Using Census Information Makes Sense

There are two broad groupings of census information that you need to be aware of: census information taken between 1850 and 1930 and census information taking prior to 1850. If you are looking through census information taken between 1850 and 1930, then you are in luck. These censuses are extremely detailed and the head count is incredibly accurate. Unfortunately, prior to 1850, the censuses were not nearly as accurate. They only listed the name of the head of the household and the number of other people in the house in selected age groups.

What information can you glean from a census report? If you begin with the 1930 census, you will very likely find either living or recently deceased family members along with the names of their parents. This will set your feet on the census trail and you will be able to take the names you have found and trace back through the previous censuses, possibly adding one or more generations to the family tree. You may even find long lost relatives or relatives you did not even know existed.

What information can you find when you track your ancestors through the census records? There can be a wealth of information in the census records that come after 1850. This includes:

• The names of all the family members

• The ages at the time of the census

• Their place and date of birth

• Their parent's birthplaces

• If they immigrated, the year of immigration

• Street address

• Marital status and number of years married

• Occupation(s)

• The value of their home and personal belongings

• The types of crops they grew if they were farmers

You may be wondering why you need to begin with the 1930 census. Why not later census records, say 1940 or 1950? The reason is that there is restricted access on census records for 72 years. This means that any census records taken after 1930 are not available to the public.

You will be able to find the names of every family member after 1850, with relative ease. You will most likely be able to trace your family back at least a couple of extra generations and you may be able to go all the way back to the 1790 census, which was the first one ever taken. Through your journey, you may discover family members about which no one knew or you may find the names of relatives that the family thought simply vanished.

Census information can be tricky to get through because of the way in which the information was recorded, often with initials, nicknames, or no first names. You need to know as much as possible about your family members to search thoroughly. However, no matter how many twists and turns there are along the way, the United States census records can help you fill in the blanks in your family history.