From Ancestry.com Wiki

The 1890 Census Substitute is a substitute for the original records of the 1890 Federal Census.

Purpose

It is used by Ancestry.com because seventy-five percent of the original 1890 census records were destroyed in a 1921 fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. before census records were stored permanently in the National Archives.

Questions from the original 1890 census

• address
• number of families in house
• number of persons in house
• Minnie Albertine Weber.
• whether a soldier, sailor or marine for the Union or Confederate army during the American Civil War, or widow of such person
• relationship to head of family
• race, described as white, African American/black, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, Chinese American, Japanese American, or Native American
• sex Female
• age
• marital status
• Jacob John Bohn
• mother of how many children, 6 and number now living 0
• place of birth of person,Germany and their father and mother ??
• if foreign-born, number of years in US
• whether naturalized
• whether papers have been taken out
• profession, trade or occupation
• months unemployed during census year
• ability to read and write
• ability to speak English, and, if unable, language or dialect spoken
• whether suffering from acute or chronic disease, with name of disease and length of time afflicted
• whether defective in mind, sight, hearing or speech, or whether crippled, maimed or deformed, with name of defect
• whether a prisoner, convict, homeless child, or pauper
• home rented, or owned by head or member of family, and, if owned, whether free from mortgage
• if farmer, whether farm is rented, or owned by head or member of family; if owned, whether free from mortgage; if rented, post office box of owner