Census records, continued from part 1 SOUNDEX FOR 1880, 1900, 1910, & 1920 To find an individual name among the millions listed in the 1880, 1900, 1910 (Only 21 States were indexed in 1910, New York not included) or 1920 Census records you must use an indexing and filing system known as Soundex. The Soundex is a coded surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than the way it is spelled. In this way Smith, Smyth, Smithe, and Smit will be filed together allowing you to easily find a surname recorded under various spellings. These indexes were made on special cards, put in alpha-numeric order by Soundex Code, then alphabetized by given name (first name). They were then put onto rolls of microfilm which can be found at many libraries and archives. Unfortunately, the 1880 Soundex was limited and only indexed families that contained children under the age of ten. If the child was not a child of head of house hold, he and the family were indexed on separate cards. To search for a surname, you must work out the Soundex Code, which will consist of the first letter of the surname followed by 3 numbers. These numbers are figured according to the Soundex coding guide listed below. SOUNDEX CODING GUIDE The number Represents the letters 1 B P F V 2 C S K G J QX Z 3 D T 4 L 5 M N 6 R Disregard the letters A E I O U W Y H With the workspace below, most names can be coded using the following 4 steps. Note in the sample using my name below that the "u", the second "r", the "o", and the "w" were disregarded when making the code. A zero was added on the end in order to give the code one letter and 3 numbers. See the three special easy rules below that apply for surnames with double letters, letters side by side that have the same number on the Soundex Coding Guide, or surnames that have prefixes: Line 1: B U R R O W S Line 2: B 6 2 0 Line 1: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Line 2: __ __ __ __ Line 1: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Line 2: __ __ __ __ Step 1 On line 1, write the surname you are coding, placing one letter on each line. Step 2 On line 2, write the first letter of the surname on the first line. Step 3 On line 1, disregard the first letter and slash through the remaining letters A, E, I, O, U, W, Y, and H. Step 4 On line 2, write the numbers found on the Soundex Coding Guide for the first three remaining un-slashed letters. Add zeros to any empty lines. Note: Since there must be three numbers, use only the first three code numbers in long names. Names that have less than 3 code numbers, simply add "Zeros" to the end to obtain your three numbers. If your surname has double letters, they should be treated as one letter. Slash out the second "r" in the name "Burrows" and the second "l" in Lloyd. If your surname has letters side by side that happen to have the same number from the Soundex Coding Guide, keep only the first letter and slash out the remaining side by side letters that have the same code.. Slash out the "K" and the "S" in the name "Jackson" It does not matter where the side by side letters are located. Even if the first two letters of the name such as "Pfister", the f would be slashed out. If your surname has a prefix such as Van, Von, De, Di, or Le the Soundex Code should be figured both with and without the prefix because it might be listed under either code. (Mc and Mac are not considered prefixes) GETTING MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE OUT OF CENSUS RECORDS Now that we have discussed what can obviously be found in the various census returns, let us move on to the not so obvious. *** In the census returns that show the birthplace of an individual and the birth place of the individual's parents, much circumstantial evidence is present as to the family structure. If it shows the mother of the household's place of birth as New York but the place of birth of some or all of the children's mother as Massachusetts, one can start making other assumptions as to how many wives the husband had and which children if not all might be from another marriage. *** The presence of an elderly person in the household of the same surname might indicate a parent, aunt or uncle of the husband. If the surname is different, it might be a mother or father in law and watch out for remarriages of this newly found grandma before jumping to the conclusions that you have discovered a maiden name for the wife. *** Always take note of the families nearby (census takers usually took the houses in order that they were situated) and also take note of any families that are housing one person of your surname of interest. The data you transcribe in doing this will very often reap rewards of family connections later down the line. *** Take note of the places of birth of your family and the other families in the area with the same origins whether it be the same state or the same country. You will often find that people moved in groups or invited friends and relatives from their former home to join them. *** Taking note of the places of birth of all the children can tell a story of family movement and judging from the length of time they lived in a particular area (perhaps 3 children were born in Vermont over a 10 year period) one can determine whether or not a search for a deed or other documents in that area would be worthwhile. *** The education of a family can be determined from the number in a family who can read and write and if the children did or did not attend school. *** The value of property and other monetary facts might give you a clue as to whether a will or other estate papers might be found. It could also help you determine whether they might be mentioned in a local history. MORTALITY SCHEDULES Beginning with the 1850 Federal Census and ending with the 1880, Congress authorized a listing of persons who died within the census year to be entered into a separate schedule. These 4 sets of records were turned over to the States in 1918-19 and those few states that did not want them had theirs sent to the National DAR Library who in 1980 turned them back over to the National Archives. These are not on the same roll of film as the regular census records and must be consulted on either microfilm or in the location at the state level where they were deposited. NYS Mortality Schedules are at the State Library. The type of information typically found in Mortality Schedules is the name of the person, his age, sex, state of birth, month of death and cause of death. The 1880 schedules also included the state of birth of each parent of the deceased, but not their names. LIMITATIONS AND PITFALLS OF CENSUS RESEARCH Now that the good possibilities of census searching have been covered, it is equally important to look at the limitations and other downsides of this research tool. ***Due to the fact that federal census enumeration was not done until 1790, a large gap is open in American History and other records must be used for the colonial period. ***As before mentioned, earlier census records give far less information that those taken in 1850 and later. ***Many families were missed completely and others listed twice during enumeration because of the length of time needed to take a complete census combined with the mobility of American families. Earlier censuses took 9 months to complete. In 1850 the time was reduced to 6 months and in 1870 it was further reduced to 1 month. ***Many families that lived in multiple dwelling units were missed because the census taker did not know that a large house had more than one family. ***Schedules for certain census years are completely missing for some counties or even entire states. Incorrect data was given to enumerators by family members. Anyone who has researched multiple census schedules for a particular family can tell you of the inconsistencies in ages, places of birth and other important data. It is often hard to tell whether the errors were intentional or not and who made the errors. Was dad's memory slipping? Did the enumerator not care or was he hard of hearing. Was the information given by a child home alone or did the neighbor supply the information. Perhaps an enumerator being paid by the number of families he counted deliberately listed a family twice but changed the data slightly to make it look good. ***Even though the census page you are researching was taken on a certain date, only the information for the census year was to be included. If a child was born on Aug. 2nd, the just before the census taker took the information, he would not be listed in the enumeration if the census date was June 1st. The census dates for various years are as follows: 1790 - 1820 First Monday in August; 1830 - 1900 June 1st; 1910 April 15th; 1920 January 1st; 1930 - present April 1st. SOME DO'S AND DON'TS WITH CENSUS RECORDS ***Do not stop with Soundex finds -- do look at the original record. ***Do not assume census indexes are correct or complete. ***Do not assume spellings are as you think. ***Do not assume relationships are exactly as stated. ***Do not assume a wife is the mother of all or any of the listed children. ***Do not assume ages listed are correct. ***Do take note of all of your surname in the county and pay close attention to the neighbors of your ancestors. ***Do study all possible census years for your family. ***Do copy down all information from all columns and the top of page also. ***Do believe that all census records are important -- even the earlier ones. ***Do make use of the Veteran's column in the 1840 census ***Do use the 1890 Veterans (and widows of Veterans) Schedules. ***Do use the state census records ***Do not believe all census data to be true and correct. ***Do study the enumerator's handwriting so you can make comparisons. ***Do watch for families split onto two pages with the surname not repeated at the top of the next page. ***Do try to find your ancestors in every census taken in their life time. ***Do check family histories and other sources of neighbors who might have come from the same state to locate a town of residence if you can not determine that information on your ancestor. ***Do remember that when searching an entire town for ancestor, the town enumeration may be split and not be kept together on the film --- cities are often listed separately from the town they are connected with. ***Do take note of real estate and personal property values to determine if a deed or will search is appropriate. ***Do use maps in conjunction with your census searching ***Do search across state, county, and town lines if your ancestors lived near a border. ***Do go back and look again at census records to see what you might of missed -- especially if you have learned of new surnames (maiden names) or other family connections. ***Do consider typographical errors when using indexes -- know the keyboard and what letters could have been punched in by mistake. ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. 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