Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records

by Loretto Dennis Szucs, Matthew Wright

Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records is a comprehensive guide to understanding and using U.S. Census records, in particular those of the federal census. Aimed at the general family history audience, this book is especially useful for the beginning to intermediate researcher. Along with a description of the history and structure of the federal census there is a guide to each decennial census. Three appendixes offer a description of major census data providers, major stare and national archives with census collections, and specially designed census extraction forms. Includes a complete index.

Genres: History

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[John Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple book with some helpful and some interesting information about various census performed by our government. The book attracted me on how to better research my family history. It provided some unique ideas for an amateur historian. It was also interesting to read a bit more about the history of our census and be reminded that humans have been counting their populations since the times of early Babylonia – and around the world, although many of these records have been long lost. In this country, I learned that it wasn’t until the very start of the last century when our government placed the Bureau of the Census as a permanent bureau in the Department of the Interior. While the U.S. has done a good job, the authors point out that some records were lost due to fires, other names are sometimes taken down wrong (as in the case with my family history), and African Americans have long been treated unfairly.

There was some instructional information for my future exploration. It mentions that the 1900 census included how long an immigrant had been in this country and if they had been naturalized along with if the home mortgage was paid off fully. The authors also have a fairly full checklists of census “substitutes” that include other sources to fill in the blanks including tax rolls, land records, court records, voters’ records, militia files, church records, schools lists, and city directories. It was surprising that the book didn’t mention labor union records and, in another resources later in the book, failed to mention libraries as a source of the Western Reserve Historical Society as an Ohio resource.

Despite being decades old, this book held up fairly well in time. It provided just a couple of new ideas and is easy to use, even easier with increased computerized files.

[Kim Phillips-Sasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty old but that doesn't affect the thorough explanation of census history, forms and enumeration, Soundex, and associated topics. Virtually everything here can be found online but the book has a nice flow and good organization. So long as the reader understands that access to records has significantly improved in recent decades, this is still an excellent choice for those who are learning the nuances of census research in the U.S. and/or prefer books to websites for Reference and learning.

Statesboro Regional Library
Requested via PINES

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful book though a little dated now because of it's publication in 2002 when it comes to internet info. I am glad I own it because it will be a handy reference as I do research.