Argentina, National Census, 1895 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Segundo Censo Nacional de la República Argentina, 1895

Record Description
The census is divided into sections. Each section is a volume. A volume contains legal-sized paper in landscape format. The second census of Argentina, performed in May 1895, was conducted in the entire country simultaneously by the Census Commission, under the supervision of the Ministerio del Interior. For the purposes of the census, the country was divided into large provinces or territories, which were further divided into departments or partitions (partidos), and finally into districts (distritos). In the city of Buenos Aires, the partitions were divided into wards (barrios), and each ward into a police section. These police sections include the number of the census subdivision and its corresponding block numbers and street names.

The second census of Argentina, performed in May 1895, was conducted in the entire country simultaneously by the Census Commission, under the supervision of the Ministerio del Interior. For the purposes of the census, the country was divided into large provinces or territories, which were further divided into departments or partitions (partidos), and finally into districts (distritos). In the city of Buenos Aires, the partitions were divided into wards (barrios), and each ward into a police section. These police sections include the number of the census subdivision and its corresponding block numbers and street names. The census covers most of the 5 million inhabitants of Argentina that existed at the time of the census.

The second national census of the Argentine Republic was carried out in one day on Sunday, May 10, 1895, and was published in 1898.

The Argentina 1895 Census was done to obtain demographic and statistical data related to the country's development. Valuable data was gathered that gave insight into population growth, economic growth, immigration and internal migrations, occupations, health, literacy levels, property, and more.

The census is a good source of genealogical information that may not be obtainable elsewhere, particularly if civil or parish records are not available. The census is the second best source for genealogical information in Argentina, with civil and church records being the number one source. The census was taken by regular citizens assigned to areas. The person being questioned did not have to show legal evidence of the information given, so the information may contain some errors. A patron may gather the information available from census records, and then continue to search using civil or parish records. The census is generally in good condition.

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Citation for This Collection
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Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
The 1895 census contains the following information for everyone living in the household at the time:




 * Surname and name
 * Place of birth
 * Age at the time of the census (infants are shown in number of months old)
 * Gender: males are identified with the letter “V” for varón (male) and females with the letter “M” for mujer (woman)
 * Social status
 * Nationality
 * Religion
 * Occupation
 * Literacy
 * If a student
 * If a real property owner
 * How many children
 * How many years of marriage (women only)
 * Physical or mental health
 * If disabled (by war or accident)
 * If orphaned

The address is not listed, only the section or the street name; however, with the street name given on the first page of the census subdivision, it is possible to get the location of the property within the city. In the Capital Federal only the police section number and subdivision number is given. You can find the street name information by downloading a Spanish language pdf document entitled Secciones del Segundo Censo Nacional de 1895 de la Capital Federal- Parroquias de la epoca.

How to Use the Records
Patrons can get genealogical data, unavailable in other resources, for their ancestors living in Argentina in the year 1895.

Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your 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.

A patron must first know at least the approximate area or locality where his or her ancestors lived in 1895 and must be able to read Spanish.

To find an entry in the Argentina 1895 Census, a person may search the microfilms in the collection at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. These microfilms can be ordered from any family history center throughout the world. A patron could also visit the national archives in Buenos Aires (Archivo General de la Nación), where the original records are housed. In the near future, these records will be available on the Internet at FamilySearch.org.

Find the proper register for the locality of the research at the Archivo General de la Nación in Buenos Aires or on a microfilm from the Family History Library’s collection. This collection can be accessed from any family history center.

After finding the book with the correct locality (departamento or partido), find the section with the smaller locality (pueblito, barrio, villa, colonia, and so on) within the book. Each smaller locality is separated by a title page.

Once the section with the smaller locality is found, analyze each page of the section in detail. The registers are not in alphabetical order but were recorded by address. Patrons need to be familiar with older Spanish writing styles to be able to read the names on the register.

Patrons may need to know some older writing styles to be able to read the information on the record. If the exact location of the property is not known, a patron may need to search the whole register if the book belongs to the region where the ancestors lived.

Tips to extract all the genealogical information from the census ledger:


 * Transcribe the complete locality name, including province (provincia), department (departamento) or partition (partido), and district (distrito).
 * Transcribe the genealogical information of columns A through H for each family in the census. The first name listed for a family is usually the head of the household. The rest of the family then follows. Any other people living in the house at the time would also be listed. Family members are listed by age in column C, which makes it possible to identify the parents and their children.
 * Patrons could create a database of people who have the same family name as the individual they are looking for. These people could be related.
 * People who lived on the same street or in the same section appear together in the census book.

Known Issues with This Collection
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Related Wiki Articles

 * Argentina
 * Argentina Census

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Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Argentina National Census, 1895." index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org: accessed 3 April 2012) Argentina, National Census, Gabriel Sanchez; citing Census Records, FHL microfilm 720,478; Archivo General de la Nacion, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.