World Wide Catalog 1995 Summer/World_Wide_Catalog_InfoMagic_Summer_1995.iso/pages/wwwcensr.gov/genealom/ggefaq_n.dra

Text File | 1995-06-11 | 11KB | 248 lines

genealogy.faq.draft

Where can I find historical census data for genealogical and/or
historical research?

For archival purposes, information collected from businesses becomes
available to the public after 30 years, and after 72 years for
information collected from individuals.  Copies of decennial census
forms from 1790 through 1920 are available, usually on microfilm, for
research at the United States National Archives in Washington, DC, at
Archives regional centers, and at select depository libraries
throughout the United States.

The Mormon Church in Utah may have the largest private collection of
genealogical data in the world.  See information below about contacting
them.

There are 4 particularly helpful FAQ files in the ROOTS-L archives on
vm1.nodak.edu in the roots-l directory.
  faq.fhcintro    is about the LDS Family History Library.
  faq.listserv    tells about the bulletin boards/soc.roots etc.
  faq.microflm    is a good one - all about the microfilms
  faq.resource    gives other resources to look at.

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  :-}          WARNING ... GENEALOGY IS AN ADDICTIVE HOBBY           (-8
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GENEALOGICAL QUESTIONS:

1.  WHERE CAN I FIND CENSUS DATA FOR GENEALOGICAL AND/OR HISTORICAL RESEARCH?

By law, for archival purposes, information collected from businesses becomes
available to the public after 30 years, and after 72 years for information
collected from individuals.

Copies of decennial census forms from 1790 through 1920 are available, usually
on microfilm, for research at the United States National Archives in
Washington, DC, at Archives regional centers, and at select depository
libraries throughout the United States.  They can be borrowed from the LDS
(Mormon) Library in Salt Lake City through any LDS Family History Center and
from other sources at almost any library.  (NOTE:  microfilm is analog data,
NOT digital ...  it is copies of the original handwritten records).

2.  WHEN WERE CENSUSES TAKEN, WHAT INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED IN EACH CENSUS,
    AND WHO HAS THE ORIGINALS OR OFFICIAL COPIES?

The first Census of the US was taken in 1790.

1850, 1860, and 1870 :  The law required three copies of the Census.
Original to the County Clerk; one to the Secretary of the Interior (who
ran the Census Office); one to the state's Secretary of State.

1880 : The law required ONE copy of the full census and a name list
which contained ONLY Name, Age, Sex and Color.  This name list was to be
deposited with the County Clerk.

1890 : The law required ONE copy of the full census.  It permitted Name
Lists to be made Upon the Request of a local official.  [N.B.:  List was
NOT made until it was requested.]

3.  WHERE CAN I GET CENSUS DATA ON THE INTERNET?

The kind of data requested by genealogists about individuals is not currently
available on the Internet.  The Census Bureau has no plans to scan the data
into files to be put on-line.  If it is ever done, it would have to be
economically attractive for some commercial enterprise to do this.

4.  WHERE CAN I GET OTHER GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET?

There is an Internet news group called  soc.roots  which is cross-linked to a
mailing list, ROOTS-L.  Subscriptions to ROOTS-L are available from
[e-mail].  There is also a Jewish Genealogy discussion group;
JEWISHGEN, which is gatewayed (linked) to the FidoNet conference of the same
name. Subscriptions should be sent to: [e-mail]

Subscribers to most commercial ventures such as CompuServe, America-Online,
Delphi, and GENIE have access to one or the other of these groups.  There are
also many local Bulletin Boards which carry on genealogical discussions.  Many
carry the FidoNet conference.

The ROOTS-L archives on vm1.nodak.edu contain many FAQ's and other useful
information which can be requested to be sent via email.  There are also
genealogy areas on several other computers which allow public access, among
them  cac.psu.edu. There is much genealogical information and software
available there for download.  If you have access to FTP or GOPHER, you can
get there by:

          ftp ftp.cac.psu.edu      or      gopher gopher.cac.psu.edu

if you FTP, your login ID is "anonymous" (no quotes).
cd /pub/genealogy will then put you in the genealogy area.

You can also access the ROOTS-L computer by anonymous ftp at  vm1.nodak.edu.
To get to the genealogy area  enter  cd roots-l.  Vm1 has no gopher at the
present time.

5.  WHERE ELSE CAN I LOOK FOR GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the largest private
collection of genealogical data in the world.  Their library in Salt Lake City
is open to the public, and they have Family History Centers in many cities and
towns in this country and in other countries.  They have been systematically
microfilming civil and church records all over the world, and collect family
information from their members and from other interested people.  That
information and all available census films and much, much more are available.
Census microfilms may be borrowed from the FHL in Salt Lake City for short
periods of time use at a local Family History Center.  There is no charge for
use of the libraries or for using the microfilms at the FHL.  The only charge
is a small amount which covers shipping.  Their address is:

    Family History Library
    35 North West Temple Street
    Salt Lake City, UT 84150

You may write for a list of Family History Centers in your area, or call
[phone].

There are also many fine historical libraries and archives and many
genealogical societies and many fine publications elsewhere.  Ask at your
local library.

6.  WILL THE INDIVIDUAL CENSUS DATA EVER BE AVAILABLE IN MACHINE-READABLE
    FORM (DISKETTES OR CD-ROM)?  WILL THE 1990 CENSUS BE PUT ON CD-ROM FOR
    VIEWING IN 2062?

Some of the indexes for historic censuses are now available on CD-ROM from
private companies.  Check your library.  It is unlikely the actual records
will ever be available.  The amount of data is enormous and probably not
profitable for private companies.

7.  WHERE CAN I GET INFORMATION ON MY ANCESTORS' IMMIGRATION OR EMIGRATION?

Immigration records for major U.S. ports have been kept on a regular basis
since 1820. These include: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
New Orleans. Others, such as Mobile and Galveston began keeping records
later in the nineteenth century, while western ports (San Francisco and
Seattle) began in the last years of the 19th century.

These records have been microfilmed, and are in the custody of the National
Archives. The same access rules apply to these as to the census films (for
example, these are also available at the FHL/FHCs).

These passenger arrival records include the name of every passenger on the
ship, including those who were born or who died during the voyage.
Generally, the lists include the full name, age, sex, place of origin, and
destination.

Indexes to these arrival lists exist for each port, EXCEPT for New York
City for 1847-1895.

Emigration (departure) lists do exist for some European ports, but not all,
and not even every major one (for example, no comprehensive departure lists
are known for the British Isles). Among the ports for which emigration
lists are available are Stockholm, Oslo, Copehhagen, and Hamburg (but NOT
Bremen).

Microfilm copies of these lists are available at the FHL/FHCs.

8.  WHERE ARE NATURALIZATION RECORDS KEPT?

By law, a person can be naturalized in any "regular" court. The Immigration
and Naturalization Service does have records for the entire country
beginning in 1906, but before this time, the procedure will only be located
in the records of the court where it took place.

Many of these court records are in the custody of the government which
administrates the court. That is to say, a municipal court's records would
be in the custody of the city, a county court's records in the custody of
the county, etc.

Although court records are routinely indexed, these indexes do not always
include the name of each person naturalized. And in fact, during periods
of our country's history, only the head of a household would have to be
naturalized for the whole family to gain citizenship.

A further caveat: Not everyone who immigrated was naturalized. And although
the person being naturalized had to renounce his allegiance to his former
state, the records only rarely give the exact place of his birth or
previous residence.

Many court records have also been filmed, and are available at the FHL/
FHCs.

9. WHO KEEPS VITAL RECORDS (Birth/Marriage/Divorce/Death) ?

Generally the states, beginning about 1900 (this varies in each state).
However, counties will usually have marriage records, beginning at the date
the county was organized.

Like the court records, many of these have been microfilmed, and are
available at the FHL/FHCs.

10. WHERE ARE THE CENSUSES TAKEN BY STATES OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS?

Many local and state governments have taken censuses at different times.
Others have not done so.  Again, many are available on microfilm at the
FHL/FHCs, or in the archives of the city/county/state that took the census.

11. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 1890 CENSUS?

It was destroyed by fire, except for a few townships in a few counties in a
few states. The surviving lists are on three rolls of microfilm, and a
comprehensive index is available.

Some people may be able to find their ancestors in a special census taken
that same year of Civil War soldiers or their widows. This census is
available through the same outlets as the regular federal censuses.

12. WHAT IS SOUNDEX?  WILL FUTURE CENSUSES BE SOUNDEXED?  HOW DO YOU USE
    INDEXING SYSTEMS SUCH AS AIS?

Soundex is a method of categorizing names by the way they might sound (when
pronounced in English), lumping together similar consonants. The result is a
four-digit code (one letter followed by three numbers).  The Soundex code is
used to index names by state for some censuses - 1920 included.  You find
the name first on the Soundex microfilm, and get the information there to
ask for the film with the actual record.

Accelerated Indexing creates the AIS indexes - apparently by reading all the
census pages, and typing in every 5th line or so.    (..check this out)
It is a useful system to try to find the right microfilm.

13. WHY IS THE INFORMATION WRONG SO OFTEN?  MY ANCESTOR'S AGE IS DIFFERENT IN
    EVERY CENSUS.

The information on the census was not checked for accuracy, either by the
census-taker, or by the government. In many case the person who supplied
the information simply did not know the right answer.  Others couldn't be
understood well.  Others lied about ages.

14. WHERE ARE THE ORIGINALS OF THE CENSUS?  CAN I SEE THEM?  WHO HAS OTHER
    COPIES?  IF THE ONE I'M LOOKING AT IS BAD QUALITY, WILL I BE ABLE TO SEE
    A BETTER ONE?  WHERE?  DIDN'T STATES AND LOCALITIES GET COPIES OF THE
    CENSUS RECORDS.  WHERE ARE THOSE NOW?

Check the other FAQ files in this directory for FAQ.MICROFLM, and ask the
librarian or at the FHC.

16. HOW MANY MICROFILMS ARE THERE FOR ALL THE CENSUSES?  WHAT'S BEING DONE TO
    PRESERVE THIS INFORMATION.

1790 to 1860 takes up a little more than 1 cabinet, a few hundred rolls total.