Florida State Census, 1885 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Florida

What Is in the Collection?
The Florida State Census, 1885 collection consists of a name index for the population schedules listing the inhabitants of the state of Florida and images for the population, mortality, manufactures and agriculture schedules. The 1885 census was taken at the request of the United States Federal Government and with their assistance. The records are handwritten on pre-printed pages with rows and columns.

The collection was taken from National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm number M845, Schedules of the Special Census of 1885 (Schedule of the Florida State Census of 1885), which is part of Record Group 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007. The microfilm pamphlet is available for download from the National Archives Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog.

General Information about the 1885 Census
In March of 1879, Congress passed an act authorizing the tenth and following censuses. In addition to the regular censuses taken every ten years, this act also made authorized a census to be taken in the middle of the decade. On 1 June 1885, a special federal census of Floridawas taken following the guidelines outlined in the March 1879 census act. The 1885 census included four general schedules: population, agriculture, manufactures, and mortality. These schedules are organized alphabetically by county and then by the number assigned to each type of schedule. Within each type of schedule, the records are arranged by enumeration district. The 1885 population schedule resembles a typical census schedule and can provide valuable information that can be used to fill the gap caused by the loss of the 1890 federal census in the 1921 Department of Commerce fire.

Sample Image
The census was created by the state of Florida with partial funding from the Federal government. The census was compiled to obtain a count and description of the population of the state of Florida for representation purposes. Use the information with some caution. The information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or even by a neighbor. Some information may have been recorded incorrectly, or even deliberately falsified.

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

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The records usually include:


 * Name of head of household
 * Name of each person in household
 * Relationship to head of household
 * Race, gender, and age of each member of household
 * Marital status of each member
 * Occupation
 * Place of birth by state or territory in the U.S.
 * Place of birth for mother and father by state or territory in the U.S.

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


 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The age of your ancestor.
 * The birthplace of your ancestor.
 * The names of other family members and their relationships.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in your ancestor’s name on 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. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: 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 "County" category ⇒Select the appropriate "Schedule Type" category which takes you to the images

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s census record, 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.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * 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.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * If they are subject to military service they may have military files in the State or National Archives.
 * Occupations listed can lead you to employment records or other types of records such as 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 an 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.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying you sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation Top of Page