Making Census of History

This quaint old head count can be a helpful tool in your research arsenal.

By Paul Kelsey Williams

	This was a typical census scene in 1930, with a government-employed enumerator asking a resident questions on that year's form. Photo Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Old-house owners who are only vaguely familiar with census research might view it as a somewhat crude record used only by genealogists tracking down known family names. They may not know that it can almost always be searched using a building number (although not a U.S. post office address) to reveal a wealth of intriguing information on the past occupants of their homes. It can even assist in narrowing down a construction date or in finding relatives of former residents.

Detailed personal listings and household information recorded in the 1930 census for the United States was released in 2002 by the National Archives, following a period of 72 years in which, by law, it was kept private. It contains questions asked by census takers that typically recorded the following data for each living person in a household: head of household, name, age, relation (wife, brother-in-law, lodger), race, married status, place of birth for individuals and for each of their parents, spoken language, education, occupation, veteran status, and immigration dates.

The 1930 census also asked all home occupants whether they were renters (and how much rent they paid) or owners (and how much the house was worth). The government even wanted to know if you had a radio in your house!

The idea for a census dates from the establishment of the country itself, as the Constitution mandated the first national roll call in 1790. Taken every 10 years since, it has evolved over time from a simple person count into a detailed record that can be a fascinating snapshot into the lives of individuals that once occupied your house and insights on the building itself.

The recently opened 1930 census and older versions also might offer such surprises as second and third marriages, adopted children, foreign-born occupants, a bevy of lodgers or roomers, or even parents that did not have a name for their newborn children for several months after their birth.

The census will reveal if any of your home's occupants served in the military, and during what conflicts, from the Boxer Rebellion to World War I. It will inform you of the race of the occupants, something you can't determine from a city directory search. It's brow-raising for us today to see how much 1930 social attitudes dictated specific instructions regarding race. Any person with the smallest amount of non-Caucasian blood was deemed either negro or Indian (as opposed to native American). There were also questions about national origin-German, Chinese, etc.-which might be of interest if you are doing genealogical research related to your house or neighborhood.

The Street Where You Live Copies of all census records are on microfilm at the main National Archives in Washington, D.C., as well as at each of its 13 branch locations throughout the country. An exception is the 1890 census, which was almost completely destroyed by a fire in the Commerce Department in January 1921.

Many local libraries have purchased the census rolls that include their communities, so you should call your local library or history room first. Unlike genealogists, who typically search the record using surnames, you can consult maps to search the records to learn who previously lived in or owned your home.

The Census Bureau hired people it called enumerators to gather the information. They usually walked down the street, interviewing someone at each house. (In rural communities, residents might have been gathered in a town meeting hall and lined up for interviewing.) While the surnames from nearly every census have been digitized and made available online through various subscription services, actual addresses have not. You will need to locate a census enumeration map for your locale. It will show the individual squares or blocks where census takers were responsible for gathering information-along with an Enumeration District (ED) number that will pinpoint your house. You can then scroll through the microfilm to find information pertaining to that ED number.

District numbers changed with each census, along with the districts' shape and size, so you will have to obtain new numbers for each year the census was taken. Looking at more than one census can tell you when your house was built. Even if you already know the construction dates, each progressive year the census was recorded can help you to envision new households as they were built along your block.

Each individual sheet will vary in clarity, due to sometimes poor early microfilming techniques and variation in enumerators' handwriting skills. Enumerators might have used ink pens, or they might have used pencils, either of which could have faded or smeared in rain or snow, or under a sweaty palm. If you are very lucky, you might tap into one of the more ambitious enumerators who typed their entries.

A frequent challenge in reading the census is interpreting the old styles of handwriting. A simple rule is to compare letters that you are sure you can identify, such as the capitol P in publisher, and use it to determine what might be an unidentified first name, such as Penelope. With a little assistance from a librarian, exploring a census taken at your home decades ago can lead to fascinating information. If you're lucky, it may be worth an anecdote at the next family reunion-or even a novel.

Paul Kelsey Williams, of Kelsey & Associates in Washington, D.C., often uses the census in his work of researching and writing building histories.


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