Researching the 1920 Census

Research Tips
Since nearly everyone has some knowledge or access to knowledge of family names, relationships and the family’s state of residence in 1920, most genealogical instructors recommend the 1920 census as the best starting point for research in federal records. Working from known information about the most recent generations, an efficient researcher works backwards in time to discover family relationships and to determine where additional records may be found

The 1920 census is a good tool for determining approximate dates and places to search for marriage records, birth and death records of children, and the marriages of children not listed. The 1920 census sometimes makes it possible to verify family traditions, identify unknown family members, and link what is known to other sources, such as earlier censuses, school attendance rolls, property holdings, and employment and occupational records. In several instances, women, rather than men, have been listed as head of household in the 1920 Soundex index (figure 5-3); therefore, a search focused on a male name may be unsuccessful.

The 1920 census asked the foreign-born for the year of their arrival in the United States, making it easier to pinpoint the date of passenger arrival records. It also asked the naturalization status of every foreign-born person and inquired about the year of naturalization for those individuals who had become U.S. Citizens, thus facilitating searches in naturalization records.

Due to the more specific questions asked of immigrants from Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Turkey regarding their birthplaces and those of their parents, many researchers will be able to discover the exact towns or regions from which their families emigrated. The fact that the 1920 census asked for the mother tongue of each respondent and that of each parent will further help to define the origins of many families.

Questions asked in the 1920 Census
Name of street, avenue road, etc.; house number or farm; number of dwelling in order of visitation; number of family in order of visitation; name of each person whose place of abode was with the family; relationship of person enumerated to the head of the family; whether home owned or rented; if owned, whether free or mortgaged; sex; color or race; age at last birthday; whether single, married, widowed, or divorced; year of immigration to United States; whether naturalized or alien; if naturalized, year of naturalization; whether attended school any time since 1 September 1919; whether able to read; whether able to write; person’s place of birth; mother tongue; father’s place of birth; father’s mother tongue; mother’s place of birth; mother’s mother tongue; whether able to speak English; trade, profession, or particular kind of work done; industry, business, or establishment in which at work; whether employer, salary or wage worker, or working on own account; number of farm schedule.

Research Tips/Questions for Specific Census Years