Tips for Locating Ancestors in State Census Records

Since 1790 the USA conducted research to count the population and where people lived. The Federal Census is taken every 10 years and State information was recorded periodically. From these records you can learn about your ancestors, only if you carefully read and digest the contents of these documents. You can also find valuable genealogy information from agricultural, business, and mortality census records too.

What you can Learn from a Census Record

Each census has different questions that can help you to learn about your ancestors in various ways. Below are just a few examples of what you can find:

• After 1900, you can map exactly where your relative lived as most contain the street address and house number.
• You can see if your ancestor changed occupations.
• You can discover if they owned land and how much money it was worth.
• You can find out how long someone was married.
• You can also find out how many children were born and how many are living.

Avoid Five Common Census Research Mistakes

• Consider all reasonable matches when performing genealogy searches. Do not assume the first “close” match is the right person or family. When tracing your ancestors, remember there could be several families with the same name, living in the same area.
• Not verifying or comparing the information with other documents to confirm the source is for your ancestor.
• Don't assume the oldest male is necessarily the head of household or that everyone is a family member. The family could have raised children other than their own.
• Don’t overlook a family because it lists more children than expected. This can indicate a prior marriage.
• A family structure that is different than what you expected can indicate you are looking at the wrong household.

Hints to be Successful with your Searches

• Try using a different spelling if you can’t find your ancestor. The people recording the data often wrote the name the best they could with the way it sounded.
• When using online databases, mistakes may have been made during the transcription process. It is easy to do when copying handwriting.
• If you can’t find what you are looking for, search using abbreviations, variations, phonetic spellings, nicknames, initials, or substitute letters that are commonly mistaken for other letters.
• Be sure to check surrounding counties, as boundaries have changed over the years.
• If you can’t find your ancestor, think of various reasons why you couldn't find your ancestor. Maybe they got married or temporarily moved for a job.
• Check to see where the parents, siblings, other family members, or known close friends are. Locating other family members can lend a clue to finding your ancestor.
• If searching for information from 1890, remember the federal census for that year was destroyed in a fire and only a few records remain.

Good Genealogy Research Practice Includes:

• Using several documents to verify the information you have is correct.
• Be careful to analyze all the data that can be learned from each and every document.
• Analyze the data and make notes as to why you think the information is or is not for your ancestors.
• Good record keeping will help you to stay on the right track for future searches.

Coming Soon – The 1940 Federal Census

It will be made available to the public on April 1, 2012 by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Available State Census Records:

*1890 Federal Census available for these states