North Carolina Census

Census records can show the following information for each member of a household: name, age, state or country of birth, marital status, occupation, race, citizenship, and immigration information. They can also give clues to marriage dates, death dates, migration patterns, previous residence, adoptions, and divorces. Parents or other relatives may also have been living with a family when a census was taken. People listed in the census with the same surname may be related. Statewide census indexes can help you locate families when you have only their state of residence.

Federal Censuses
Population Schedules. Many federal census records are at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Research Outline provides more detailed information about these records.

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of the U.S. federal censuses for North Carolina from 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930, except for the following years and counties:

1790:  Caswell, Granville, and Orange (reconstructed from tax lists: Caswell 1780, 1784; Granville, 1786–1791; Orange, 1784–1793)

1810:  Craven, Greene, New Hanover, and Wake

1820:  Currituck, Franklin, Martin, Montgomery, Randolph, and Wake

1890:  population schedules were destroyed for all areas except for parts of Gaston County (South Point and River Bend townships) and Cleveland County (Brookhaven township number 2).

Statewide indexes are available in book form for the 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses. Soundex (phonetic) indexes are available for families with children born between 1869 and 1880 for the 1880 census and all families in the 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses.

For an index of individuals in the 99 North Carolina families recorded in the surviving fragments of the 1890 population schedule, see:

Nelson, Ken. 1890 U.S. Census Index to Surviving Population Schedules and Register of Film Numbers to the Special Census of Union Veterans. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City, Utah: Family History Library, 1991. (FHL book 973 X2na 1890; 1984 ed. on film 1421673 item113.) Another index, Index to the Eleventh Census of the United States, 1890, is on FHL films 543341–42. The existing original 1890 census records for North Carolina are on FHL film 926499.

County-wide indexes to federal censuses often contain the names of every person in the household and may also include heads of households who were overlooked or whose names were misspelled in statewide indexes. County-wide indexes can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- CENSUS- [YEAR]

Multi-state census indexes usually contain the same information gathered in preparing statewide indexes. They often index censuses (federal, state, and territorial), tax lists, and other records that identified where people lived in an area. Multi-state indexes containing North Carolina include:

FamilyFinder™ Index and Viewer Version 4.0. Brøderbund Software, Novato, California, 1997. (FamilyTreeMaker and FamilyFinder are trademarks of Brøderbund Software, Inc. FHL compact disc no.9 1997 index). This index does not circulate to Family History Centers. It is a single composite index to selected North Carolina 1680–1810 tax lists, marriage records, and the 1790 to 1860 federal censuses. An Internet edition of this index is also available:

"Internet FamilyFinder." In FamilyTreeMaker.com [database on-line]. Novato, California: Brøderbund Software, 21 July 1999 [cited 31 July 1999]. FamilyTreeMaker and FamilyFinder are trademarks of Brøderbund Software, Inc. Available http://familytreemaker.com/allsearch.html

You can search the Internet FamilyFinder index for free. It displays the census year and state for each name matching the search. It may also list many vital records, and genealogical collection citations. Once you know the census year and state, you must use the original index on compact disc, microfiche, or book to obtain enough data to easily find the name in the original census schedules. The FamilyFinder Index includes the following Jackson indexes:

Jackson, Ronald Vern. AIS Microfiche Indexes of U.S. Census and Other Records. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems International, 1984. (No FHL fiche number but available at many Family History Centers). North Carolina tax lists (1680s–1810) and census indexes (1790, 1800, and 1810) are combined on Search1. The North Carolina 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 indexes are on Searches 2–5 and 7a. A composite mortality schedule index is on Search8.

African Americans in the 1870 Census. This census index is cited fully in the "Minorities" section.

When indexes are not available, or they incorrectly record or omit a name, you can still look for the name in the census. For large cities, it helps to first learn the person’s address by searching the city directories created near the time of the census. (See the "Directories" section for more information.) Once you learn a person’s address, search the original census schedules for that address. The following reference tools help determine which census enumeration district to search for specific addresses:

Census Descriptions of Geographic Subdivisions and Enumerations Districts, (1880–1920). National Archives Microfilm Publications, T1224 and T1210. These descriptions were prepared by the United States Bureau of the Census. The Family History Library film numbers are:


 * 1880 FHL films 1402862
 * 1900 FHL films 1303025
 * 1910 FHL films 1374007
 * 1920 FHL films 1842714

A 1910 street index with corresponding census enumeration district numbers for the city of Charlotte is:

United States. Bureau of the Census. Cross Index to Selected City Streets and Enumeration Districts, 1910 Census. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1283. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1984. (On 51 FHL fiche 6331480–1.)

Mortality Schedules (1850–1880). The North Carolina mortality schedules list the names of persons who died in the 12 months prior to the 1850–1880 federal censuses. These are at the North Carolina State Archives at Raleigh. For information from these schedules, see:

Almasy, Sandra Lee. North Carolina Mortality Census, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880. 13 vols. Joliet, Illinois: Kensington Glen Publishing, 1994. (FHL book 975.6 X2a.) These volumes contain information from the 1850–1880 mortality schedules arranged by county, then by census year. Each volume has the 1850–1880 mortality schedules for a region of North Carolina, and each volume is fully indexed. The 1850–1860 mortality schedules list the first names and sometimes last names of slaves who died.

Slave Schedules (1850–1860). Slave schedules for 1850 and 1860 list the names of slave owners, but do not normally list the names of the slaves. The number of slaves, whether male or female, and the age ranges of the slaves are given. North Carolina slave schedules at the Family History Library are cataloged with the population schedules.

Veterans Schedules (1840). The 1840 federal census included a list of Revolutionary War veterans. The list gives their age, the place where they were living, and the name of the head of the household. The following index is available, listing these veterans for all states:

A General Index to a Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Service, 1840. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1965. (FHL book 973 X2pc 1965 index; fiche 6046771; film 899835 items 1–2.) The book with the actual 1840 census information is:

A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Service : With Their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington DC: Printed by Blair and Rives, 1841. (FHL book 973 X2pc 1840; film 1064759 item 3.)

Veterans Schedules (1890). For the 1890 census of North Carolina Union Army veterans of the Civil War, see:

United States. Census Office. ''11th Census, 1890. Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War''. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M0123. Washington, DC: National Archives, 1948. (On 118 reels, beginning with FHL film 338160)

Indexes to the veterans schedules are:

Almasy, Sandra L. North Carolina, 1890, Civil War Veterans Census. Joliet, Illinois: Kensington Glen Publishing, 1990. (FHL book 975.6 M2a.)

Jackson, Ronald Vern. 1890 North Carolina Census Index. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1985. (FHL book 975.6 X28j 1890.)

State Census
In 1784 the U.S. Continental Congress requested a list of the number of inhabitants in each state. North Carolina took three years (1784–1787) to complete the count. The records for 24 of the 50 counties then existing are available in:

Register, Alvaretta K. State Census of North Carolina, 1784–1787, 2nd rev. ed. 1971. Reprint, Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1973. (FHL book 975.6 X2r.) The lists include white and African American heads of families. This census shows heads of households, their residence, and the age categories of their household members. It is indexed.

Colonial Census Substitutes

For the colonial period, there are many indexes that you can use as census substitutes such as indexes to taxation records and probate records. Many tax lists and lists of residence for the 1680s–1831 are published in:

Jackson, Ronald Vern. Early North Carolina. 7 vols. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems, 1980–. (FHL book 973 D2jeno.) Each volume is alphabetized. The names of these volumes are also listed in the Accelerated Indexing Systems fiche searches 1, 2, and 3 and in the FamilyFinder™ Index and Viewer described previously.

Census records and indexes can be found in the Family History Catalog by using a Locality Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA- CENSUS- [YEAR]

NORTH CAROLINA- CENSUS- [YEAR]- INDEXES

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- CENSUS- YEAR