Hi, Noeline and Aileen from New Zealand. The US Census is taken every 10 years and all those older than 1940 are available to the public except for the 1890 census which was pretty much entirely destroyed by fire. I use Ancestry.com to search and view these census records. It requires a paid subscription. Many of the records are also available for free in places like www.rootsweb.com, but searching them is somewhat hit or miss. (My opinion) William is found in the 1870 US Census, p. 82, living in the town of Castleton, Richmond Co., NY. He is listed as Wm. D. Howden, age 29, Clerk in Office. His wife is listed as Hester J., age 30, Keeping House. One son is listed as Frederick B., age 8 months old. Since this census was taken 18 Jul 1870, one could assume that Frederick was born around November or December of 1869. William is found in the 1880 US Census, p. 102.1000, living in Richmond Borough of NYC. He is listed as age 40 and a bookkeeper/shipping. His wife is listed as Estger J., age 40, housekeeper, also from England. Two sons are listed. First is Fred B., age 10, born in New York. Second is Harry P., age 8, also born in NY. You have the data from the 1900 US Census which I confirmed. I could not locate them in the 1910 census. William Howden appears in the 1920 US Census living in Richmond Borough of NYC. He is listed as being 79 years old having immigrated to America in 1867. His father was from Scotland and his mother from England. He is living with a woman named Maria Orrell, age 89. She is listed as a housekeeper. She was born in England and immigrated in 1868. In the 1900 US Census, I found a Frederick Howden, age 30, b. Dec. 1869 (which is the correct date - see 1870 census above). He was living in Cumberland - Ward 1, Allegany County, Maryland. He is listed as a "Preacher". His wife is named Angelica, age 30, born in New York. Her father was from Germany. Her mother was from New York. Three children are listed: Angelica, age 4; Duglass (Douglas), age 2; and Esther, age 7 months. In 1910, Frederick is living in Precint 7, Washington, DC, age 40. He is listed as a Clergyman - Pastor of a Church. His wife is listed as Angelical, age 40. They have been married 15 years. Seven children are listed: Angelica, age 14, b. NY; Douglas H., age 12, b. CT; Esther O., age 10, b. Maryland; Frederick B., age 8, b. Maryland; John F., age 6, Dist of Col; Margaret, age 3, b. NC; and William, age 2, b. Dist of Col. I found a Frederick Howden in the 1930 US Census living in Albuquerque, New Mexico whose parents were born in England. He is listed as age 60 which would be the correct age. He is a Widower. His eldest daughter is named Esther J. which further substantiates that this is the son of William and Esther. Esther, the daughter, is age 30, b. Maryland. The second daughter listed is Margaret, age 23, b. North Carolina. The youngest child is a son named William, age 22, b. District of Columbia. As for Harry P. Howden, the other son of William and Esther, I found him in the 1910 US Census for Richmond Ward 1, Richmond Co., NY, p. 6a., age 38. He is living with his wife's mother and paternal grandmother - Adelie, age 63, and Adelaide F. Carpenter, age 87, respectively. His wife is listed as Howden Howden (probably a mistake), age 34. They have been married 9 years. There is one child listed, Phyllis, age 7. In the 1920 US Census Harry is still living in Richmond where he is found on p. 3b, age 45. He is listed as a "dry goods designer". In this census, his wife is named Adelide, age 39 (she may have subtracted a few years. Ah, vanity), born in Ohio. Phyllis is still living with them, age 18 as is the mother-in-law, Adelide Carpenter, age 70. I hope all of this helps. ----- Original Message ---- From: amdg0195 <ag001@wave.co.nz> To: GEN-NYS@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, November 9, 2006 10:21:36 AM Subject: [GEN-NYS] William Douglas Howden We are looking for information on an immigrant to the US from England. Is there an earlier census where we may be able to find them with their young family and any succeeding census between 1868 and 1900 ? What years were the US Census taken prior to the 1st June 1900 ? Were they taken every 10 years ? The information we have is from the twelfth New York State Census of 1 June 1900. It says that William [Douglas] Howden was in the Borough of Richmond , New York City. that he was a Book Keeper- that he was 59 years old - born 1840 ? that he was a widower - that his sister- in- law also resided with him at this address inTrinity Place. He married Esther J Orrell in September 1866, at Bolton, Lancashire, England. In 1868 they went to America. We know that they later had a family of children but have no details. We have yet to find exactly when they travelled -on what ship -[ sailing ?] -the port of embarkation- departure from England [?] -their arrival date and port in the US. We do know that some Howden relatives from here [N Z] went to visit some descendants of this family of the 1800's - probably about 80 + years ago i.e at least prior to 1940 - but we don't know where the US Howdens were living at that time and whatever information that was known at that time, about them, has been lost. It is said that these relatives also settled permanently in the US. Do hope that someone may be able to send us some earlier census information about this family. Thankyou very much for your time and help. Regards and Best Wishes Noeline and Aileen ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GEN-NYS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message