Class:  U.S. AND BRITISH CENSUSES

• Welcome and What This Class Is All About
• About Censuses
• Some Online Lessons and Articles About Censuses
• Important Censuses Available for Searching Electronically
• Principles and Helps for Searching Censuses
• FamilySearch.org
• Ancestry.com
• Heritage Quest Online
• State Censuses
• British Censuses
• LDS Church Censuses
• Assignment

Return to the Class Descriptions or Home page.   This page was last updated 8 Apr 2004.

• These notes are posted online at the St. George Regional Family History Training Center web page http://www.familyhistorycenter.org under Class Descriptions.
• Instructors:  Don and Diane Snow (snowd@math.byu.edu, dms34@juno.com, (435) 673-1932)

ABOUT CENSUSES

• Interesting things in censuses -- check out the occupation of Sarah Piersol, living with her son Lewis Piersol, in the 1880 U.S. Census
• Good reference – "The Census Book" by William Dollarhide, 1991 -- (entire book is online at Heritage Quest Online -- details below)
• What censuses are – why so helpful
• Kinds of censuses -- federal, state, and church
• Availability -- after 72 years in U.S. (so we have up to 1930 at present); after 100 years in England (so we have up to 1901 at present)
• Differences in the U.S. Federal Censuses -- see census forms on the LDS's PAF 5.2 CD or on Acestry.com, and in Dollarhide's book
• Dates the U.S. censuses were supposedly taken: -- http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/review/20040331.txt
• Enumeration Districts -- maps of census areas
• Mortality Schedules – people who died during the year before the census was taken

•  
• 2000 Articles on Censuses -- http://library.ancestry.com/ search.aspx?srch=census&ti=0&submit=Search
• U.S. Censuses available on Ancestry.com -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6116.asp and http://ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/usfedcen/main.htm
• State Censuses available on Ancestry.com -- http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/ais/censuslist.htm
• Stephen P. Morse's info and search engine for U.S. censuses -- http://www.stevemorse.org/
• Federal vs. State Censuses -- Including 1885 -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/george/6888.asp
• Census Questions and Research Tips -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/1264.asp
• American Census Records -- http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/lesson9.htm
• Sensible Use of the Census, Parts 1 and 2:  http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/ancmag/2147.asp
• Online Strategies: Part 1 -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/7815.asp
and Part 2 -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/7851.asp
• Census Retrospective -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/8305.asp
• Every Name or Head of Household Index? -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/7949.asp
• 1870 Census Finds -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/7636.asp
• 1891 Census of England -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6623.asp
• Back to the 1891 (UK) Census Online -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/7521.asp
• Where, Oh Where is Abraham? -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/7120.asp
• A Partially Correct Census Index Entry -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6901.asp
• Panning for Panagiotis: An Urban Census Problem with A Twist -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6742.asp
• Categorizing Pre-1850 Census Records -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6178.asp
• Analyzing Pre-1850 Census Records: Part II -- http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/news/articles/6195.asp
• Cyndi's List for U.S. Censuses -- http://www.cyndislist.com/census.htm
• Cyndi's List for International Censuses -- http://www.cyndislist.com/census2.htm

• U.S. 1880 – on CD's from LDS Church, available in FHC's from server and from Ancestry.com -- index, but no data, is online at http://www.familysearch.org -- can use your LDS log in name and password to see Ancestry.com's Census images free at home
• British 1881 – on CD's from LDS Church, available in FHC's from server and from Ancesty.com -- Index, but no data, is online at http://www.familysearch.org
• Canada 1881 – on CD's from LDS Church, available in FHC's from server and from Ancestry.com -- Index, but no data, is online at http://www.familysearch.org
• Ancestry.com – has all U.S. Census images, plus many indexes -- http://ancestry.com
• Heritage Quest Online – has all U.S. Census images, plus many indexes (some are here but not on Ancestry.com) -- log on to http://www.washco.lib.ut.us , click on Our Databases, click on Heritage Quest, enter your Washington County Library bar code (or join Godfrey Memorial Library for $35/year -- http://www.godfrey.org/ and use your bar code from there)
• Genealogy.com – commercial site, all the censuses, plus they sell census CD's -- most of their census data is same as on Heritage Quest Online --  http://www.genealogy.com/index_r.html
• Lists of state and federal censuses and availability – Marie Taylor's web site: http://www.warnes.net/Teslacorp/GenealogyLinks, then click on the tab “4-US Census”
• Complete list of Ancestry.com's censuses and indexes: http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/ais/censuslist.htm

• Start with minimal info – add more to narrow down the search as needed -- reason is that due to data entry errors, misspellings, etc
• Can do searches with first names, places, occupations, and wildcards
• Checking neighbors for relatives
• Census forms and worksheets are available
  • On FamilySearch/Search/Research Helps/United States -- http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp?Page=./research/Placeu/Placeu.asp&ActiveTab=Place
  • On Ancestry.com at http://www.ancestry.com/save/charts/census.htm
  • In Dollarhide's Census book on Heritage Quest Online
• Tools available –  spreadsheets -- http://censustools.com
• Using the program GenSmarts -- http://gensmarts.com/ -- analyzes your database to see which censuses to search for which individuals and shows you the format you will find in the census to help you recognize the family

• Online for free:  U.S. 1880, British 1881, and Canadian 1881 -- every name indexed
• For difficult searches try the Advanced Search
• Can use a screen capture program (or PrintScreen and paste it into WordPad) to get a picture to put in your PAF database
• Can download GEDCOM with all the text and details to import into your PAF database

ANCESTRY.COM -- http://ancestry.com

• Complete list of Ancestry.com's censuses and indexes: http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/ais/censuslist.htm
• Searches
• Steven Morse's search engine for Ancestry.com -- http://www.stevemorse.org/census/ancestry.html -- ( http://www.stevemorse.org/ )
• Examples
• Saving and printing

• Differences between indices on Ancestry.com, HQO, Genealogy.com
• Differences between on Ancestry.com, HQO, Genealogy.com
• Dollarhide's Census Book -- contains all the forms -- look in Helps
• Slide show about HQO
• How to HQO with your library card from Washington County, Utah, or Godfrey Memorial Library, Middletown, Connecticut
• Searches
• Examples
• Saving and printing

• Can determine all state censuses for any given state by looking at the FHL's Research Outlines for that state on FamilySearch Internet under Search/Research Helps/Place, then find the state -- can view on screen and/or print
• Check USGenWeb project to see if state censuses have been indexed for your counties

• Chart of online and CD UK censuses -- http://www.mit.edu/~dfm/genealogy/census-chart.html
• 1871 UK Census -- on Ancestry.com -- at present has 9 counties in England, 6 counties in Wales, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man
• 1881 UK Census -- on CD and online at http://www.familysearch.org
• 1891 UK Census -- on Ancestry.com -- at present has 5 counties in England, 13 counties in Wales, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man
• 1901 British Census -- http://www.census.pro.gov.uk/ -- fee site, but can piece families together using the index

LDS CHURCH CENSUSES

• Refer:  "Tracing LDS Families" on FamilySearch Internet/Research/Research Helps, then sort by Title and find the pamphlet under "T"
• LDS Church censuses were taken 1852-3, 1914, and every 5 years from 1920 to 1960, except 1945
• Available on microfilm -- see FHL Catalog for film numbers you need

1. Find some ancestor in the U.S. 1880 Census on FamilySearch Internet.
2. Find some ancestor in the U.S. 1930 Census on Ancestry.com (while at the FHC, unless you subscribe at home).
3. Download the census form for the U.S. 1900 Census from Ancestry.com.
4. Download the GEDCOM of a family from the U.S. 1880 Census on FamilySearch Internet and import it into a PAF database and form the links in the family..