Iowa State Census, 1895 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This census counted and gathered information about the population in 1895.

The census information was handwritten on preprinted sheets.

Iowa became a territory in 1838 and a state in 1846. The state of Iowa conducted statewide censuses in 1847, 1849, 1854, 1856, 1859, 1862, 1865, 1867, 1869, 1873, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, and 1925.

The census was compiled to obtain a count of the population to determine how many representatives the state would send to Congress.

Reliability of the information in the census is determined by the accuracy of the knowledge of the informant, which could have been any member of the family or even a neighbor.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.

Record Content
The census includes the following information:






 * Name of every person who resided in the family
 * Age range (18 or over, 5-18 years, under 5 years)
 * Marital status
 * Gender
 * Race
 * Place of birth (if in Iowa, the county of birth; if not in Iowa, state or country)
 * Religious belief
 * Whether subject to military duty
 * Whether entitled to vote
 * If a foreigner, whether or not naturalized
 * Births or deaths in 1894
 * Whether literate or not (by age category, under or over 10 years old)
 * Children over 6 and under 17 not attending any school in 1894
 * Any disabilities
 * Occupation
 * If a soldier in the Civil War, the company, regiment, state, arm of service, and rank
 * If a soldier in the Mexican war, the regiment and state

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know your ancestor's name and other identifying information such as the residence and age.

Search the Collection
Fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor in the census, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record. Birth records often list biographical and marital details about the parents and close relatives other than the immediate family.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses.
 * Use the naturalization information to find their naturalization papers in the county court records. It can also help you locate immigration records such as a passenger list which would usually be kept records at the port of entry into the United States.
 * Use the information about religious beliefs find local church records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * If they are subject to military service they may have military files in the State or National Archives.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as school records; children’s occupations are often listed as “at school.”
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related.
 * Be sure to extract all families before you look at other records. The relationships given will help you to organize family groups. The family groupings will help you identify related families when you discover additional information in other records.
 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even county.
 * You may be able to identify an earlier generation if elderly parents were living with or close by a married child.
 * You may be able to identify a younger generation if a young married couple still lived with one of their sets of parents.
 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family in the census.
 * You should also be aware that the census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.
 * If you are unable to find your ancestor check for variant spellings of the names.

Related Web Sites
State Historical Society of Iowa

Related Wiki Articles

 * Iowa Census
 * Iowa Censuses Existing and Lost

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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A suggested format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections