Rhode Island State Census, 1905 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of an index to the population schedule of the census Rhode Island taken by the state in 1905. The 1905 state census lists Rhode Island residents of the state as of 1905. Each resident is listed on a single form. The forms are arranged in order by place of residence (county, town or city, ward, enumeration district), then by gender, and then alphabetically by surname. The census tells whether a person is the head of household or lists relationship of the person to the head of household.

Rhode Island began taking its own census every ten years beginning in 1865. The 1895 state census is missing. 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.

Population schedules are handwritten on printed cards. The cards are arranged alphabetically by family name and then by town. There are different cards for males and females. This census covers 90 to 95 percent of the individuals within the counties enumerated.

For a list of records by localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

Record Content
Information found in the Rhode Island State Census for the year 1905 includes:


 * Enumeration district
 * Full name and address of principal
 * Ward, voting district and county were residing
 * Race and age of principal
 * Birth date and birth place of principal
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Native or foreign born
 * Occupation
 * Year of immigration
 * Number of years resident in the United States
 * Number of years resident in Rhode Island
 * Number of years resident during in town/city in which living

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


 * The name
 * Some other identifying information such as birth date and place or the address.

Search the Collection
To search the collection by name fill in your ancestor’s name in 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.

If you did not find the person you were looking for, you may need to search the collection image by image. ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "City/Town" ⇒Select the appropriate "Gender" ⇒Select the appropriate "Surname Range" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. Be aware that with either search you may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.


 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

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 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.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity, such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses.
 * Use the naturalization information to find their naturalization papers in the county court records. It can also help you locate immigration records such as a passenger list which would usually be kept records at the port of entry into the United States.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * 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.”
 * 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.

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

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites

 * Rhode Island State Census Transcription Project
 * Free Census Project USGenWeb
 * Rhode Island Censuses

Related Wiki Articles

 * Rhode Island
 * Rhode Island Census
 * Rhode Island Censuses Existing and Lost

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Island, State Census, 1905

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. 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.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.