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How to Find Native American Ancestors Using the 20th Century U.S. Census

This article is primarily for novice family history researchers and aspiring genealogists who are researching their Native American ancestors in the early 1900s. However, it can be beneficial for all who desire to find their native ancestors by searching the U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 and the U.S. census collections. The research process is the same no matter the family's background and ethnicity. The research process includes: 1) Identify the known facts about the ancestor 2) Determine a research question about the ancestor (objective) 3) Select records to search 4) Obtain and search the record 5) Use the information. Throughout the research process it is best to keep a record of when, where, and what was found onto a research log for each immediate family which includes father, mother, and child or children.

Step 1: Identify the known facts about the ancestor (background knowledge)

As with any genealogical research, it is best to go from the known to the unknown. Known information will provide clues that will help with the research plan before beginning the actual research. This preliminary or background research is important for any family history research; but critical for Native American ancestry research! Collecting what family knows will not be a one time event. As with any family history research, collecting what is known by family members will be an ongoing process for many years to come.

Therefore, conducting informal interviews for oral histories will be a means to gather what the family members know about their ancestors. Out of these casual conversations or interviews will emerge information about the ancestor's:


 * tribal and family traditions
 * photos, documents, and objects in family members' possession, such as memorabilia associated with a memorable event or the ancestor
 * membership with his or her tribe(s)
 * residencies on and off the reservation(s)
 * native, and anglicized or American names the ancestor was known as throughout his or her lifetime
 * biological and adopted relationships within his or her immediate family, particularly parents and siblings.

When possible, ask for permission to scan or take a photo of each photograph, document, and memorabilia pertaining to the ancestor. Take detailed notes, and include it on research log while the information is still fresh in one's mind. In addition, research and become familiar with the location, geography, and history of the ancestor's tribe(s). For future research projects, become familiar with the forced migration route(s) from place of origin to present location of ancestor's tribe(s). Study the past and present location of the tribe's reservation. Some reservations covered more than one state and county. For example, today the Navajo reservation spans into three states (e.i., Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) and eleven counties.

Step 2: Determine a research question about the ancestor (objective)

Record the information found on each individual onto a pedigree chart, and family group record for each family. The four-generation pedigree chart include the descendant, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who are in person's direct lines. Record the known information for each generation. Also, for each couple on the pedigree chart, record the known information found on a family group record (also called family group sheet) which include the names of the father and mother of the family, and their children. Based on what is known, review what is unknown on the pedigree chart and family groups record(s). If an ancestor does not have known parents on the pedigree chart, perhaps the research question would be "Who are parents of my maternal grandmother?" The objective for the research would be to find the parentage of the maternal grandmother. Perhaps, the date and place of death is unknown for a paternal grandfather. The research question would be "When and where was my paternal grandfather born?" Then, the research objective would be to find the date and place of the paternal grandfather's birth.

Step 3: Select records to search

One of the key sources to search for any ancestor in the United States is the federal census which were and are taken every ten years since 1790. The records give a great deal of information about Native American individuals and their families. The kinds of information on the U.S. censuses vary from census year to census year. As an example, the kinds of information that could be gleaned from the U.S. census records are as follow: when and where ancestors resided; their economic status; their neighbors; their gender, age, relationship to head of household, and martial status; their occupations, education, military, service, and place of birth, and sometimes degree of Indian blood. In addition, evaluation of censuses from different years may reveal the ancestor's migration pattern in United States. As one researches from known to unknown, search recent U.S. census to earlier censuses; such as, from 1940 U.S. census to 1900 U.S. census.

Step 4: Obtain and search the records

This section of the article will explain how to navigate to the U.S. Federal census, 1790-1940 on FamilySearch.org and how to navigate to where the Native American ancestor lived based on information gathered from the preliminary research or background research. There are a couple of ways to search the Native American ancestor on the U.S. census. The easiest way is by entering the ancestor’s Anglicized or American first and last name along with a birth year and the state of residence for a particular year. Some heads of families and some family members had an Anglicized or American name especially as one searches back in time. For reasons of employment or school, their names were changed from a native name to an American name or a native name anglicized. An example of an anglicized native name is the word yazhi, which means "little" in the Navajo (Dine) tribe. A male name on the U.S. census may appear as Deneh Yazzie which the surname was anglicized yazhi to Yazzie. The first name Deneh is pronounced din-EH which means man. Today, the tribe prefers to be acknowledged as "Dine" which means "the people." Also, the surname Yazzie is common today, such as Johnson or Smith. Therefore, if the anglicized or American name is entered, the name may appear in the search result, and bring up the entire family whether they had native, anglicized, or American names. However, if the ancestor and his or her family were known by their native name at the time of the enumeration, the census records will require browsing from page to page. The enumerators who recorded the native names spelled them phonetically with English letters as they heard it, and each enumerator would spell the native name differently as they heard it. In addition, a researcher would spell it differently than how the enumerator spelled the native name.

How to Navigate to a U.S. census page

Pull up the selected census in FamilySearch Records. Scroll below the Search Collection fields to the View Images in this Collection and click on the Browse link "Browse All Published Collections." In the field for "Filter by Collection Title," type United States census and click on the most recent census "United States Census, 1940." Since the collection was indexed, the anglicized name or American name can be entered with the name of the county and state and approximate birth year range. If this search had no results, click on the back arrow. This time click towards the bottom of the page, and click on "Browse through 3,841,151 images." Click on the state of where ancestor lived in 1940, and then click on the county where ancestor lived. In the county, there will be a list of enumeration districts. It will be beneficial to have a knowledge of the local geography. Some counties may have a description of each district. Continue to click on the county name at the top in order to go in and out of each district until the correct district has been found. Browse through each page looking for familiar family names. (Each ED usually contains a manageable quantity of images.)

Step 5: Use the information

Once you have found the ancestor and family, evaluate the evidence found. Even though, a U.S. census is a secondary source and information, it gives clues about the ancestor and family. This source will lead to other U.S. record types to search. Compare the similarities of the information found on the census with other sources, such as documents and stories gathered during the preliminary (background) research. Also, contrast the differences in the information on the census record with other sources. If two or more sources agree on the information, enter the information onto the pedigree chart and family group record. In order to help with comparing and contrasting of the information, using a will be very helpful. Also, the information can be transferred to a family tree on FamilySearch.org. If one is not familiar with the website, one can find out how to use it by going online to FamilySearch.org. In the upper right-hand corner, click on Help. In the drop-down menu, click on Help Center and select Family History Center in order to find the nearest center where volunteers can help one to create a tree on the website.