Wisconsin, State Census, 1905 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United StatesWisconsin

What is in the Collection?
Wisconsin census were conducted from 1855-1905. This information pertains to censuses taken in the year 1905.

The state census of Wisconsin was taken in order to enumerate the population for representation purposes.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Facts found in Wisconsin State Censuses for the year 1905 are:


 * Town and county in which census was taken
 * Name of each person in family
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Age, gender and birth place
 * Parents' names and their birthplace
 * Race, and marital status of each person
 * Occupation
 * Home owner or renter
 * Whether living on a farm or in a house

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The county where your ancestor lived.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "Locality" which takes you to the images.

Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the wiki article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record. Birth records often list biographical and marital details about the parents and close relatives other than the immediate family.
 * Search additional state and county records for information about the family.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * If they are subject to military service they may have military files in the State or National Archives.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment or school records; children’s occupations are often listed as “at school.”

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for another index. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals with the same family number.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation: