Minnesota, Clay County, School Census Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This Collection will include records from 1909 to 1962 with many errors with some years incorrectly identified and in particular the 1960's.

The listing of school-aged children is a common practice throughout the United States. The records are usually compiled on a yearly basis and help local governments determine funding needs for individual schools. The information is usually reliable although the ages are sometimes off by a year and legal guardians may be confused with parents.

Record Content
Information found in the records may include the following:


 * Name of county
 * School district
 * Name of child
 * Gender
 * Age of child
 * Date of birth
 * Name of parent/guardian
 * Home Address

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Name of the child
 * Age or approximate birth date
 * Parents' names
 * Residence

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒Select Browse through images on the initial collection page ⇒Select the "School District and year range" category which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, 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 ancestor. For example:


 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date.
 * Use the age or birth date along with the parents’ names and residence to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile the entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents.
 * Continue to search the birth records to identify other relatives such as cousins who attended the same school or other nearby schools.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after 1885.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from record to record.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Related Websites

 * Clay County Services
 * Clay County Historical Society
 * Clay County Genealogy

Related Wiki Articles

 * Minnesota History
 * Clay County, Minnesota

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

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