Census records are among the most widely used materials with which genealogists work. They provide a good benchmark as to where our ancestors were (or were not) located at a particular point in time. These records can also be among the most frustrating to use for a variety of reasons.
"Along Those Lines . . ." this week, I want to discuss several census-related items that I hope you'll find of interest, and I hope they'll answer several of the questions I am most frequently asked.
Locating Individuals in the Census Finding Aids
The U.S. federal census records can be daunting, indeed, to a researcher looking for his or her ancestors. You first need to know the state in which your ancestor lived at the time of the census, and then narrow it down to county. You are fortunate if you live near a library, an archive, or an LDS family history center which has census microfilm and which has census finding aids such as the indexes or Soundex/Miracode microfiche. These aids can help you zero in on precisely the right county and page on which your ancestor's name appears. Not everyone is so lucky, and a reel of microfilm contains a whole lot of records to read to locate one ancestor among thousands.
For those of us who do not have ready access to the indexes of census records, there is an option available. The AIS Census Index database has been made available at the Ancestry.com Web site
(http://www.ancestry.com/census/main.asp) a few months ago. This database provides access to the 1790 to 1870 census indices. The database is fully searchable and provides information you would find in a printed index, including Year, Surname, Given Name, County, State, Page (on which the name appears on the original census record), Township, and other information, like the census type, such as Federal Population Center, Mortality Schedule, etc.
This database is part of Ancestry.com's subscription database program. It is only a small part of the vast, searchable database holdings accessible through the Ancestry.com Web site (http://www.ancestry.com), however, it is one of the most important reference resources on the Internet today. If you have access to reels of microfilm and don't have access to an index, your eyes will soon be spinning from endless searching through an entire county's records. The AIS Census Index Database, by itself, would be worth the cost of the Ancestry.com database subscription, even if there weren't so many other databases containing helpful records.
Census on CD-ROM
On TalkShop's Wednesday evening, July 21st, edition of "Generations: Find Your Roots" on the Web (http://talkspot.com/shows/Generations/), Brad Steuart of Heritage Quest spoke about his company's U.S. Federal Census CD-ROM products. The company is in the process of digitizing all Federal census records on CD-ROM and Brad foresees completion of the project by December 21, 1999. So far, the years 1790, 1800, 1810 and 1900 are complete. 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 and 1920 are being worked on at present. (The 1890 census records were destroyed by fire.)
If you have worked with poor quality, virtually unreadable microfilm, you will appreciate the fact that Heritage Quest is working with three master copies of the census microfilm to select the very clearest copy possible. Much like film historians, they are trying to restore the best quality records possible. The records are then digitized and "cleaned up," removing telltale water stains and even cellophane tape to make the records clearer.
The software that accompanies the data on each CD allows you to magnify (zoom) the census page image, change color, adjust brightness, and reverse the image (black-on-white to white-on-black), all of which can help you see the images more clearly. You can also copy, save, and print the images. Brad stated last Wednesday night that the census CD-ROM project will ultimately result in 12,555 CDs. We will be able to order the specific ones we want, including the 1790, 1800, 1810 and 1900 CDs already available. For more information and for ordering information, check the Heritage Quest Web site at http://www.heritagequest.com/.
What about the 1930 Census?
In the unlikely event that you've finished all your research with all of the previous censuses and are ready for 1930, here is what I have recently learned from Drew Smith, the administrator of the Librarians Serving Genealogists mailing list. One subscriber sent a posting out to the list that indicated that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) will release the 1930 census on microfilm on April 1, 2002. A projected roll count is as follows:
- Census—2,668 rolls
- Soundex—1,650 rolls
- Enumeration District Maps—Approximately 30 rolls, in color
Note: Soundex records were only created for, and will only be available for, a very limited number of states.
Claire Prechtel-Kluskens, Archivist/Genealogy Specialist at NARA a member of NARA's 1930 Census Committee, responded that the roll counts listed appeared correct. She also stated that NARA will not be making 1930 census materials available in any electronic format. Filming of the 1930 census was done by the Bureau of the Census many years ago, with the original paper schedules thereafter destroyed (just like 1900-1920 and 1940 and later).
NARA plans to post a Web page at its Web site later this year regarding the 1930 census materials. The final microfilm roll count and related questions will be addressed there. Please check the NARA Genealogy Page at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html from time to time to look for the 1930 census information. As soon as I hear about it, I'll post an announcement here in the "Along Those Lines . . ." column.
Back to Our Census Senses
Census information is a great determinant in our research. While it can confirm the presence of an ancestor at a certain place and time, the data is only as good as the information provided by the respondent. If a neighbor instead of your great-grandfather responded to the census enumerator, names may be incorrectly spelled, ages and places of birth may be incorrect, and there may have been people omitted altogether. The bottom line is that census data should be taken with the proverbial grain of salt and the information corroborated with other evidence.
In census records and other data, I'm a firm believer that it is important to use whatever tools are at our disposal. Computerization and digitization of genealogical materials is, without doubt, making our research easier and faster. However, since a data processing and/or conversion step has been added, I encourage you to maintain that healthy researcher's skepticism. When in doubt, always search for corroboration from other sources.
I'm certain that Brad Steuart and the folks at Heritage Quest are already planning the digitization of the 1930 census records. They and others are working to create census indexes to help us locate digitized records. And I am sure that it won't be too very long before all the digitized census records and indexes are on some massive Web site and we can pay by the hour for transaction with a credit card to access and print the data we find there. And like you, I am always asking myself, "What's coming next?"
Happy hunting!
George
Copyright 1999 George G. Morgan. All Rights reserved.
"Along Those Lines . . ." is a weekly feature of the Genealogy Forum on America Online (Keyword: ROOTS).
The article originally appeared in the Genealogy Forum on America Online. You may send e-mail to alonglines@aol.com. George Morgan would like to hear from you but, because of the volume of e-mail, is unable to personally respond to each letter individually. He also regrets that he cannot assist you with your personal genealogical research. Visit George Morgan's new Web page at: http://members.aol.com/alonglines.
George is also the author of "The Genealogy Forum on America Online," which is available in the Ancestry Online Store at: http://shop.myfamily.com/ancestrycatalog/
product.asp?pf%5Fid=1101046&dept%5Fid=10102000.
"Along Those Lines"
