New Jersey State Census, 1905 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection contains an index of the 1905 Census of New Jersey including all residents in all counties.

The state of New Jersey took a state census every 10 years, beginning in 1855 and continuing through 1915. However, the 1885 census is the first to survive in its entirety. The census was compiled to obtain a count of the population of the state to determine how many representatives the state would send to Congress. The information in this record is generally reliable. However, 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.

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 1905 state census usually contains the following information:


 * Name
 * Age
 * Estimated birth year
 * Sex
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Family number
 * Film number
 * DGS number
 * Image number
 * City, town, or village
 * County
 * Township, ward, or district

How to Use the Record
Fill in the requested information 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.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * 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 a 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.
 * The census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.

Related Websites

 * New Jersey Department of State

Related Wiki Articles

 * New Jersey Census
 * New Jersey Censuses Existing and Lost

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.