacturing Schedules Used in the 1810 through 1910 censuses to determine the industrial and manufacturing activity and output, value of products, and other data. Many of these schedules have been lost or the federal government intentionally destroyed them. Images of the surviving schedules are mostly poor quality. Some of these schedules for some states are available at Ancestry.com in a database collection titled “Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850–1880” at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1276.
• Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes Schedules Used only in the 1880 census. This was a seven-page document that was completed when the enumerator received a response about one of these types of persons on the Population Schedule. The enumerator could also, through personal observation, make an entry onto the appropriate schedule form for one of the seven classes as defined as follows:
• Schedule 1 Insane (included persons in asylums or living at home)
• Schedule 2 Idiots (included mentally handicapped persons living in institutions or at home)
• Schedule 3 Deaf-mutes (included persons in schools or living at home)
• Schedule 4 Blind (included persons in schools or living at home)
• Schedule 5 Homeless children (in institutions such as orphanages and residential church schools)
• Schedule 6 Prisoners (included persons incarcerated in jails or prisons)
• Schedule 7 Paupers and indigent persons (included persons living in workhouses, almshouses, and the homeless)
Some of these schedules for some states are available at Ancestry.com in a database collection titled “U.S. Federal Census - 1880 Schedules of Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes” at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1634. Other schedules for other areas may be available on microfilm from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Social Statistics Schedules Used in the 1850 through 1870 censuses. Important information about towns, counties, or states can be gleaned from these schedules. They include information that can be used as a resource to locate specific types of institutions in these years, and trace any surviving records. They include
• Real estate values and taxes
• Colleges, academies, and schools
• Crops
• Libraries
• Newspapers and periodicals published
• Churches, affiliation, number of people the building will accommodate, and value
• Fraternal organizations and lodges
• Pauperism, crime, and average wages
FIGURE 6-4 Portion of a 1860 Slave Schedule for Iredell County, North Carolina
FIGURE 6-5 Portion of a Mortality Schedule from the 1860 U.S. federal census for Springfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts
FIGURE 6-6 Upper and lower portion of a Union Veterans and Widows Schedule
The U.S. Indian Census Rolls were taken for Native Americans every year from 1885 to 1940. They were prepared and submitted by Indian agents or superintendents in charge of Indian reservations. There is not a census for every tribe or every reservation for each year. Only those persons who maintained a formal affiliation with the tribe are listed on the rolls. In the later years of 1935, 1936, 1938, and 1939, only supplemental information was included on the census documents. In particular, only additions and deletions were recorded. The content on the other census rolls typically included the name of the Indian agency or reservation, the name(s) of the tribe being enumerated, and the date of enumeration. The name of each individual (Indian and/or English) is listed, along with the person’s gender, age, birth date, relationship to the head of the family unit, marital status, and possibly other details. In later years, the degree of Indian blood may also be listed. Family groups are typically listed together. (See Figure 6-7.)
FIGURE 6-7 Page from an Indian Roll for the Cheyenne from 1920
In addition to all the census schedules, beginning with the establishment of the Census Office for the 1880 census, the area to be canvassed by each enumerator was more clearly defined. The Census Office designated what were known as Enumeration Districts, or EDs. These were defined and represented with textual descriptions and/or ED maps to define the boundaries for each group of enumerators reporting to a district supervisor. Figure 6-8 shows the ED map for a portion of Detroit in the 1930 census. The enumeration districts defined on ED maps sometimes coincided with political areas or voting precincts, but not always. ED maps exist for federal census areas from 1880 through 1940, and are accessible on microfilm published by NARA. These microfilms can be used at all NARA facilities and the Family History Library. Ancestry.com has published the digitized U.S. Enumeration District Maps and Descriptions for 1940 at http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3028.
FIGURE 6-8 1930 Enumeration District map showing an area of Detroit, Michigan
Earlier in the book, I told you about the importance of maps in your research, and provided you with a strategy for using maps to find the right place to locate your ancestors and their records. The censuses can provide you with another opportunity to use different types of maps. An ED map is helpful if you know your ancestors’ address and where in the area that address is situated. Once you know the ED in which your ancestors and their family members lived, you greatly improve your chances of quickly locating the right census page(s) to find them, even if the surname was misspelled. There are other resources you can use to help you with this:
• City directories are name and address listings published on a fairly regular basis in towns and cities, and were used to help people locate one another. Some of these directories include both individual persons and businesses.
• Telephone directories, like city directories, can be helpful in locating addresses. The first telephone directory published in the United States dates from 21 February 1878 in New Haven, Connecticut. The first British telephone directory was published on 15 January 1880 in London. The local public library in the area may have copies of all directories that you can access.
• Land and property records, which we will discuss in a later chapter, typically include deeds, indentures, tax rolls, lien papers, and other records indexed by name for easy location by the property clerk, tax assessor, and other government officials. These can provide the names and addresses of the owners, and the governments’ maps of property for taxation purposes can be compared with ED maps to help quickly establish a family member’s location.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps were used in the United States to clearly document urban areas for property and casualty insurance purposes from 1867 until about 1970. These maps, such as the example shown in Figure 6-9, provide street-by-street details concerning the buildings, the materials used in their construction, the use of the building, and other information. Additional maps of subareas provide extensive detail down to the actual shape of an individual building and its construction materials. Sanborn maps of some commercial sites even show interior layouts. You can use a Sanborn map in conjunction with directories and land and property records, and compare it against an ED map in order to quickly home in on an ancestor’s census records.
FIGURE 6-9 One sheet of the 1913 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Gainesville, Florida
Many public and academic libraries may have printed and bound copies of Sanborn maps in their collections covering their respective areas. The Digital Sanborn Maps 1867–1970 database is distributed as an institutional subscription database by ProQuest, LLC. Environmental Data Resources, Inc. or their affiliates hold copyrights for Sanborn Maps. You may therefore want to check with the libraries to determine if they provide access to the maps of an area that you might like to research and/or to the database.
Some of the Sanborn maps published prior to 1923 may have been digitized and placed online by various entities. (Materials published in the United States before 1923 are typically no longer covered by copyright laws, and are considered to be in the public domain. However, please make sure that you read and understand any copyright statements that appear on these websites so that you do not infringe on any copyrights.)
Indexes to the 1790 through 1870 federal censuses are available for most states in book form and can be found in many public libraries with genealogical collections and in academic libraries with genealogical and governmental documents collections.
Online subscription databases offering access to U.S. federal census indexes include those at Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com), Archives.com (http://www.archive.com), FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com), Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com), HeritageQuest Online, MyHeritage (http://www.myheritage.com), and through many libraries and archives. At the time of this writing, no online service provides access to every census schedule type or to all of the ED maps. These online database services provide links to actual census Population Schedule document images. Ancestry.com provides additional indexes for the 1885 federal census enumeration conducted in and for the five states and territories mentioned earlier and in Table 6-3 at the end of this chapter.
William Thorndale and William Dollarhide’s book Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790–1920 (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1987; reprinted 2007) is an excellent resource for locating places in the correct state and county for each of the U.S. federal censuses. There were also some censuses taken in colonial times, which may have been documented and/or microfilmed by state archives. (These maps are available as part of the HeritageQuest Online database via the Census Browse function.) Ann S. Lainhart’s book State Census Records (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1992; reprinted 2008) is a valuable reference on this subject. Three other excellent books regarding the U.S. federal censuses are William Dollarhide’s The Census Book: A Genealogist’s Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes (Heritage Quest, 1999), Kathleen W. Hinckley’s Your Guide to the Federal Census for Genealogists, Researchers, and Family Historians (Betterway Books, 2002), and Loretto D. Szucs and Matthew Wright’s Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records (Ancestry Publishing, Inc., 2001).
Federal census records for the years 1790 through 1930 were microfilmed decades ago and are available through your nearest LDS FHC. These censuses’ microfilm has been digitized and indexed and made available at multiple sites on the Internet. As mentioned before, the 1940 census was never microfilmed but was digitized directly from the original paper documents. That means that the surviving records from the 1790 to 1940 censuses’ schedules, with a very few exceptions, are accessible online.
U.S. census records from the 1950 and later U.S. enumerations are protected through the Privacy Act and are not made publicly available for 72 years.
Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com) has compiled the most complete online indexes for the U.S. federal censuses to date and has digitized a majority of the surviving census schedules. These are available through Ancestry.com’s U.S. Discovery, World Explorer, and World Explorer Plus paid subscription collections, or through Ancestry Library Edition, the institutional database subscription accessible at many public libraries and archives. Ancestry.com’s collections include Population Schedules, Slave Schedules, Mortality Schedules, Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Schedules, some Agricultural Schedules (1850 through 1880), some Industrial/Manufacturing Schedules (1850–1880), some Social Statistics Schedules (1850–1880), the Indian Censuses (1885–1940), and the Enumeration District Maps (for 1940 only). Figure 6-10 shows the result of a search at Ancestry.com in the 1930 census records, and you will note a link to view the actual census page for this person.
FIGURE 6-10 Partial search result record from the 1940 U.S. federal census for Franklin D. Roosevelt and his family from Ancestry.com with a link to the census image
ProQuest has digitized the federal census Population Schedules for 1790 through 1940, and made them available through access to its HeritageQuest Online databases. Searchable indexes are only available at the time of this writing for census years 1790 through 1820, 1860 through 1920, 1930 for only Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia, and 1940. HeritageQuest Online is only available by institutional subscription, and you will find that many public libraries have subscriptions. As a library cardholder for one of those libraries, you may be able to remotely access the HeritageQuest Online databases from your home computer.
FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org) is, at the time of this writing, in the process of digitizing and indexing its extensive microfilm records. The U.S. federal census Population Schedules for 1790 through 1940 are complete as of this writing, as are the Slave Schedules and Mortality Schedules of 1850. More records are expected to be available in digital form with indexes over time.
MyHeritage at http://www.myheritage.com, findmypast at http://www.findmypast.com, and Archives.com at http://www.archives.com also provide access to U.S. federal census records.
In addition to the federal censuses, at certain times a number of the individual states have conducted their own census enumerations. These most frequently occurred halfway between the decennial federal enumerations—in other words, at the half-decade mark. These records, many of which have been microfilmed and are stored at the respective state’s archive or library, can provide evidence of the presence of your ancestor or family member in a particular location. Some of these microfilmed censuses have been digitized, indexed, and placed online as databases at Ancestry.com and elsewhere.
Ann S. Lainhart compiled an authoritative reference titled State Census Records, which details which states conducted their own censuses, and in what years, whether the records have been microfilmed and/or indexed, and where the original records reside. The book, because it was published in 1992, does not list Internet sites at which digitized images and indexes of state census records can be found. One way of locating such digitized records is to use your favorite Internet search engine. Enter “state census” followed by the name of the state. If the state name contains two words, enclose those in quotation marks. Here are two examples:
“state census” iowa
“state census” “new mexico”
If you happen to know a specific year in which a state’s census was taken and you want to search for details about that, you may add a year to the end of your search terms. For example, I entered the following search:
“state census” florida 1935
I was rewarded with search results that provided information about Florida’s state censuses (and voter lists), beginning in 1845 when Florida became a state and continuing every 10 years through 1945. I learned which censuses are complete, and which ones are fragmentary. Multiple links to websites provided me with research paths to continue my searches.
The first modern census in Great Britain was taken in order to determine the makeup of the population and its activities. There had been a period of poor harvests and food shortages. A substantial number of agricultural workers also had joined the military services and therefore could not be involved with working the land.
The Census Act 1800 (41 George III, cap. 15) was enacted and called for a full population enumeration of England, Wales, and Scotland beginning in 1801. The act also called for an enumeration to be conducted every ten years thereafter. A census has been performed ever since, with the exception of 1941, when all government funding and activity were directed toward the war effort.
In order to determine the livelihoods of the citizens in the 1801 census, questions were asked that elicited responses to help divide the population into three categories: those involved with agriculture, those working in manufacturing and trade, and those engaged in other types of employment. The population of England and Wales in 1801 was almost 9 million, and the population of Scotland was a little over 1.6 million. No names were requested, although a few officials did include names in their documents. The questions asked in 1801 included
• How many inhabited and uninhabited houses are located within the parish, and how many families live in the inhabited houses?
• How many persons are living in the parish, how many are males, and how many are females? (Military personnel and seamen in military service or on registered vessels were not to be included.)
• How many persons are involved with agriculture, with manufacturing or trade, with handicraft, or in other types of employment?
• How many persons’ baptisms and burials have there been within the parish in 1700, 1710, 1720, 1730, 1740, 1750, 1760, 1770, 1780, and in each subsequent year up through 31 December 1800, and how many were there of each gender?
The process of conducting this first census was extensive. Standardized forms were distributed to all households and were to be completed based on persons in a residence as of the census night, 10 March 1801. (See Table 6-2 for census dates.) The information was gathered by enumerators and attached to a copy of the Census Act 1800, and the enumerators presented the documents to a high constable or other officer and swore an oath as to the accuracy of the information. The returns were gathered by the official, endorsed, and submitted with a list of the names of the enumerators to a town clerk or clerk of the peace. The returns were then summarized into statistical reports, which were then submitted to the Home Office by 15 May 1801.
TABLE 6-2 Census Enumeration Dates for British Censuses 1801–1911
TABLE 6-3 U.S. Federal Census Records Content, 1790 Through 1940
A similar format with comparable questions was used in the 1811, 1821, and 1831 enumerations. In 1811, a question was added to determine why a house was unoccupied. In 1821, a question was added to elicit ages of men in order to help determine how many men were able to bear arms. It was also in 1821 that Ireland was first included in the census, and its population at that time was calculated to be over 6.8 million. The 1831 census included more-detailed questions concerning economic conditions.
The 1841 census was the first to record the names of the inhabitants, their gender, and their age (the person’s age was rounded down to the lower five-year increment for persons over the age of 15), and therefore is the earliest British census used by most genealogists and family historians. In addition, these census documents were sent to a central government location for tabulation and reference. For that reason, they were preserved and it has been easier to access and digitize the documents.
The 1851 census included those persons living on vessels in inland waters or at sea (including the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy). In addition, persons serving abroad with the armed forces, those working with the East India Company, and British subjects residing overseas were enumerated.
Between 1861 and 1891, there were few changes in the format and questions asked on the census. The most important additions from a genealogical perspective, however, were the addition of questions concerning the languages spoken. This question was added for enumeration in Scotland beginning with the 1881 census and for the enumeration of Wales beginning with the 1891 census. It is shown in the last column on the example census form in Figure 6-11.
FIGURE 6-11 1891 census form created in the parish of Peterston-super-Ely in Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales
The 1901 census included questions to elicit more precise responses. A good introduction to the British census information can be found in the guide at The National Archives website at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/census-returns.htm. Census records’ contents are protected in the United Kingdom for a period of 100 years. The 1911 census information was released in digital image format in 2010 with some information redacted. The digitized census images were re-released in January 2012 with the redacted information restored. The National Archives, part of which was previously known as the Public Record Office (PRO), is custodian of the census records for England and Wales, as well as for the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Separate enumerations for Scotland and Ireland were taken, and these records are in the possession of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk and at The National Archives of Ireland at http://www.nationalarchives.ie, respectively. As mentioned in Chapters 1 and 3, the GROS website says, “From 1 April 2011, the General Register Office for Scotland merged with the National Archives of Scotland to become the National Records of Scotland (NRS). This website will remain active until it is replaced in due course by a new website for NRS.” The website of the new entity is http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk. The UK census indexes and images for 1841 through 1901 are accessible through subscription online at http://www.ancestry.co.uk and at Origins.net at http://www.origins.net. The 1911 census was released after some controversy in Parliament concerning early release of the census and possible violation of promised privacy. An index and transcriptions of parts of this census are accessible at the time of this writing at a pay-per-view site, http://www.1911census.co.uk, with more transcriptions being added over time.
The British government, like that of the United States, defined an “as of” date for use by the respondents, and this date is also referred to as the “census night.” The individual household schedule was to be completed based on the persons who were in the household during the period of Sunday night to Monday morning on the dates listed in Table 6-2.
It is important that you take into consideration the “as of” date when considering the information found in a census schedule with other genealogical evidence. For example, you might wonder why a person’s age is listed as 41 in the 1841 census and only as age 50 in the 1851 census. If you examine the dates in Table 6-2, you will notice that the 1851 census was taken more than a month earlier than the one the previous decade. You could hypothesize that the respondent’s birthday fell after 30 March and up to and including 6 June of 1800. Based on that theory, you could then begin searching in other records for evidence of the person’s date of birth. This kind of analysis and thought process can help you focus your research more acutely.
If the head of the household did not properly complete the census form, the enumerator was supposed to have called at the house and requested the additional information. If the person was illiterate, blind, or for some other reason unable to complete the schedule, the enumerator was to have conducted an interview, asked the questions, and completed the document himself.
Descriptions of the enumeration districts can be extremely helpful in locating your ancestors’ records. The example shown in Figure 6-12 is from the 1891 census of England and Wales and shows the registration district of Spilsby and the sub-district of Alford in Lincolnshire.
FIGURE 6-12 An 1891 form containing the description of the enumeration district
The Irish government took an independent census in 1813, and then censuses were taken every ten years from 1821 through 1911. Due to the Irish Civil War, no census was taken in 1921, but the next census was conducted in 1926. The censuses were taken in 1936 and 1946 and, from 1946 to 1971, the census was taken every five years. Since 1971, the census has been conducted every ten years.
Unfortunately, the Irish census records have not fared well over time. The 1813 census no longer exists. Most of the census information from the 1821 through 1851 censuses was destroyed by fire at the Public Records Office at Four Courts during the Battle of Dublin in 1922, and the censuses from 1861 and 1871 were destroyed by government order shortly after the data was compiled and summarized. The 1881 and 1891 censuses were pulped during World War I because of a paper shortage. The surviving materials have been microfilmed by the LDS, and these films can be obtained through the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and through the LDS Family History Centers worldwide. The census returns for the whole of Ireland for 1901 and 1911 are almost complete, and can be viewed online at the National Archives of Ireland at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie.
As a result of the loss of so much of the Irish census material, census substitutes can sometimes be used as alternate evidence sources of residence, age, and other information. These include Old Age Pension Records; Tithe Applotment Books (1823–1838); Griffith’s Primary Valuation (1848–1864); and other, later land and property records. Irish Census Finder at http://www.censusfinder.com/ireland.htm is particularly useful for locating Irish census fragments and substitutes for the 19th century Irish censuses.
There are excellent resources available for your reference when working with British census records. The best written reference concerning the 1801–1901 censuses is Edward Higgs’ Making Sense of the Census Revisited: Census Records for England and Wales, 1801–1901: A Handbook for Historical Researchers, published in London by University of London, Institute of Historical Research in 2005. The book provides an excellent history and perspective of the enumerations of that period. Another excellent book is Census: The Expert Guide by David Annal and Peter Christian, published by The National Archives [UK] in 2008. And yet another book is Tracing Your Ancestors Using the Census: A Guide for Family Historians by Emma Jolly, published in 2013 by Pen & Sword Books, Ltd.
Indexes of censuses have been prepared by a variety of organizations. One excellent starting point is the GENUKI website at http://www.genuki.org.uk, which is concerned with UK and Ireland genealogy. Another is the BritishIslesGenWeb Project, which is a subsidiary part of the WorldGenWeb Project at http://www.worldgenweb.org. The BritishIslesGenWeb Project can be accessed at http://www.britishislesgenweb.org, from which you can visit a number of county or island sites where information about and links to census resources can be found.
We’ve already mentioned a number of resources for gaining access to census records for England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, but let’s recap:
• The England and Wales manuscript returns of the 1841 to 1911 censuses are in the possession of The National Archives (formerly known as the PRO). These have been microfilmed and are available for review at The National Archives, at larger libraries with genealogical materials, and through the LDS Family History Library and LDS Family History Centers. (You can locate the FHC closest to you by conducting a search through the LDS FamilySearch website, specifically using the search template at https://familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp.) These census images for 1841 to 1911 are digitized and indexed at http://www.ancestry.co.uk. The 1911 census index and transcriptions are accessible at http://www.1911census.co.uk.
• Surviving Irish census records have been microfilmed. The 1901 records for Northern Ireland are available on microfilm through the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) or through the LDS FHL and FHCs as described previously. You can learn more about the 19th century records at http://www.proni.gov.uk. The 1901 and 1911 censuses for all of Ireland can be viewed online at the National Archives of Ireland at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie.
• Scotland’s census records are in the possession of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and can be accessed at the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) in Edinburgh. Census records have been microfilmed and the microfilm can be accessed at NAS, at larger libraries with genealogical collections that have purchased the film, or through the LDS FHL and FHCs as described previously. Learn more about the NAS holdings at http://www.nas.gov.uk. In addition, the GROS and brightsolid online publishing have partnered to create and maintain a pay-per-view website called ScotlandsPeople at http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. The site provides searchable indexes to birth, marriage, and death entries in the statutory indexes, old parish registers, and Catholic registers for various years. In addition, indexed census images are available from 1842 to 1911. To respect privacy of living people, Internet access has been limited to birth records over 100 years old, marriage records over 75 years old, and death records over 50 years old. Ancestry.co.uk has digitized and indexed the census records of Scotland from 1841 to 1901 but does not include the 1911 images as of the time of this writing.
In addition to the decennial censuses, a “mini-census” of a sort was conducted in 1939 when, in preparation for war, a National Registration Bill was quickly introduced in Parliament, passed, and granted royal assent. National Registration Day was set at 29 September 1939 and enumerators visited households across the nation to gather information for identity cards. Approximately 46 million cards were issued. You can request information from the identity registration books by visiting the following websites and completing a request form:
• England and Wales http://www.hscic.gov.uk/register-service
• Northern Ireland (a Freedom of Information request) http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/about_proni/freedom_of_information/making_an_foi_request_about_public_records.htm
Canada’s history is a fascinating study of many people: French, English, Aboriginal, and a mélange of religions, ethnicities, and cultures. The first census in what became Canada was conducted in 1666 by Jean Talon. This enumeration recorded the name, age, marital status, and occupation of each of the 3,215 inhabitants of New France. Between 1666 and the first official Canadian census in 1871, there were no less than 98 different colonial and regional censuses conducted, most of which were performed for purposes of taxation and military conscription. Over time, new questions were added to gather more information about building structures, livestock, crops, firearms, and churches. Religious affiliation—Catholic or Protestant—became another area of interest, and it became important to enumerate other groups, such as the Acadians, Indians (or “First People” as they are referred to), and Blacks. Census returns prior to 1851 are incomplete for most areas.
The Canadian census returns after 1851 used a Population Schedule form for the enumeration by name of every individual in a household, and that schedule was usually accompanied by a separate Agricultural Schedule that included information about the acreage, land use, buildings, crops, livestock, and valuation.
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca is the repository for most of the census materials, including those from before Confederation in 1867. However, some of the original documents for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island prior to 1871 are still in the possession of the provincial archives or libraries. Learn about the LAC census holdings on microfilm in its “Catalogue of Census Returns on Microfilm, 1666–1901” at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/census-microfilm-1666-1901/index-e.html. The LAC has digitized 1901, 1906, 1911, and 1916, and recently converted all the images to PDF format. Ancestry.com’s Canadian subscription website, at http://www.ancestry.ca, has digitized and indexed the 1861 to 1921 censuses and many of the provincial and territorial censuses.
The first official national census was conducted in 1871 and was part of the British North America Act in 1867, which created the Canadian Confederation. The Act stated, “In the general Census of the Population of Canada which is hereby required to be taken in the Year One thousand eight-hundred and seventy-one, and in every Tenth Year thereafter, the respective Populations of the Four Provinces shall be distinguished.”
This first census requested a vast amount of information from the respondents and for that reason is extremely important for genealogical researchers whose ancestors and family members lived in Canada at that time. There were nine schedules used to collect information:
• Schedule 1 Population Schedule by name of every living person
• Schedule 2 Schedule with the name of every person who died within the previous 12 months
• Schedule 3 A return listing all public institutions, real estate, vehicles, and implements
• Schedule 4 Agricultural return for cultivated produce, such as crops, fruits, and plants
• Schedule 5 Agricultural return for livestock, animal products, furs, and homemade fabrics
• Schedule 6 Return of industrial manufacturing
• Schedule 7 Return of products of forest resources
• Schedule 8 Return for shipping concerns and fisheries
• Schedule 9 Return for mining and mineral products
You can relate the information found on surviving Schedules 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 to the name of a person whose name is listed on Schedule 1, the Population Schedule. By doing so, you can expand your knowledge of what that person’s economic livelihood entailed, of the extent of their holdings, and of the success or failure of the operation, and you also gain a perspective of the lifestyle of the person or family unit.
The 1881 census eliminated the schedule of industrial manufacturing. Unfortunately, though, only the Population Schedules exist. They have, however, been microfilmed and subsequently digitized.
The 1891 census returned to nine schedules again, but only the Population Schedules survive. These have been microfilmed and subsequently digitized.
By the time the 1901 census was to be conducted, Canada consisted of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and two territories: Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. Census enumeration areas generally, but not always, corresponded to electoral districts. It is important for you to refer to enumeration area descriptions to help you home in on your family members’ locations.
Enumeration was conducted by door-to-door interviews, with enumerators individually visiting each house and asking the questions of the “head” of the household. Enumeration was to be completed within 30 days of 31 March 1901. The census commissioners were forced to revise the schedules, however, before being able to compile and send the completed forms to the census office. By the end of August, the central census office in Ottawa had received 98 percent of the forms. The original schedules for British Columbia schedules were lost when the steamer Islander sank on 15 August 1901. The census in British Columbia therefore had to be taken all over again, and this delayed the final tabulation of the census data.
In 1955, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, at the direction of the Public Records Committee, destroyed the original documents from the 1901 census. Fortunately, however, all of the population records (Schedule 1) and most of the buildings, land, church, and school records (Schedule 2) have been preserved on microfilm, although the quality of the filming is uneven and some images are unreadable. Some instances of the additional schedule forms used can be found among the microfilmed records.
The good news is that Library and Archives Canada has digitized the microfilm images and made them available for browsing at its website (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901/Pages/1901.aspx) in a searchable database by geographic location. Census districts and maps also are accessible online, which, as you’ve already learned, can be invaluable in helping you quickly locate your family. A search of the database for the census records for a province and then a geographical area will return a search results list with records like the one shown in Figure 6-13. It provides you with details about the specific location of the records associated with that place. It also indicates the Record Group (RG) under which Library and Archives Canada has classified and catalogued the records, as well as the reel number for use in accessing the microfilm from which the digital image was produced.
FIGURE 6-13 Search results from the online index to the 1901 census at the Library and Archives Canada website
In 1905, the Census and Statistics Act received Royal Assent and defined that a general census would be taken in Canada in 1911 and every ten years thereafter. It also declared that a population and agriculture census was to be taken in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in 1906 and every ten years thereafter. As a result, the following two schedules were prepared and the enumeration was conducted:
• Population and livestock
• Agriculture
As was done for the 1901 census, microfilm was created of the original records, but the original documents were destroyed in 1955. Library and Archives Canada also has digitized the microfilm images and made these available on its website.
Census records can provide you with a huge amount of information and many clues to research. As I’ve mentioned before, it is important to become a student of history and to learn about the places where your ancestors and family members lived, the time period in which they lived, the documents that may have been created at the time for whatever purposes, which documents have survived, where the surviving materials are located, in what format(s) they exist, and how to gain access to them.
You have seen examples in this chapter of census materials that were created for various purposes. Some have survived while others have been lost to fire or through other causes. Transcripts may have been made or original documents may have been microfilmed, and then the originals may have been destroyed. In many cases, census documents have been digitized, indexed, and made available on the Internet. You may be able to conduct “armchair genealogy” over the Internet from the comfort of your own home to access images. In other cases, you may have to visit a library or an LDS Family History Center in order to access microfilm copies of document images or to access some databases available as institutional subscriptions. Other times, you may have to schedule a trip to visit the repository where original documents reside.
Your challenge is to actually track down the documents in whatever form they may exist, and determine how you can access them. And that does, indeed, mean studying the history of the documents. Fortunately for all of us, the Internet provides a wealth of knowledge we can use in our quest. I often use my web browser and a search engine to learn more about available documentary materials. As an example, when searching for information about Canadian census materials for 1906, I entered the following in the search engine:
canada census 1906
I was rewarded with a huge number of search results, not the least of which was one near the top of the list that happens to be the authoritative site on the subject: Library and Archives Canada’s website for the 1906 census, at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1906/Pages/about-census.aspx.
Take the time to study each column of a census document. You may find additional information that can act as clues to other evidence and resources to aid your understanding of your ancestor and his or her family.
Learn to use the Internet effectively to search and locate information that may be of historical value to your research. In addition, learn how to use online catalogs of libraries, archives, and other facilities so that you can determine what publications may be available to help in your search.
By this time, you have become very knowledgeable indeed about the process of genealogical research and about placing your ancestors into geographical and historical context. The next chapter will take you into some more advanced record types to help you further trace and understand your ancestors and family members. You’re on your way now with perhaps the most exciting journey you will ever make. Let’s move right ahead!
