subject: Trace Your Ancestors Through Census Records [print this page] There are other countries that conducted census records prior to 1790, but the United States was the first nation to mandate a census in the Constitution. Article One, Section Two states that at least every ten years an actual Enumeration needs to be taken of the population. Now the single most sought after document by genealogists, the census has provided valuable information about ancestors to help countless researchers complete their family genealogy.
In 1790, Federal Marshals had the job of visiting every house and recording their findings. The first census only contained six questions: name of the head of house, number of persons in the household, number of free white males over the age of sixteen, numbers of free white males under the age of sixteen, and the sexes and colors of everyone in the household. Since then every decade had produced another census. Each census has improved with more information making it easier to trace your family heritage.
Over the years, the census has changed according to what issues were important to our ancestors at the time. By 1820, the census did take into account women and free colored persons to show how our economy was expanding. By 1850, the census record contained social statistics; which gives us insight to schooling that people had obtained, crime in that time period, and taxes. Later Enumerations reflect the melting pot that America was becoming with the increasing number of immigrants. The 1900 census asks if foreign born, year of immigration and whether they have the ability to speak English or not. In 1920 the year of naturalization was polled. To find out what questions were asked for each census record download blank census forms.
When tracing your ancestors, The United States census can help you discover facts about your ancestors and fill in missing event information, helping to
