Minnesota, Clay County, School Census Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes school census records from 1909 to 1962.

There are many errors with some years incorrectly identified especially in the 1960's.

The listing of school-aged children is a common practice throughout the United States. The records are usually compiled on a yearly basis and help local governments determine funding needs for individual schools. The information is usually reliable although the ages are sometimes off by a year and legal guardians may be confused with parents.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Information found in the records may include the following:


 * Name of county
 * School district
 * Name of child
 * Gender
 * Age of child
 * Date of birth
 * Name of parent/guardian
 * Home Address

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the child attending school.
 * The age or approximate birth date of the child.
 * The names of the child's parents.
 * The place where the family lived.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the School District and year range 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. 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.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the school records, 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 ancestor.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age to calculate an approximate birth date.
 * Use the age or birth date along with the parents’ names and residence to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all children with the same parents. If the surname is unusual, you may want to compile the entries for every person of the same surname and sort them into families based on the names of the parents.

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records.
 * 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 your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

"Minnesota, Clay County, School Census Records, 1909-1962." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 8 August 2016. Citing State School Superintendent. Auditor-Treasurer, Moorhead.

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