> The Soundex was not done for military purposes, it was done when Social > Security was established to provide a possible base for claimants. The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, IN (2nd Genealogy Library in the nation) will tell any patron that the reason for the 1880 soundex was so that the government could see households of children under the age of 10, info to be used in case of a military draft being needed. Curious to know - if it was used from 1894-1896 to whenever for the Spanish-American War. In my opion: It seems to me the handwriting on the 1880 census in some places corresponds with the soundex handwriting, as if some census taker filled out the soundex at the same time or at a later date before returning the info to the bureau or the supervisor. In other places, the handwriting at least looks like it was done in a similar handwriting style to that time period as opposed to 40-50 years later. Then the paper and ink would look different on the page, as wele as the age of the paper. The 1890 census was first being filmed in 1921 when the fire broke out; it's hard to say whether the 1880 should hopefully already have been completed or not---; hence no possible claim to be being soundexed for Social Security purposes unless the government had such forthought, which I doubt. Kay Diers Resident of Minnesota Former ACPL Library Page who often worked in Microtext with the Collection of film reels