New York State Census, 1865 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
These records are for the year 1865.

Record Description
The record is a printed form that was filled in by hand by the enumerator. It includes schedules, tables and comments. The records are usually arranged by county and town.

Known Issues With This Collection
Kings, Brooklyn, Ward 12: There is a section of Ward 11 (bounded by Myrtle, Hudson, Willoughby Bridge Streets) incorporated in the Ward 12 image database (images 52 thru 88).

Record Content


Key genealogical facts found in the population schedules of the 1865 New York State Census are:


 * Name of every person whose usual place of abode was in the family on the 1st day of June, 1865
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Color
 * Relation to the head of the family
 * In what county of New York, or in what state or country born
 * Parent of how many children
 * Number of times married
 * Current marital status (married, widowed, or single)
 * Occupation
 * Citizenship (native, naturalized, or alien)
 * If owner of the land
 * If currently or formerly in the Army or Navy

How to Use the Records
A census can provide you with names and ages of family members, which can then be used to calculate birth or marriage dates. It can provide the county and town where your ancestor lived, people living with (or gone from) the family, and relatives that may have lived nearby. The census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist. This census includes several other sections, beyond the population schedules, that contain useful information. It includes two schedules with information of officers and enlisted men currently in the military and officers and enlisted men who had served in the military. This census contains information on when and where the individual first entered the military, their rank, how long they were in the service, their present health, as well as several other items. The census also includes tables on marriages and deaths occurring during the year ending June 1, 1865. These tables contain typical marriage and death information. One other table that contains valuable information is entitled deaths of officers and enlisted men. This table contains deaths of individuals which had occurred while in the military or naval service of the United States, or from wounds or disease acquired in said service since April, 1861, reported by the families to which the deceased belonged when at home. It includes the name of the deceased, age at death, if married or single, if a citizen, several items relating to military information, date of death, place of death, manner of death, survivors of the deceased, place of burial and any remarks.

Record History
State censuses were created by the state of New York and were taken about every ten years beginning in 1795. This census does not cover the entire population of the state of New York because the counties of Clinton, Franklin, Genesee, Hamilton, New York, Putnam, Queens, Seneca, Westchester, and Wyoming are missing.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The census was compiled to obtain a count and description of the population of the state of New York.

Record Reliability
Use the information with some caution, since the information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

Related Web Sites
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Related Wiki Articles
New York Census

Sources of Information for This Collection:
New York Census, 1865, database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/); from various County Clerks throughout New York. FHL microfilm, 75 rolls, Family History Library Salt Lake City, Utah

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Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * United States. Bureau of Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: Setpemper 29.2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B,line 71.
 * Mexico, Districto Federal, Catholic Church Records 1886-1933, digital imagbes, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Femandez Jimenez, 1 Feb, 1910, San Pedro Apostol, Cuahimalpa, Districto Federal, Mexico Film number 0227023