United States Census, 1920 - FamilySearch Historical Records/Known Issues

Known Issues
NOTE: To determine which digital records are likely to be found within a collection or to find missing images, see, Using Film Notes in the Catalog to determine the content of a final browse point in Historical Records (56000).

NOTE: If the census record is for Puerto Rico (both a Spanish and English speaking country), the possibility exists that the race designator "B" could have been for Blanco (white) and not Black.

Question #1: Some records are missing. Where can the records be viewed? Answer #1: See answers below for information about known missing records and respective film numbers, if available, or alternate online location:


 * Alaska &gt; First Judicial District and &gt; Fourth Judicial District have many illegible images that were not indexed. Order Film 1822030 to view the records.
 * Arkansas &gt; Columbia &gt; Magnolia Ward 3 &gt; 0087 &gt; between Image 3-4 missing Page 2B and 3A. Order Film 1820059 to view the records. The names on the records were not indexed.
 * Arizona &gt; Maricopa &gt; Phoenix &gt; 0058 &gt; between Image 5-6 missing Page 3A, and Arizona &gt; Maricopa &gt; Phoenix &gt; 0062 &gt; between Image 16-17 missing Page 9A. Order Film 1820049 to view the records. The names on the records were not indexed.
 * Texas &gt; El Paso is missing many Enumeration Districts. Order Film 1821798 to view the complete set of Enumeration Districts 36-55, 93, 37-55, 59. The names on the record were not indexed.
 * Wisconsin &gt; Kewaunee &gt; Ahnapee &gt; 0091 between Image 6-7 missing a page. The page number and Enumeration District are illegible. Order Film 1821990, Frame 830 to view the records. The names on the record were not indexed.

Question #2: The Event Type and Year Range (browse point) title does not properly reflect the actual digital record content. How can I determine what digital records are likely to be found within a collection? Answer #2: The list of known browse point discrepancies describes the event type or year range existing in the collection:


 * North Dakota &gt; Towner &gt; Moza should be spelled as Maza. The indexed records also need to be corrected.
 * Ohio &gt; Greene &gt; Townships of Kenia Ward 1, Kenia Ward 2, Kenia Ward 3, and Kenia Ward 4 should be spelled Xenia. The indexed records also need to be corrected.

Question #3: Why am I directed to a partner site ancestry.com where I have to pay for the image? Answer #3: The 1920 U.S. Census is a partnership venture between FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com. FamilySearch created the indexed records which are free to all users. The images can be viewed in several ways.


 * Images are available for viewing with an LDS login (available to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the supporting organization behind FamilySearch.
 * Images are free to the public at any FamilySearch Center. Call the FamilySearch Center to verify that it is certified to view these images.
 * Image can be viewed at Ancestry.com for a fee.
 * The National Archives and the Family History Library have complete sets of the existing 1920 census. The films are listed in the Family History Library Catalog at 1920 Population Census Schedules.

View a very brief video titled Access to Records to understand why we partnership with other organizations.

Question #4: Some indexed records have event place or date errors. How can I determine the correct information? Answer #4: View the document to verify the correct information. The event place and date can also be checked by searching the Catalog using the film number included in the record detail page. See Finding microfilm numbers in the catalog (55632).

Question #5: Some family members are not listed with the family unit or household in the record detail page. How can I find all the family members? Answer #5: Always view the original image to validate correct family relationships. To work around the problem, search by last name and residence or event place. On the record detail page, compare the Line Number and Family Number. To refine the search, include the Film Number. Families are grouped sequentially on the same image or an adjacent image. If a family unit begins on the bottom of a census page, and continues at the top of the next census page, the family members are generally not grouped together. In some cases, the enumerator recorded entries that are not in sequence. In other cases, the pages were out of order when filmed. View the images and watch for consecutive page numbers to assure correct family connections.

If additional problems are encountered with the collection, you can report them at [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org].


 * If searching the collection: please include the name of the collection, and all search criteria used, including name, event, dates and places.
 * If browsing the collection: please include the full browse path you used to get to where the problem occurred. The browse path is located above the image viewer window. For example: United States Census, 1920 &gt; 4390890 &gt; Image 10 of 348.
 * For technical issues: please include operating system and browser version.

Return to the United States Census, 1920 (FamilySearch Historical Records) article.

Return to the United States Census, 1920 collection at FamilySearch.org.