New Jersey, State Census, 1855 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This census covers the residents of New Jersey in 1855. The census is a printed form that was filled in by hand by the enumerator. It is arranged by county and by township within each county. It was acquired from the National Archives and Records Administration.

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 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.

Record Content
The 1855 census generally lists:


 * Name of head of household
 * Number of males and females in household by category
 * Nationality
 * Race
 * Number of children in household ages 5 to 16

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


 * Name of the head of the household
 * Identifying information such as place of residence, race or nationality

Search the Collection
To search the collection: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "Locality" 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 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 place of residence to search other records such as federal censuses, church and land records.
 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * If they are foreign born, look for immigration and naturalization records.
 * 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 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.
 * You should also be aware that the census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

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 a different index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census.

Related Websites

 * New Jersey Department of State
 * New Jersey 1880 Census Partial Index

Related Wiki Articles

 * New Jersey Genealogy
 * New Jersey Census
 * New Jersey Censuses Existing and Lost

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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