GENEALOGY TODAY MARCH 1998 CENSUS RECORDS: U.S. POPULATION CENSUS DATA United States census data is a critical resource for genealogical research. The federal government began collecting population census data in 1790. Since that time censuses have been taken every ten years. The most recent census that is available to the public is the 1920 census. All of the 1890 census was destroyed by fire - except for 6,160 names. The federal government considers census data confidential for seventy-two years following the census, however, it is possible to request data for a deceased relative for censuses since 1920. These requests must be submitted on Form BC-600 which can be obtained from the Bureau of the Census, P.O. Box 1545, Jeffersonville, IN, 47131. The information contained in each census has changed over the years. The following summary describes the type of information that was collected during each period: 1790-1840 During this period, the census lists the name of the head of household. It does not give the names of other people living in the house. The number of other people living in the household, grouped by age and sex, is given. The 1800-1840 censuses increased the number of age group categories. These censuses also give the number of slaves in the household. 1850 - Beginning in 1850, the census lists the name, age, sex, color, occupation(of those over 15 years old), birthplace (country or state), married within the year, attended school this year, cannot read or write, and whether deaf, blind, insane, etc, of each person living in the household. 1860 - This census was the first to inquire about the value of each free person's personal estate. 1870 - This census also indicates if the parents of the individual were born in a foreign country and asked about the U.S. citizenship of every man 21 years or older. 1880 - Beginning in 1880, the birthplace (country or state) of the parents of each individual was added.This census also identified the relationship between the listed individuals and the head of the household(wife, son, daughter, servant, boarder, or other). The 1880 census was also the first to be indexed by a sound code (Soundex). However, in 1880,households were indexed only if there was a child under 10 years old living at the residence. This means that an older couple without young children living at home would not be included on the Soundex listing. If a child lived in the home of someone else, the child would be listed under their own name - unless the head of household had the same last name. There are other indexes for some areas. 1890 - The 1890 census was destroyed by a fire at the Commerce Department in 1921. A few records were saved for some areas in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas. There is no Soundex for this census. There was also a census in 1890 of Union veterans and widows of Union veterans. Some of these records were also destroyed in the fire. Part of the census for Kentucky and the states that follow Kentucky alphabetically were saved. 1900 - The 1900 census added the number of years the individual had been married, the year of immigration, citizenship status, the month and year of birth, number of months not employed, number of months attended school, can't speak English, home owned or rented, mortgage status, farm or house, and for married women, the number of children and the number of those children then living. 1910 - The 1910 census was similar to 1900 except that only the age of the individual - not the month and year of birth - was given. This census indicated if survivor Union, Confederate, Army, or Navy. Also, additional detail concerning the occupation of the listed individuals was added. This census also indicated if deaf or blind or dumb. 1920 - In 1920 the year of naturalization was added. This census also included the 'mother tongue' of the individual and parents. Some items were deleted: number of years of present marriage, number of children born to mother and the number living, whether survivor of Union, Confederate, Army, or Navy, weeks out of work, and if blind, deaf, or dumb. The list below shows the availability of census indexes by state through 1870: ALASKA-1870-1907 ALABAMA-1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 ARKANSAS-1819-39, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 ARIZONA-1864-66, 1860, 1870 CALIFORNIA-1850, 1860, 1870 COLORADO-1860, 1870 CONNECTICUT-1790, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 DAKOTAS-1860,1870 DC-1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 DELAWARE-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 FLORIDA-1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 GEORGIA-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 IOWA-1836, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 IDAHO-1870 ILLLINOIS-1807, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 INDIANA-1807, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 KANSAS-1855, 1860, 1870 KENTUCKY-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 LOUISANA-1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 MASSACHUSETTS-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 MARYLAND-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 MAINE-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 MICHIGAN-1799-1827, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 MINNEAPOLIS-1840, 1850, 1870 MISSOURI-1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 MISSISSIPPI-1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 MONTANA-1860, 1870 NORTH CAROLINA-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 NEBRASKA-1854-56, 1860, 1870 NEW HAMPSHIRE-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 NEW JERSEY-1800, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 NEW MEXICO-1790-1845, 1850, 1860, 1870 NEVADA-1860, 1870 NEW YORK-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 OHIO-1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1880 OKLAHOMA-1860, 1870 OREGON-1850, 1860, 1870 PENNSYLVANIA-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 RHODE ISLAND-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 SOUTH CAROLINA-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 TENNESSEE-1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 TEXAS-1829, 1839, 1849, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 UTAH-1850, 1860, 1870 VIRGINIA-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 VERMONT-1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860 WASHINGTON-1850, 1860, 1870 WISCONSIN-1836, 1840, 1850, 1860 WEST VIRGINIA-1860, 1870 WYOMING-1860, 1870