Start off the New Year by locating your ancestors in census records. There are both U.S. federal census records and New York State census records.
U.S. federal census records are available in the library databases FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com Library Edition, HeritageQuest, and MyHeritage.com Library Edition. There is a 72 year embargo on releasing census records to the public so the most recent census available is the 1950 census.
U.S federal census records are taken every 10 years and started in 1790. The 1850 census is the first census to list the names of everyone in the household, however, relationships of individuals to the head of household were not recorded until the 1880 census.
Due to a fire in Washington, D.C., the 1890 federal census records were destroyed for 99% of the country. The New York fragments that are left are parts of Suffolk and Westchester counties.
Questions varied from census to census so by tracing your family through census records you will learn different pieces of information from decade to decade.
For a list of questions asked for each census, go to: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/technical-documentation/questionnaires.html
In addition to the population census records, there were special census schedules that covered agriculture, manufacturing and mortality. There was even a special Veterans census that took place in 1890.
If your ancestors lived in New York State, you can search New York census records from 1825-1925. During this time period, the census was taken every 10 years on the 5s except for 1885 and 1895.
There was an 1892 census but records are only available for 40 counties. Among the missing counties are: New York (Manhattan and the Bronx), Richmond and Suffolk.
You can find New York census records on FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com Library Edition, and MyHeritage.com Library edition for 1855-1925. They are not available on HeritageQuest.
It is very difficult to find census records for 1825-1845. However, several counties can be found on FamilySearch.org by using the Catalog search and putting in the keyword “New York State census” followed by a county name. Counties available include: Chautauqua, Cortland, Jefferson, Lewis, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, Tompkins and Yates.
Census records are not available for all counties for each census year. For example, for the 1905 census there are no records available for Nassau, Suffolk, Queens or Richmond (Staten Island).
To see what questions were asked on the census records, go to: https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/genealogy/censusq
Note: Ancestry.com Library Edition is the only database where you can see the images for the New York State 1915 and 1925 census.
**The Irish Family History Forum will be presenting a program on census records on Saturday, Jan. 17. For more information, go to: https://ifhf.org/index.php/upcoming-events-new/
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