Census
records
Census records are the backbone of research for families from about 1850 to
1930. The United States Federal government has conducted a Federal Census every 10 years and the records are released for public use
after 70 years.
Records prior to 1850 can be valuable, but detailed information on anyone in the family except for the head of household is not included in the census data prior to 1850.
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Censuses conducted between 1850 and 1930 provide a wealth of information, although what information was gathered varies. Typically, however,
you will find the the names of everyone in the household, along with each person's relationship to the head of the household. The date of birth or each person's age at the time of the census is also included. Other information such as occupation, level of education, location of birth and location of parent's birth is also included. For people tracking births and deaths in a family, information is usually listed that shows how many children the mother has borne and how many have survived. And the number of years of marriage is also listed typically.
Because enumerators traveled from door to door to gather information, your
also get hints about who lived near one another.
