Research Tactics: Lesson 4

Matthew 13:31 tells the parable of the mustard seed. To that, Joseph Smith added:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of a mustard seed. The mustard seed is small, but brings forth a large tree, and the fowls lodge in the branches. The fowls are the angels.* Thus angels come down, combine together to gather their children, and gather them. We cannot be made perfect without them, nor they without us, when these things are done, the Son of Man will descend, the Ancient of Days sit; we may come to an innumerable company of angels, have communion with and receive instruction from them.”
(Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 159)

Discussion & Theory

Finding Answers In The Census

Importance of Research in Census Records

• Census records are a framework for families.
• They place your family in a location and a time period.
• They give you clues for finding additional records.
• If a family member dies in year before a census date, look for the mortality census.
• Be aware of boundary changes in states and counties in the earlier years.

The Censuses From 1790 Through 1840

• The name of head of the household.
• Number males and females in age categories.
• Number of slaves.
• Location of head of household.

The Censuses From 1850 Through 1940

• 1850: First year they name everyone in the household.
  • It lists the age, sex, color, occupation, value of real estate, place of birth, married in the year, attending school, read or write and physical condition of each person in household.
• 1860: What question is new on this census?
  • [value of personal estate]
• 1870: What question is new on this census?
  • [ birthplace of parents and constitutional relations]
• 1880 What is the big new question asked on this census?
  • [relationship to head of household]
• 1890: Most of this census was destroyed by fire but Ancestry is reconstructing it using other records of that time period so check it out. Many military records survived.
• 1900: This census became very detailed with many new and important questions. Name some of them.
  • [ month and year of birth, number of years married, mother of how many children and how many now living, year of immigration and naturalization]
• 1910: What new question appears on this census?
  • [survivor of Civil War]
• 1920: What is the new question on this census?
  • [mother tongue]
• 1930: What new question appears on this census?
  • [Do you own a radio set and are you a veteran of a war?]
• 1940: What new question appears on this census?
  • [In what place did this person live on April 1, 1935?]

Other Possibilities

• US Federal Mortality Schedules
• State Censuses
• City Directories
• Voter registrations or lists
• Tax lists

Bring to Class This Week

1. The file for the family you are working on and flash drive for transporting new finds
2. The story of how your interview went
3. Your SLC library card

Lesson Materials

Print out or download all of this material

• Lesson page — Faith in the Plan of Redemption: Census A Framework For Families
• Things to Think About in Sourcing a Census
• Census Summary
• Effective Use of City Directories
• US Census Headings.pdf
• Census Taker
• State Census Records

Helpful Links

• FamilyTree (Source your FamilyTree with censuses from FamilySearch)
• Blank Census Forms
• Cyndi’s List (including Worldwide Censuses)
• Questions from the 1940 census:
• Ancestry’s 1890 Census Substitute – databases included
• Link to State Censuses in Ancestry Academy
• US Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 on Ancestry
• Census Finder
• Tricks to searching in Internet Databases — Google Advanced Search Shortcuts

Homework for Next Week

1. Read Lesson 5 and all links
2. Update all of the forms for your family: Family Group Sheet, Pedigree File, Timeline and Research Log (even for the searches where you found nothing; you don’t want to search there again.)
3. Make sure you source each piece of information you find on your family so that anyone can find it again.

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