Learn The Basics of US Census Records

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Just where do you find a mass of information that can help you with your genealogy research? Well, the US census records are what you will need to help you get to know your ancestors.

This resource can give you so much information about your heritage and also there are stories that you can discover along the way.

Discussed in this post:

Further Information!

After reading this helpful guide you may want to check out further information regarding US Census Records.

Why not head on over to the United States Census Bureau for help with your genealogy research.

Express Your Thoughts Below!

I would love to hear from you.

Checking My Wider Branches!

I have always been interested in my family history but also cousins as well. I think the reason for this is because both my parents are only children and so I never knew of any cousins while growing up.

I probably went overboard checking census records. I looked at my ancestors’ siblings and then their descendants.

As you can imagine my family tree just exploded with so many people.

Although census records are a great resource it is important not to get too carried away otherwise you will get overwhelmed.

As long as you take your time and put on your detective hat then you can use these records to make the connection to a ‘new’ ancestor and also get details about their past, i.e. where they were born and what they did for a living.

Please watch this!

Check out the following 6-minute video from Ancestry. It will show you how you can explore the many U.S. Census Records that are available to you from this valuable online resource.

Credit: Ancestry

Learn your ancestors’ stories!

One other thing that you can take from these records is their story as well.

By checking different census years for a particular ancestor of yours you can see their migration trail.

If you learn about the history of the area that he/she moved to you may be able to decipher why they moved, i.e. was it to find work or escape poverty for example.

There is so much that you can discover just by looking that little bit closer.

I think that I have digressed enough so let me get on with this post.

What Are The US Census Records?

So, what are the US census records I hear you ask? Well, it is an inventory of every US citizen that is living in the States. The purpose of the census is twofold.

Purpose #1

The first purpose is to determine representation in the House of Representatives.

What this means is that a count is made of how many people there are in a state and the US as a whole.

Purpose #2

The second purpose is to help know where to distribute funds to the public, a similar reason to the UK census records.

So, by knowing how many people there are in areas of the country the government will know who will need services such as welfare, schooling, recreational activities, housing projects, and so on.

The census is a count of the population for the entire country, every state, county, and city on a given date.

It is in effect a ‘snapshot’ of America on a certain day of the year.

If you are familiar with this form of data retrieval from the public then you may know that you are required by law to answer truthfully to all the questions.

For genealogy research, they are, as I have pointed out earlier, a great asset to the family historian.

What Years Do They Cover?

By now you will know the importance of US census records and how they can help you build your family tree. They can also tell your ancestors’ story if you look a little closer between the lines.

But what years do they cover and which ones can you get access to?

The very first census was in …

You may be surprised to know that this Federal Census has been taken every 10 years from 1790 right up until now.

Due to privacy laws, you will not have access to the most recent census records. There is a 72-year wait, which means that the most current record is the 1940 census records.

If you think that is a long time then you are lucky that you live in America.

In the United Kingdom, there is a 100-year rule in place.

So, for the family historian in Britain, the most recent records available are the 1911 census records. They will have to wait until 2021 to get access to the 1921 census records.

Unfortunately, a large portion of the 1890 census was destroyed by fire in 1921. Sadly only a few fragments of this census year remain.

What Information Can I Find In These Records?

So now you know the importance of the US census records and what years they cover. But what can you learn from them?

As I have pointed out you can learn who your ancestors were and their siblings. And then from this, you can start to build your family tree.

What can you learn from them?

US census records from 1790 through to 1840 contained very limited information, but don’t be worried as they will still be of great help to you.

These earlier censuses records are very similar to the first UK census records from 1801 to 1841.

These early records were only interested in obtaining a headcount of the population and do not contain much more information other than names.

From the 1850 census onwards this change with the introduction of more questions. I will discuss what was added and removed, from subsequent censuses below.

1850 & 1860

Name, age, and gender for each member of the household
Birthplace and occupation
If married in that year

1870

Were father or mother born outside the country

1880

Marital status of each member of the household
The relationship to the head of the household
Place of birth of father and mother for each member of the household

1900

Month and year of birth
Number of years in current marriage, (if applicable)
Mother of how many children and how many are living, (if applicable)
Naturalization statues, i.e. alien, naturalized or papers submitted
How many years lived in the country
Year of immigration to America, (if applicable)

1910

Asks whether a Civil War Veteran
Removed – Month and year of birth; and how many years lived in the country

1920

Native language, and the native language of parents
Removed – Number of years in current marriage; the number of children and are currently living; whether a Civil War Veteran.

1930

Age at time of first marriage
Whether a military veteran and if so which year

1940

Removed – Age at time of first marriage; birthplace of parents; whether a military veteran; year of immigration to America; and native language

From these records then you can find out when and where your ancestors were born. You can then use this information to search for their birth certificates.

You could also learn who was living with your ancestors on the date that the census record was taken.

And you can also discover whether other family members were living nearby. This last point I have found particularly interesting to discover.

Where Can I Find US Census Records

Ok, ok so now you are probably wondering where you can get access to these US census records. And rightly so.

There is just so much information that you can gain from these records as I have stressed in this post.

They were a great asset for me to learn who my ancestors were and help me build my family tree.

Accessing these records fall under two categories – FREE and PAID. So let’s look at both of them, shall we?

Your FREE option!

For me one of the most helpful genealogy search websites was FamilySearch.

The great thing about this website is that it is a free site for you to search, and it is the largest free site online.

Currently, there are over 3 billion names in their databases which contain millions of records.

Even though access to these records is free the downfall of this site is that you may not find what you are looking for.

But FamilySearch is adding more records all the time, so if you do not find what you are looking for then it is worth checking back at a later time.

Unless you want to go the PAID option route.

Your PAID options!

When it comes to paying for access to the US census records you have two options available to you. They are Ancestry and FindMyPast.

Both have an extensive collection of census records and other types of records for you to access as well.

So when you have discovered your ancestors through the censuses you can look for them in other records.

My Final Thoughts!

If you are beginning to trace your family tree then learning about your ancestors through US census records is the way to go.

And even if you are well on your way to building your family tree you may want to take a step back and discover what these records hold.

Who knows you may find out something about your ancestors that you didn’t know about.

Take it slow!

I would stress though that you stick to one ancestor and family group at a time.

It is too easy to follow the path of a sibling, and then his wife and then her ancestors. You just get sidetracked and lose who you were originally researching.

Also, the amount of information that is contained in these records and the number of years available can mean that you will get information overload. So pace yourself.

I am talking from experience.

It is a good idea to collect the information first and then assimilate that into your genealogy software program. But do not gather too much information as you will not know where to start.

Census records though can be a fun resource for you to use.

They are great at building your family tree. And as I have pointed out if you look a little closer you will pick out the stories from the facts.

Good luck!

So come on people, come to your senses and use the censuses!

Thank You and Please Leave A Comment

I hope you enjoyed this post explaining the basics of US census records. If you have any questions or comments then please leave a comment below.

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