How to Collect Genealogical Clues From the Census
The U.S. Federal Census is a goldmine of information for genealogists and family historians. The government began taking a census in 1790 and continued every 10 years after that. The census provides researchers with names of ancestors, approximate date of birth or age, the state or country in which they were born, year of immigration and naturalization, occupation and education levels, just to name a few of the statistics available. These are all helpful clues for genealogists conducting family research.
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Instructions
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Locate a 1900 U.S. Federal Census or other census in one of two ways. Censuses can be found online through paid websites such as Ancestry.com or free websites such as FamilySearch.org. Microfilm copies of census records can be found in the National Archives and major libraries across the country.
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Download a 1900 U.S. Federal Census extraction sheet from C.mfcreative.com. This example will use the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. Locate and view the 1900 census record for your ancestor.
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Record the information found on the census on to the extraction form. Note the spelling of the surnames. Are they correct according to the information you already have or did the census taker err when recording the names? Note the birth month and year for each relative. Did you already have this information or is it new? For the mother, view columns 11 and 12, "Mother of how many children" and "Number of children living." These are good clues that may lead us to locating additional children we did not know existed. If our records indicate this mother had five children, yet the 1900 Census stated she had seven, search birth records and cemeteries where the family is buried to attempt to locate the other two children.
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View the citizenship section and pay attention to columns 16 to 18. The "Year of immigration," "Number of years in the U.S." and "Naturalization." These columns provide genealogists with a better idea of the immigrant's journey to the United States and becoming a citizen. If this information was not known before viewing the census, it can lead researchers down new paths for information.
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View columns 25 to 28. These columns outline the home ownership of the individuals listed: "Owned or rented," "Owned free or mortgaged," "Farm or house" and "Number of farm schedule." This is valuable data that can lead a researcher down a property records research path if an ancestor is noted to have owned a home.
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Tips & Warnings
Put all the clues together from the census record to build a picture of your ancestor. As new information is discovered from census to census, research additional records to locate new information. For instance, if the 1900 Census indicated your ancestor rented a home, yet in 1910, it states he owned a home, this provides a narrow time gap in which to begin looking for property records.
When searching for census records, always search alternate spellings. Census takers did not always spell the surnames correctly because they either could not understand the person speaking, did not ask how to spell the name or someone other than the ancestor provided the information, just to name a few reasons. Be wary about believing each supposed fact you find as true or correct. People sometimes lied to census takers and may have provided incorrect information. Locating additional census records to help corroborate the information is one way to help determine which items are correct.
