In our previous posts on beginning genealogy, we discussed basic principles, software and websites. In this installment, let’s talk about records. What records do you use? Family bible is great place to start, if you have one. Remember dates and names in the bible are only as accurate as who wrote down the information, but it is a good jumping off point. It gives you some names and close enough dates.
Vital Records
Does your family have birth certificates, marriage records, or death certificates? Those are good jumping off points for your research. Birth certificates are usually accurate, marriage records also are fairly accurate, but be careful of death certificates. The information on death certificates is given by a spouse, or perhaps a grown child, and there might be mistakes, especially for the decendent’s parent’s names. For example, my great grandmother lied about her age her whole life (for various reasons) and on her death certificate, the doctor wrote in two different birth years, crossed through them, and entered a third year, which turned out to be inaccurate after my own searching.
Census Records
The next source is U. S. Federal census records. The census is taken every 10 years. Starting with 1790 up to 1940. The 1950 record will be released in April 2022. The reason for the long delay in releasing the census is when these first started life expectancy was approximately 70 years, so government settled on 72 years for release time.
Each census gives you different information. From 1790 to 1840 the census listed only the name of the head of the household, while the others living in the same household were listed under age brackets by a tic mark. The 1850 census finally listed each person by name. In 1860, there is a regular census record and also a slave schedule that only lists slaves by their race, age, and sex. The 1890 census burned and only small fragments remain. The 1900 census gives race, birth month and year of each person in the home, how many years married, how many children born and living, immigration year, naturalization, occupation, and other information.
The 1910 census lists veterans of each war, whether they live on a farm or a house, birthplace of each person, etc. The 1920 census lists street address, birthplaces and type of language spoken, whether able to read, write, attend school, occupation, and year of immigration. The 1930 census lists house number and street name, whether they own or rent a home, and if they have a radio. The 1940 census has estimated birth year, house and street name, highest grade completed, where they lived in 1935, and how many weeks worked in 1939.
You can access census records on many websites, including FamilySearch, GenealogyBank, National Archives, Ancestry, HeritageQuest, and others. Some of these sites are free, some have access for a week or a month free, then you pay a monthly fee. Your local library may have access.
You want to start with the 1940 census and work your way backwards either yourself, your parents or grandparents. It will be helpful to know city and state where they lived, but not absolutely necessary. You can search the index by names. If you don’t know your grandparents names or great grandparents, utilize the birth records, marriage records and death certificates, and bible records to find out their names. You might have to search the census records through siblings. Years back, two or three generations of families lived in the same house, so you might hit the jackpot that way!
Warning
One warning about census records. When the census taker came to the door of a home, the head of household or other adult might not be available. Information could have been given by an older child, a grandparent, cousin, sometimes a neighbor, if no one was at home. The information on the census varies from one census to another. Age seems to be the most variable, sometimes by as much as 20 years or as little as 4 years. Take it with a grain of salt, but it does give a fantastic snapshot of your ancestor and their family life.
It is exciting to look ahead to April of this year for the 1950 census. It will have different information. The sad part is that each census seems to have less and less genealogical information. As many genealogists know, we work with what is there. Let us know how your research is going in the comments below!
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