A very helpful tool on the quest to find ancestors is, of course, the census. Starting with 1790, the congress of this new country made lawful the act of a census of the population to be conducted every ten years. The early censuses can be frustrating. They do not have a lot of information and list only heads of households which are, typically, if not always, male. It is generally harder to follow back the matriarchal lines. It is not impossible, but you have to have the maiden name. This is when marriage, birth, and death certificates become important.
What can a census tell us? Well, in the later ones, they list everyone in the household, even telling us the relation to the head of the household. They also list ages (when looking at children if you see a fraction, as in: 9/12, it means that the child was nine months old at the time of the census). Keep in mind with the age of an individual that it reflects the age they were the time the census was taken. It was not based on their birthday and what age they were going to be. It also may list their occupation. It is always fun and interesting to see how they made their living and it could help in your research. It may list a company they worked for. You can then search that company and find out more information or, if you’re really lucky, job titles, pictures, or at the very least a little more about the location and what they did which can add context to your research.
When looking at a page of the census, keep in mind that, 100-200 hundred years ago, families did not necessarily move frequently like we do now. I always look on the whole page to see if any other names are relatives or could be relatives. I have had luck finding relatives in this way. One time I found one branch of the family tree I was researching living in an apartment building. I had a maiden name, but I wasn’t sure if it was definitely hers. So, I looked at the rest of the names on the page and their neighbors had the same name as the potential maiden name I was looking into. I then searched those names going back one census and found that it was indeed her family. She was living with her husband and children two doors down from her father and his new wife. It was a wonderful find.
They perform the census by town and street so you can look it up and see if the house is still standing. I have done this using a site like Google Maps in situations when driving to the location is not immediately feasible. The census also gives you a geographic area to start looking for newspaper articles, cemeteries, historical societies, and research libraries that may have information, and town halls that might have the birth/marriage/ death certificates on file. Location is definitely a huge key to unlocking many secrets.
There are also state censuses. For example, New York also performs one every ten years, but it is on the off years of the Federal Census. The Federal Census happens on the 0’s, the New York State Census occurs on the 5’s. For example, The Federal Census was taken in the years 1900, 1910, and 1920 while the New York one was taken in 1905, 1915, 1925. This gives you information every five years instead of every ten, it can answer many questions but also may contain lost children. For example, if a family has a child in 1901 and that child passes away in 1906, that child would not be listed on the Federal Census. Some, but not all of the censuses taken in the past, asked how many children you had vs. how many living. With this example, the child would be listed on the 1905 New York State Census. I have also found deceased children by investigating further. If a family has a larger number of children and at regular intervals, say every 18-24 months, but there is a gap of maybe four years between siblings, I always look for a lost child. Reference newspaper obituaries and local cemeteries using the last name or the name of the parents as a search term and you may turn up something. Of course, these children would not have any direct descendants, however, they are still part of the tree and the story of your direct descendants. Personally, I think it to be a very important aspect of my research to find out about their existence and put them in their proper place on the tree. Since they have no direct ancestors, you may be the only one to find and know of their existence.
Happy Searching!!
What can a census tell us? Well, in the later ones, they list everyone in the household, even telling us the relation to the head of the household. They also list ages (when looking at children if you see a fraction, as in: 9/12, it means that the child was nine months old at the time of the census). Keep in mind with the age of an individual that it reflects the age they were the time the census was taken. It was not based on their birthday and what age they were going to be. It also may list their occupation. It is always fun and interesting to see how they made their living and it could help in your research. It may list a company they worked for. You can then search that company and find out more information or, if you’re really lucky, job titles, pictures, or at the very least a little more about the location and what they did which can add context to your research.
When looking at a page of the census, keep in mind that, 100-200 hundred years ago, families did not necessarily move frequently like we do now. I always look on the whole page to see if any other names are relatives or could be relatives. I have had luck finding relatives in this way. One time I found one branch of the family tree I was researching living in an apartment building. I had a maiden name, but I wasn’t sure if it was definitely hers. So, I looked at the rest of the names on the page and their neighbors had the same name as the potential maiden name I was looking into. I then searched those names going back one census and found that it was indeed her family. She was living with her husband and children two doors down from her father and his new wife. It was a wonderful find.
They perform the census by town and street so you can look it up and see if the house is still standing. I have done this using a site like Google Maps in situations when driving to the location is not immediately feasible. The census also gives you a geographic area to start looking for newspaper articles, cemeteries, historical societies, and research libraries that may have information, and town halls that might have the birth/marriage/ death certificates on file. Location is definitely a huge key to unlocking many secrets.
There are also state censuses. For example, New York also performs one every ten years, but it is on the off years of the Federal Census. The Federal Census happens on the 0’s, the New York State Census occurs on the 5’s. For example, The Federal Census was taken in the years 1900, 1910, and 1920 while the New York one was taken in 1905, 1915, 1925. This gives you information every five years instead of every ten, it can answer many questions but also may contain lost children. For example, if a family has a child in 1901 and that child passes away in 1906, that child would not be listed on the Federal Census. Some, but not all of the censuses taken in the past, asked how many children you had vs. how many living. With this example, the child would be listed on the 1905 New York State Census. I have also found deceased children by investigating further. If a family has a larger number of children and at regular intervals, say every 18-24 months, but there is a gap of maybe four years between siblings, I always look for a lost child. Reference newspaper obituaries and local cemeteries using the last name or the name of the parents as a search term and you may turn up something. Of course, these children would not have any direct descendants, however, they are still part of the tree and the story of your direct descendants. Personally, I think it to be a very important aspect of my research to find out about their existence and put them in their proper place on the tree. Since they have no direct ancestors, you may be the only one to find and know of their existence.
Happy Searching!!
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