T Or F? A Census Is A Head Count

Ready to use the U.S. censuses in your family history research? Do you understand what information is contained in the these records, and how to find and use them?

Here’s a True-or-False quiz to test your knowledge. Mark your answers T or F.

1. For genealogy purposes, a census is a population enumeration or counting.

2. The first U.S. census was taken in 1776.

3. The census is taken every 10 years because our Constitution says to do so.

4. The first six censuses list only the names of the heads of household.

5. There are no women’s names in those first six censuses.

6. The 1850 census was the first to list the entire household by name.

7. It is vital to know how state and county boundaries changed over the years.

8. The Map Guide to U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920, addresses the above problem.

9. Packets are available for maps of individual states, as found in the above book.

10. Census records after 1920 are closed for 72 years due to rights of privacy.

11. The 1930 and later censuses, cannot be accessed by the public.

12. The 1890 census was destroyed by a fire in Washington, D.C.

13. All census records from 1790 to 1920 are available on microfilm.

14. All of these microfilms are available in your local genealogy library.

15. There is a book-form census index for all available censuses.

16. Your local genealogy collection has a complete set of these indexes.

17. Your local Family History Center can order in any census film you need.

18. Census Day, or the day when enumerators could begin their work, is important.

19. Using the Soundex, when available, is the right thing to do.

20. The Soundex is by sound of surname index.

21. A Soundex Code for any surname is a letter followed by four numbers.

22. A Soundex Index exists for the complete 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920 censuses.

23. You should try to locate your ancestor on every census taken during his or her life.

24. It is important to note your ancestor’s neighbors.

25. You should photocopy the census information you find.

26. U.S. censuses are the most important genealogical tool available.

27. You can use census records in your local genealogy library, Family History Center, National Archives Branch in Seattle, or, you can borrow them from commercial companies delivered to your home.

So, how did you do? All answers are True except for: Numbers 2 (1790); 6, (unless the woman is the head of the family); 16; 17; 18; and 23 (three numbers).

Several sources to improve your understanding of how to use the U.S. censuses are: “The Source,” by Szucs & Luebking, 1996.

“The Map Guide to the Federal Census, 1790-1920,” by William Dollarhide.

“Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives,” by the Archives.

For a basic how-to article using U.S. censuses, printed from the July-August 1993 Heritage Quest magazine, send a large-size SASE, plus $1, to me c/o this paper.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review