United States Census

United States U.S. Census See also Beginning Census Research and Record Keeping in the FamilySearch Learning Center.

=== Key U.S. Census Internet Links &lt;img src="/learn/wiki/en/images/6/6b/American_flags.jpg" _fck_mw_filename="American flags.jpg" _fck_mw_location="right" _fck_mw_width="150" _fck_mw_height="120" _fck_mw_type="thumb" alt="" class="fck_mw_frame fck_mw_right" style="width: 150; height: 120;" /&gt; ===


 * &lt;a href="https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&amp;countryId=1"&gt;FamilySearch Historical Records &lt;/a&gt; (Free) Indexes and images 1790-1940. (Slide down to see census years)
 * &lt;a href="United States Census Online"&gt;U.S. Census Online &lt;/a&gt; Internet links
 * &lt;a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html"&gt;U.S. Census Bureau &lt;/a&gt; (Free) images of published transcriptions of 1790 census for 12 states
 * &lt;a href="https://archive.org/details/us_census"&gt;Internet Archive&lt;/a&gt; (Free) images 1790-1930
 * &lt;a href="http://www.ancestry.com"&gt;Ancestry.com &lt;/a&gt; ($) indexes &amp; images 1790-1940
 * &lt;a href="http://www.censusrecords.com/"&gt;CensusRecords.com&lt;/a&gt; ($) indexes &amp; images 1790-1940
 * &lt;a href="http://www.findmypast.com/"&gt;Findmypast.com&lt;/a&gt; ($) indexes &amp; images 1790 - 1940
 * &lt;a href="http://www.heritageQuestonline.com"&gt;HeritageQuest &lt;/a&gt; ($) images 1790-1940 + a few indexes
 * &lt;a href="http://www.footnote.com/"&gt;Fold3.com &lt;/a&gt; ($) index &amp; images 1860 and 1930
 * &lt;a href="http://www.myfreecensus.com"&gt;My Free Census&lt;/a&gt; Find your ancestors in the U.S. census, and International census records, in our easy to use census directory.
 * &lt;a href="http://www.newhorizonsgenealogicalservices.com"&gt;New Horizons Genealogy&lt;/a&gt; Specializing in State Census Records.
 * &lt;a href="http://www.censusfinder.com"&gt;Census Finder&lt;/a&gt; free census links and how to use census records for genealogical research.
 * &lt;a href="http://www.cyndislist.com/us/census/"&gt;Cyndi's List - United States - U.S. Census&lt;/a&gt; free index of links
 * Internet Archive &lt;a href="http://archive.org/details/us_census"&gt; http://archive.org/details/us_census&lt;/a&gt; free complete use of all US census records

Value of Censuses
A census is a count and description of the population of a country,state, county, or city. Census lists are also called “schedules." In the United States a nationwide census has been taken every ten years since 1790. A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to:


 * Follow the family over time.
 * Determine family relationships.
 * Show clues for finding other records.
 * U.S. Presidents appearing in census schedules.

Contents of Federal Censuses

 * What You'll Learn in the Census Year by Year Ancestry.com ($) Comparison table of census headings
 * Historical Census Browser 1790-1960 (University of Virginia Library)

Blank forms for each U.S. census year

Key Reference Sources

 * William Thorndale, and William Dollarhide, Map Guide to U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1920 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1987) []. Shows county boundary changes in each state from 1790 to 1920, and which census areas were lost or still exist.
 * William Dollarhide, The Census Book: a Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes: with Master Extraction Forms for Federal Census Schedules, 1790-1930. (Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1999)[]. An online edition is at HeritageQuestOnline. Discusses indexes, regular, and non-population schedules.
 * G. David Dilts, "Censuses and Tax Lists" in Kory L. Meyerink, ed., Printed Sources: a Guide to Published Genealogical Records (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1998), 300-52. [] Strategies for finding elusive ancestors, and history of indexing.
 * Tiffany Perkins, Tiff's Census Class (27 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, and Mid-Continent Public Library, Midwest Genealogy Center, 2010.
 * Gary Toms, State and Special Census Records (36 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, and Mid-Continent Public Library, Midwest Genealogy Center, 2010.
 * Angela McComas, Heads of Household Only: Analysis of Pre-1850 Federal Census (19 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, and Mid-Continent Public Library, Midwest Genealogy Center, 2010.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

United States Census Population Schedules, 1890 (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Things you can do
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