Abigail Springsteel or Springsted

Historical sketch of Philip Frederick Eichelberger who came from Ittlingen, Germany, in 1728

Go to Eichelberger page for link to full read of Book

Clues in Census Records, 1850-1930

xperienced genealogical researchers use clues found in one record to find otherrecords about the same individual. This article describes some of the clues found in census records.

Date of birth

• The 1900 census (column 7) indicates the person's month and year of birth; the 1850-1880 and 1910-1930 censuses indicate the person's age.
  
• The 1870 census (column 13) and 1880 census (column 7) indicate the month in which the person was born, if born "within the year," that is between June 1, 1869 and May 31, 1870 for the 1870 census, or June 1, 1879 and May 31, 1880, for the 1880 census. The official census day was June 1 in both 1870 and 1880, although the enumerator may have visited the household at a later date.
  
• While the person's age is not an exact date of birth, it at least provides a "ballpark" figure useful (1) for tracking the person from one census to the next, especially if other people have the same name, and (2) for locating the person in any existing vital records.

Place of birth

• The 1850-1930 censuses indicate the person's state or country of birth, which helps narrow the geographic scope of search for the specific town of birth.

Date of marriage

• The 1850 census (column 10), 1860 census (column 11), 1870 census (column 14), and 1880 census (column 12) indicate whether the person had married within the year.
  
• "Within the year" means during the year before the official census day, that is, between June 1, 1849 and May 31, 1850, for the 1850 census; between June 1, 1859 and May 31, 1860, for the 1860 census; between June 1, 1869 and May 31, 1870, for the 1870 census; and between June 1, 1879 and May 31, 1880, for the 1880 census. The official census day was June 1 in each of these census years, although the enumerator may have visited the household at a later date.
  
• The 1900 census (column 10) and 1910 census (column 9) indicate the number of years of marriage for each married person.

Number of children

• The 1900 census (column 11) and 1910 census (column 10) indicate how many children were born to each woman. The 1900 census (column 12) and1910 census (column 11) indicate how many of those children were still living. These clues can help determine whether the researcher has identified all children in a given family, and whether any were deceased when either census was taken.

Immigration

• The 1900 census (column 16), 1910 census (column 15), 1920 census (column 13), and 1930 census (column 22) each indicate the person's year of immigration to the United States. This information should help in locating a ship passenger arrival list.

Naturalization

• The 1870 census (column 19) has a check mark for "Male Citizens of the U.S. of 21 years of age and upwards." If the person was a foreign-born citizen, this means that he had become naturalized by 1870.
  
• The 1900 census (column 18), the 1910 census (column 16), and 1920census (column 14), and 1930 census (column 23) indicate the person's naturalization status. The answers are "Al" for alien, "Pa" for "first papers," and "Na" for naturalized.
  
• The 1920 census (column 15) indicates the year in which the person was naturalized.
  
  These clues may lead to naturalization records.

Foreign-born parents

• The 1870 census (columns 11-12) have check marks if the person's parents were "of foreign birth."
  
• The 1880 census (columns 25-26), 1900 census (columns 14-15), 1910census (columns 13-14), 1920 census (columns 21 & 23), and 1930 census (columns 19-20) indicate the person's parents' birthplaces.

Military Service

• Service in Union or Confederate Army or Navy
  
  
  • The 1910 census (column 30) indicates whether the person was a "survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy." The answers are "UA" for Union Army, "UN" for Union Navy, "CA" for Confederate Army, and "CN" for Confederate Navy. These clues lead to military service and pension records; see Civil War Records and Confederate Pension Records for more information.
    
  • A word of caution: On the 1910 census, columns 30-32 are often "overwritten" with numbers like 2-1-0-0 or 6-9-0-0. These numbers are notthe answers for columns 30-32, but were data summaries used by Census Bureau tabulators in Washington, DC, to compile statistical data.
    
  • The 1930 census (column 31) indicates Civil War veterans with the abbreviation "CW."
    
• Military Service, 1898-1918, in Major Wars
  
  
  • The 1930 census (column 31) indicates military service in other wars with "Sp" for Spanish-American War, "Phil" for Philippine Insurrection, "Box" for Boxer Rebellion, "Mex" for Mexican Expedition, and "WW" for World War I.

Real property

• The 1850 census (column 8), 1860 census (column 8), and 1870 census (column 8) indicate the value of real property (land) owned by each person.
  
• The 1900 census (column 25), 1910 census (column 26), 1920 census (column 7), and 1930 census (column 7) indicate whether the person owned ("O") or rented ("R") the home or farm.
  
• The 1900 census (column 26), 1910 census (column 27), and 1920 census (column 8) indicate whether home and farm owners owned their property with a mortgage ("M") or free of mortgage ("F").
  
• The 1930 census (column 8) indicates the value of home, if owned, or the monthly rental, if rented.
  
  These clues should lead researchers to the county recorder's office or equivalent agency for deeds, mortgages, and property tax records.

Economic data.

• The 1850 census (column 7), 1860 census (column 7), 1870 census (column 7), and 1880 census (column 13) all indicate the person's occupation. If the answer is "farmer," the researcher should look for information about the farmer's land ownership, crops, and livestock in the agricultural census schedules. If the person was a saw or grist miller, cheese maker, or other"manufacturer," the researcher should check the manufacturing census schedules.
  
• Agricultural census schedules exist for 1850-1880; manufacturing census schedules exist for 1820 and 1850-1880.
  
• For more information and roll lists of nonpopulation census schedules available as NARA microfilm publications, see Nonpopulation Census Records.

Conclusion. 

Researchers who use these and other clues in census records will be more successful--and thorough--in their genealogical research. 

This essay is adapted from "Clues in Census Records, 1850-1920," The Record, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jan. 1998): 26-27.

The National Archives Blogs

The National Archives Blogs

Census of New York 1790 to 1870

The Census for all county's in the state of New York from years 1790 to 1870 can be found on the Census Tab to the right.

1840 Census Click on Census Tab

Table of Contents

	reel 263. Albany County (part) (excluding the city of Albany)
	reel 264. Albany County (part), city of Albany, wards 1-5
	reel 265. Allegany County
	reel 266. Broome County
	reel 267. Cattaragus County
	reel 268. Chemung County
	reels 269-270. Cayuga County
	reels 271-272. Chautauqua County
	reel 273. Chenango County
	reel 274. Delaware County
	reel 275. Cortland County
	reel 276. Clinton County
	reel 277. Columbia County
	reels 278-279. Dutchess County
	reel 280. Erie County (part)
	reel 281. Erie County (part) (including the city of Buffalo)
	reel 282. Essex County
	reel 283. Franklin County
	reel 284. Fulton County
	reels 285-287. Genesee County
	reel 288. Greene County
	reel 289. Kings County
	reel 290. Herkimer and Hamilton Counties
	reels 291-292. Jefferson County
	reel 293. Lewis County
	reel 294. Livingston County
	reel 295. Madison County
	reel 296. Montgomery County
	reels 297-298. Monroe County
	reel 299. New York County, city of NewYork, wards 1-3
	reel 300. City of New York, wards 4 and 5
	reel 301. City of New York, wards 6 and 7
	reel 302. City of New York, ward 8
	reel 303. City of New York, ward 9
	reel 304. City of New York, ward 10
	reel 305. City of New York, wards 11 and 12
	reel 306. City of New York, ward 13
	reel 307. City of New York, ward 14
	reel 308. City of New York, ward 15
	reel 309. City of New York, ward 16
	reel 310. City of New York, ward 17
	reel 311. Niagara County
	reels 312-315. Oneida County
	reel 316-318. Onondaga County
	reels 319-320. Ontario County
	reel 321. Orleans County
	reels 322-323. Orange County
	reel 324. Putnam County
	reels 325-326. Oswego County
	reels 327-329. Otsego County
	reel 330. Queens County
	reel 331. Rockland and Richmond Counties
	reels 332-333. Rensselaer County
	reels 334-335. St. Lawrence County
	reel 336. Saratoga County
	reel 337. Schenectady County
	reel 338. Schoharie County
	reel 339. Seneca County
	reels 340-341. Steuben County
	reel 342. Sullivan County
	reel 343. Suffolk County
	reel 344. Tioga County
	reel 345. Tompkins County
	reels 346-347. Ulster County
	reel 348. Washington County
	reel 349. Warren County
	reel 350. Wayne County
	reel 351. Yates County
	reels 352-353. Westchester County.

Supreme Court of Indiana 1865