South Dakota, State Census, 1945 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
This information pertains to individuals recorded on the census in 1945.

Record History
In 1885 the South Dakota State Legislature mandated that a census be taken in June of that year and every 10 years thereafter. The last census was taken in 1945. The completed cards were then sent to the Secretary of State. The census covers approximately 90% of the population.

Why This Record Was Created
The state census was taken in order to enumerate the population for representation purposes.

Record Reliability
Censuses are generally 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 therefore be incorrect.

Record Description
Population schedules are handwritten entries on preprinted cards. The cards are arranged alphabetically by surname.

Record Content
Key genealogical data found in the 1945 census include:


 * Name of individual
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Race
 * Marital status
 * If can read or write
 * Disabilities (blind, deaf, insane, etc.)
 * If foreign born, are they naturalized
 * Years in U.S.
 * Years in South Dakota
 * Occupation
 * Own or rent home or farm
 * Birthplace
 * Ancestry
 * Father’s birthplace
 * Mother’s birthplace
 * Extent of education
 * Military service with regiment
 * Maiden name of wife
 * Year married
 * Church affiliation
 * County and town of residence

How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the census index. Use the locator information in the index (such as page number or family number) to locate your ancestors in the census. Compare the information in the census 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 of more than one family or person to make this determination. Be aware that as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

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.

• Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the 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.

• 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.

Some other helpful tips to keep in mind are:

• 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.

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Related Wiki Articles
South Dakota Census South Dakota Censuses South Dakota 1935 State Census

Sources of this Collection
• South Dakota. Assessor. South Dakota 1945 state census, population schedule. Digital images of originals stored in the South Dakota State Historical Society, Pierre, South Dakota

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