Wisconsin State Census, 1885 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
Wisconsin census were conducted from 1855-1905. This information pertains to censuses taken in the year 1895.

Record Description
Population schedules consisted of large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules are arranged by county, then by political subdivision. The arrangement of families on a schedule is normally in the order in which the enumerator visited the households.

Record Content
Key genealogical facts found in Wisconsin state censuses for the year 1895 are:


 * Name of the head of the family
 * Number of individuals in the household by sex and race
 * Number of deaf and dumb, blind, insane, and foreign born
 * Birth place
 * If a Civil War soldier or sailor
 * Rank
 * Company
 * Regiment
 * State of military service
 * Vessel of military service
 * Post office where residing

Record History
In 1855 the state legislature directed that a census be taken in June of that year and every 10 years thereafter. The completed forms were sent to the Secretary of State. The census covers approximately 90% of the population.

Why This Collection Was Created?
The state census of Wisconsin was taken in order to enumerate the population for representation purposes.

Record Reliability
Censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. 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.

Related Web Sites
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Related Wiki Articles
Wisconsin Census

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above. Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023

Style Guide
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Sources of information for This Collection
"Wisconsin 1885 State Census," database, FamilySearch; (http://familysearch.org), from Wisconsin Department of State. Digital images of originals housed in the Wisconsin State Historical Society at Madison. FHL microfilm, 10 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

We welcome your assistance in adding source citation information for individual archives when collection data was collected from various sources or archives. The format for citing FamilySearch Historical Collections, including how to cite individual archives is found in the following link: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections