Alabama Census

United States   U.S. Census    Alabama    Census

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of Alabama, click here

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of Alabama, click here.

State, Territorial, and Colonial Censuses
Censuses were taken in Alabama in different years than the federal censuses. These censuses may have different data compared to federal censuses. Check these censuses for more information on a family.


 * 1907
 * 1866 Counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Choctaw, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Dale, Dallas, De Kalb, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston
 * 1861-1865 Covington County
 * 1855 Counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Dale, Dallas, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston. Has a printed index.
 * 1850 Counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Benton, Blount, Butler, Chambers, Cherokee, Choctaw, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Dale, Dallas, De Kalb, Franklin, Greene, Henry, Jefferson, Lawrence, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pike, Randolph, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Washington, and Wilcox
 * 1823
 * 1821
 * 1820 Counties: Baldwin, Conecuh, Dallas, Franklin, Limestone, St. Clair, Shelby, Wilcox
 * 1818 partial
 * 1816
 * 1809 Madison County
 * 1805 Mobile City
 * 1789 Mobile City
 * 1787 Mobile City
 * 1786 Mobile City
 * 1785 Tensas

Confederate Veterans’ Censuses

1927, 1921, 1907--Special censuses of Confederate veterans who were receiving a pension were taken. Microfilm copies are available at the Alabama Department of Archives and History at http://www.archives.state.al.us/, and at the Family History Library:


 * Alabama. State Auditor. Confederate Soldiers in Alabama: 1907–1927. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. (On ten FHL .)

The 1927 census contains the veteran’s name, his widow’s name, her age and birth date, and their marriage date. The records are arranged by county, then alphabetically by the name of the widow. This series is not complete. Some of the returns are found in the Confederate Pension Applications.

The 1921 census provides each veteran’s name, place and date of birth, place of residence, length of Alabama residence, occupation, wife’s age and place of birth, marriage date and place, names of living children, occupation, and post office box. The forms also contain the veteran’s rank, company, regiment, captain and colonel’s name, battles, wounds, captures, imprisonments, and transfers.

The 1907 census includes each person’s name, place of residence, date and place of birth, rank, date of entry into military service, date and place of discharge or separation, and name of military unit. The 1907 lists have been abstracted, indexed, and published. They are available in:


 * 1907 Alabama Census of Confederate Soldiers. Cullman, Alabama: Gregath, 1982. Five Volumes. (FHL 1907; on four films beginning with .) The information for covers the following counties: Bibb, Calhoun, Chilton, Choctaw, Cleburne, Coffee, Coosa, Cullman, Dale, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Marion, Mobile, Monroe, Morgan, Talladega, and Tallapoosa Counties. The volumes are alphabetical by county. This book gives the soldier’s name, full birth date, city and state of birth, when and where enlisted, unit, and mustering-out date.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing Alabama censuses, click here.

Why use a census?
A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses
Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:


 * index searching tips
 * analyzing and using what you find
 * census accuracy
 * historical background
 * contents of various census years and types

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Alabama State Census, 1855 (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Alabama State Census, 1866 (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Sources and footnotes

 * 1) Record Search, a rapidly expanding set of free online indexes and document images, including many United States federal and state censuses; part of FamilySearch.
 * 2) FamilySearch, a free online service of the Family History Library, including an index of the 1880 federal census of the United States; connected with 1880 census images provided by Ancestry.com, a subscription site.
 * 3) BYU Family History Archives provides free online digital images of family history books and a few census indexes from participating institutions such as Brigham Young University Library, Allen County Public Library, or the Family History Library.
 * 4) Alabama Census Records at Census Finder provides a free directory of links to census records found online for the state of Alabama along with information on how to use census records in genealogical research.
 * 5) HeritageQuest has arranged with many subscribing public libraries in the United States to allow users free access on home computers by means of their personal library card numbers. HeritageQuest provides images of all surviving 1790 to 1930 federal censuses, and indexes to many but not all of them.
 * 6) Fold3 previously known as Footnote.com, it is a subscription site partnering with the National Archives and includes many federal censuses. New censuses are added frequently but the site is most well known for it's premier collection of original military records.
 * 7) Ancestry.com features a vast amount of census records online. All Federal census records 1790-1930 are online along with census indexes. They have also added many state census records to their collections.