BLACK-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: [BLACK-L] A Note about the censuses & requests for lookups
Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 07:46:49 -0700

Greetings all,
I am sending this to all the lists in an effort to keep people from
getting frustrated, angry, or discouraged about not getting their
requests filled. This is especially addressed to the newbies out there
who have just started. I hope that someone finds this information
useful.
There have been many recent postings asking for lookups in the more
recent censuses --1880-1920. Probably most of these requests have not
been even answered: Here's why.
1) Only up to 1870, were the censuses indexed by state. Some states or
genealogy/historical societies have indexed their county and/or state
since then, but this is not a general rule.
2) The 1890 census was destroyed by fire in a harbour. There are a few
remnants, mostly dealing with Civil war veterans & widows plus some
counties which seem to be in the Southern states. Only about 5% exists
of the original census and that's probably a large estimate.
3) After 1870, the government shifted to a new way to index the
censuses. It is known as Soundex. The first letter of the last name
is used, then numbers denoting the phonetic sound. For instance Hall is
"H-400". I'm not sure how many different names can fit in one soundex
code, but I do know it's helpful with the many mispellings that occured
out there.
Anyway, each state ran through the soundex code starting with the 1880
census. HOWEVER, the 1880 census is soundexed ONLY for those households
with CHILDREN under the age of 11. If no children existed in the
household, one has to read the counties one by one to find who you are
looking for.
4) 1900-1920 censuses were fully soundexed, BUT you might not find your
family regardless. They might have been at work or just did not answer
the door. And here's another CATCH--For some strange and unknown
reason, quite a few of the States do NOT have soundexing for the 1910
census. New Jersey, Washington, & Oregon are just three I know of off
the top of my head. Illinois & Ohio have this strange computer-like
microfilm which I've found to be a little off on the page numbers. I
don't particulary like it, but it is better than no soundex at all.
5) Here are some suggestions for researching the newer censuses.
Check out your local Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints
(LDS, Mormons). They are in the phone book. I am not a Mormon and you
do not need to be to use their Family History Centers. They are the best
thing going for genealogical research if you are not located near a
National Archive. You can order the different Soundex or census reels
for about $3.25 each. The volunteers will attempt to help you help
yourself---which in my humble opinion--is what genealogy is all about.
The least you can do if you are going to ask for lookups from the
mailing lists is to find first the index (1800-1870) or the soundex
(1880-1920) and then ask for a specific name/county/page lookup. Even if
you have several possibilities, it is very likely someone might help
you. Specific information is extremely vital!!! The most important
thing (in my mind) is to make as easy as possible on the volunteer doing
the lookup. Their time is just as important as yours.
Asking someone to look for John Doe in a county, a large city, or even
a state by going through the complete census is not a reasonable
request. You are expecting another to do your homework. A county with
only one reel takes about 3-4 hours to read through. Chicago City in
1900 has over 6 reels of (very) hard to read pages. That doesn't even
cover Cook county which are about another 4 reels.
I'm not addressing the research options for the un-soundexed part of
the 1910 census at this time. There are others out there who know more
than I do about it & this letter has gone on long enough.
My intention is to inform, not to inflame. If I make someone irate by
my posting, please save the rest of the list & mail me privately.
Remember, Genealogy is supposed to be fun :-)
Happy Hunting,
Sara Ekelmann
Holloman AFB, NM

This thread:

• [BLACK-L] A Note about the censuses & requests for lookups by <>

  • [BLACK-L] Re: A Note about the censuses & requests for lookups by <>