Free Genealogy Census Records
Search
Guide to the US Federal Census Online
You can use the census to --
Find birthplace of head of household, his children and parents
Identify family relationships
Find ancestor as a child to identify his parents.
Learn year of immigration, naturalization status, and birthplace of parents giving another avenue of research.
Learn veteran status to request pension records which can give birth and death dates, proof of marriage and children's births, and much more. Learn more.
Learn ancestor's address so that you can visit ancestral house.
Check each census year below to learn the various census repositories, and to read the census questions asked each year that can be used for more genealogy clues.
1930 Census
Census Date - April 1, 1930
1930 Census Finding Aids
1930 Census Questions:
Address
Name
Relationship to head of household
Home owned or rented
Value or monthly rental
Radio set
Whether on a farm
Sex
Race (W - White, Neg - Negro, Mex - Mexican, In - Indian, Ch - Chinese, Jp - Japanese; Fil - Filipino, Hin - Hindu, Kor - Korean, Other races are spelled out in full, For Indian: whether of full or mixed blood, and tribal affiliation
Age
Marital status, age at first marriage
School attendance
Literacy
Birthplace of person and parents
If foreign born, language spoken in home before coming to the U.S.
Year of immigration
Whether naturalized (Na - Naturalized, Pa - First Papers, Al - Alien)
Whether speaks English
Occupation, industry, and class of worker
Whether at work previous day (or last regular working day)
Veteran status (WW - World War, Sp - Spanish-America War, Civ - Civil War, Phil - Philippine Insurrection, Box - Boxer Rebellion, Mex - Mexican Punitive Expedition)
1920 Census
Census Date - January 1, 1920
1920 Census Finding Aids
1920 Census Questions:
Address
Name
Relation to head of household
Whether home owned or rented; if owned, whether free or mortgaged
Sex
Color or race
Age at last birthday
Marital status
Year of immigration
Whether naturalized or alien (A or AL - Alien; NA - Naturalized; NR - Not Reported; PA - First Papers Filed)
If naturalized, year of naturalization
Whether attended school
Whether able to read
Whether able to write
Birthplace and mother tongue
Birthplaces and mother tongues of parents
Whether able to speak English
Trade, profession or type of work done
Employed in what industry
Whether employer, salary or wage worker, or working on own account
Number of farm schedule
1910 Census
Census Date - April 15, 1910
1910 Census Finding Aids
1910 Census Questions:
Address
Name
Relation to head of household
Sex
Color or race
Age at last birthday
Marital status
Number of years of present marriage
Number of children born (to the wife, widow or divorcee)
Number of those children living
Birthplace, if foreign born, mother tongue
Birthplaces of parents
Year of immigration
Whether naturalized or alien for foreign born males 21 years old or older (A or AL - Alien; NA - Naturalized; NR - Not Reported; PA - First Papers Filed)
Whether able to speak English
Occupation
Employed in what industry
Whether out of work on 15 April 1910
Number of weeks out of work during 1909
Whether able to read and write
Whether able to attend school at any time since 1 September 1909
Whether house is owned or rented; a farm or house; whether it is mortgage free
Whether a survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy
Whether blind, deaf or dumb (mute)
1900 Census
Census Date June 1, 1900
1900 Census Finding Aids
1900 Census Questions:
Address
Name
Relation to head of household
Color
Sex
Month and year of birth, and age at last birthday
Marital status
Number of years married
For married women, number of children born and
number of those children living
Birthplace
Father's birthplace
Mother's birthplace
For an alien or naturalized citizen: year of immigration to the US; number of years in the US, whether still an alien, having applied for citizenship, or naturalized (A or AL - Alien; NA - Naturalized; NR - Not Reported; PA - First Papers Filed)
Occupation of 10 and older, or number of months not employed
Information about school attendance, literacy and ability to speak English
Whether residence was a farm
Whether occupant was a homeowner
1890 Census
Census Date - June 1, 1890
The 1890 census was destroyed in a fire in Washington in 1921. Less than 1 per cent survived, 6,160 total names, available on 3 rolls of microfilm.
1890 Census Finding Aids
- 1890 Census Substitute
Ancestry has been posting alternate records to help find ancestors around the time of the 1890 census. The 1890 census substitute database includes fragments of the original 1890 census that survived the fire, special veterans schedules, several Native American tribe censuses for years surrounding 1890, state censuses (1885 or 1895), city and county directories, alumni directories, and voter registration documents. View it for free.
- 1890 Veterans Census
This database at Ancestry.com is an index to individuals enumerated in the 1890 special census of Civil War Union veterans and widows of veterans available on microfilm M123 (118 rolls) from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Although this schedule was to be used to enumerate Union veterans, in some areas, Confederate veterans were listed as well.
- Census Online
Links to online transcribed census records.
- 1890 Census Index Microfilm Numbers
Soundex (Phonetic Index) for the surviving 1890 Census records. Use these microfilm numbers to order census index by soundex code from NARA or Family History Centers.
1880 Census
Census Date - June 1, 1880
1880 Census Finding Aids
1880 Census Questions:
Address
Name
Whether white, black, mulatto, Indian or Chinese
Sex
Age
Month of birth if born within the year
Relation to head of household
Occupation and months employed
Name of state, territory or country of birth
Father's birthplace
Mother's birthplace
School attendance
Ability to read if aged 10 or older
Ability to write if aged 10 or older
Whether sick or temporarily disabled on the day of enumeration and the reason
1870 Census
Census Date - June 1, 1870
1870 Census Finding Aids
1870 Census Questions:
Name
Age at last birthday
Sex
Race - (W - White, B - Black, M - Mulatto, C - Chinese, I - Indian)
Profession, occupation or trade
Value of real estate and personal property
Place of birth (state, territory or country)
Whether father is of foreign birth
Whether mother is of foreign birth
Month of birth if born within the year
Month of marriage if married within the year
Whether attended school within the year
Whether can read and write
Whether deaf, dumb (mute), blind, insane or idiot
Whether male citizen of the US aged 21 years and up
Whether male citizen of the US aged 21 years and up whose right to vote was denied or abridged on other grounds than rebellion or other crime
1860 Census
Census Date - June 1860
1860 Census Help
1860 Census Questions:
Name
Age
Sex
Color (white, black or mulatto)
Occupation of persons over 15
Value of real estate; value of personal estate
Place of birth (state, territory or country)
Whether person was married during the year
Whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, an idiot, a pauper or a convict
Slave schedules show:
Name of slave owner
Number of slaves owned
Number of slaves manumitted (freed)
Under the slave owner's name a line for each slave shows age, color, sex, whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, idiotic or a fugitive from the state
Names of slaves were not entered
1850 Census
Census Date - June 1, 1850
1850 Census Finding Aids
1850 Census Questions:
Name of each free person in a household
Age
Sex
Color (white, black or mulatto)
Occupation of males over 15
Value of real estate owned
Whether person attended school or was married within the year
Whether the person could read or write if over 20
Whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, an idiot, a pauper or a convict
Slave schedules show:
Name of slave owner
Number of slaves owned
Number of slaves manumitted (freed)
Under the slave owner's name a line for each slave shows: age, color, sex, whether deaf-mute, blind, insane, idiotic or a fugitive from the state
Names of slaves were not entered
1840 Census
1840 Census Finding Aids
Census Date - June 1, 1840
1840 Census Questions:
Head of household
Number of free white males and females categorized by age group
Number of free colored males and females by age group
Number of male and female slaves by age group
Number of persons in each family engaged in various occupations
Names and ages of military pensioners
Number of both white and colored deaf, mute and blind persons
Number of students
Number of scholars at public charge
Number of free white persons older than 20 who could not read and write
1830 Census
Census Date - June 1, 1830
1830 Census Finding Aids
1830 Census Questions:
Head of household
Number of free white males and females categorized by age group
Number of foreigners not naturalized
Number of free colored males and females by age group
Number of male and female slaves by age group
Number of white blind persons and Number of blind slaves and colored persons
Number of white deaf-mutes and Number of deaf-mute slaves and colored persons
Number of white aliens
1820 Census
Census Date - August 7, 1820
1820 Census Finding Aids
1820 Census Questions:
Head of household
Number of free white males and females categorized by age group
Number of foreigners not naturalized
Number of free colored males and females by age group
Number of male and female slaves by age group
Number of all other persons except Indians not taxed
1810 Census
1810 Census Finding Aids
Census Date - August 6, 1810
1810 Census Questions:
Head of household
Number of free white males and free white females categorized by age group
Number of all other free persons except Indians not taxed
Number of slaves
1800 Census
Census Date - August 6, 1800
1800 Census Finding Aids
1800 Census Questions:
Head of household
Number of free white males and free white females categorized by age group
Number of all other free persons except Indians not taxed
Number of slaves
1790 Census
Census Date - August 2, 1790
1790 Census Finding Aids
1790 Census Questions:
Head of household
Number of free white males ages 16 and older
Number of free white males under the age of 16
Number of free white females
Number of all other free persons
Number of slaves
Additional Census Finding Aids
Census Search Engines
Search census databases online - RootsWeb, LDS Mormon Church, US GenWeb and more.
National Archives
The National Archives (NARA) can provide copies of specific pages of Federal census schedules, ordered by mail, using Form 82.
To request Form 82 (limit 6 per order), write to:
National Archives and Records Administration
Attn: NWCTB
700 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, DC 20408-0001
Or E-mail: inquire@nara.gov
Information required for requests:
Name of individual listed
Page Number
Census year
State and County
For the 1880 through 1930 censuses, include the enumeration district.
Researching Census Records Using Microfilm
Microfilm rolls for US Census records are available at NARA and its branches, libraries and Family History Centers.
1920 Microfilm Numbers
1910 Microfilm Numbers
1900 Microfilm Numbers
1890 Microfilm Numbers
1880 Microfilm Numbers
Family History Center Libraries
Search for the microfilm roll numbers in the online FHL catalog by doing a place search for the state, then browse topics for census.
To get the microfilm # for viewing the census from the 1880 LDS census transcription:
At the top of the transcription, there is a FHL# (followed by the LDS film number) and a T9-XXXX (where T9 is the NARA series number and XXXX is the NARA roll number) and a page number.
Sometimes the LDS transcription will also show the ward and ED number, but that's
inconsistent, so, in that case, the microfilm will show if
there's more than one volume on the film (as the numbers begin with 1
for each volume, there may be more than one page on the film with the
same page number -- just in different volumes).
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| Census Resources
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Census Guides by year
Include census dates, census questions, and research tips from Ancestry.com to help you get the most from these valuable census resources.
1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930
Census Abbreviations
Guide to the meanings behind the citizenship and other abbreviations found on the US census
Census Guide
Guide to U. S. Federal Census. Includes census questions, census finding aids, and microfilm numbers.
Soundex
Explanation and Limitations of Soundex Indexing to the U. S. Census
1930 Census Help
Guide to finding your ancestor in the 1930 census
Census Comparison Chart
Compare online census databases at a glance by using this chart for type of index and completeness of databases.
1890 Census Substitute
by Ancestry.com. This first definitive online substitute for the census destroyed by fire. It includes fragments of the original 1890 census that survived, special veterans schedules, state censuses (1885 or 1895), city and county directories, alumni directories, voter registration documents, and other databases for the years surrounding 1890.
U. S. Census Records
Soundexes, Indexes and Finding Aids by RootsWeb.
Census Records Basics
Census records are among the most widely used materials with which genealogists work. They provide a Read More
Census Sense
It is always important to record what a document or record says exactly. It is just as important to remember what a document does not say. Read More
Finding & Using Census Records
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. Read More
Census Mailing Lists
Request lookups or help others on the Rootsweb census mailing lists.
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