United States Census, 1900 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in the Collection?
Index and images of population schedules from National Archive microfilm publication T623, Twelfth Census of the United States,1900. The collection is part of Record Group 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census.The index includes all states and the Armed Forces (foreign country where census occurred) and the Indian Territory. Images can also be viewed using the browse option. The census will identify the place of residence on June 1,1900 for each person counted.

Collection Content
The 1900 census includes the following information:


 * State, county, township, and enumeration district where census was taken
 * Street address and house number
 * Name of head of household
 * Names of all members of household
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Race
 * Gender
 * Month and year of birth
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Number of years married
 * Number of children born to mother
 * Number of children still living
 * Each household member's birthplace
 * Birthplace of person's father
 * Birthplace of person's mother
 * Year of immigration and number of years in the United States
 * Whether a naturalized citizen: Al Alien; Pa Papers; Na Naturalized
 * Occupation
 * Months attended school
 * Whether member can, read, write and speak English

The territory of Alaska census also includes the following information:


 * Tribe and clan
 * Date of locating to Alaska
 * Occupation in Alaska
 * Post office address at home

The Native Americans (Indians) census also includes the following information:


 * Indian name
 * Tribe of the individual and names of their parents
 * Percentage of white blood
 * If married, whether living in polygamy
 * Whether taxed
 * Year of citizenship
 * Whether citizenship was acquired by land allotment

The Hawaiian Islands census also includes the following information:


 * Year of immigration and number of years lived in the Hawaiian Islands

The military and navy census also includes the following information about servicemen:


 * Name of military, naval station, or vessel
 * Company or troop, regiment, and arm of service
 * Rank grade or class
 * Residence in the United States

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * Name
 * Other identifying information such as residence

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.

To browse by image: 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 "State" ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "Enumeration District" which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image. Again you will need to compare 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.

Keep in mind:


 * 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 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. 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.
 * 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

 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * 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.
 * The census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.

What if I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For?

 * Remember that as with any index, transcription errors may occur.
 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Look for another index. Local historical and genealogical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * Search neighboring localities or states.
 * 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 that may be your ancestor.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census.

General Information About These Records
Population schedules consist of large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules are arranged by state, county, place, and enumeration district. The districts are not always filed in sequential order. The arrangement of families on a schedule is usually in the order in which the enumerator visited the households.

Federal census takers were asked to record information about all those who were in a household on the census day, which was June 1 for the 1900 census. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information collected was supposed to have been about the people who were in the residence on the census day. The basic census enumeration unit was the county. Each county was divided into enumeration districts, one for each enumerator. The completed forms were then sent to the Census Office of the Commerce Department in Washington, D.C. The 1900 census covers 95 to 97 percent of the population.

The U.S. federal census has been taken at the beginning of every decade, beginning in 1790, to apportion the number of representatives a state could send to the House of Representatives. In the absence of a national system of vital registration, many vital statistics and personal questions were asked to provide a statistical profile of the nation and its states.

Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care taken by the census enumerator. Realize that any family member or even a neighbor may have supplied information to the census taker. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached 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 FamilySearch Collections

 * NARA Census Maps, 1900-1940

Related Websites

 * NARA Clues in Census Records,1850-1940
 * NARA 1900 Federal Census Form
 * NARA Census Form Native American
 * 1900 Census Questions
 * Census Finder
 * United States Census Online

Related Wiki Articles

 * United States Census
 * United States Census 1900

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.

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