At the Archives: Books to
Support Census Research
By
Arlene Jennings, CG
Introduction
Successful outcomes in census research may require using
other references in conjunction with the census. For example, you may need help
understanding the handwriting. You may need to know how place names have
evolved, how county boundaries have changed, when areas were opened for
settlement, when states became states, or how streets and enumerations districts
were laid out in our larger cities.
If we are fortunate enough to have inherited or discovered
ancestors’ stories of their experience, the records they left describe locations
as they perceived them, and that may differ from official names for those
locations or from later names. More frequently perhaps you will have to
reconstruct the story of where they lived, when they lived there and their
migration trails from place to place.
According to family records my great-grandmother, Marilla
Guise, was born in White Pigeon, Indiana, in 1848. But research revealed no such
a town, and officials in Indiana insisted there never had been such a town. So
where was White Pigeon? Or what was it?
In Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan there is a White
Pigeon Creek. Just above the Michigan Indiana border in St. Joseph County, on
White Pigeon Creek, there is a town named White Pigeon, and it served as the
post office for the surrounding area.
This I learned by using, among other resources, Fanning’s
Illustrated Gazetteer of the United States, Giving the Location, Physical
Aspect, Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Climate, Productive and Manufacturing
Resources, Commerce, Government, Education, General History, etc. of the States,
Territories, Counties, Cities, Towns, and Post-Offices in the American Union,
with the Population and Other Statistics from the Census of 1850.
In addition to microfilm, CD’s and the census indexes in book
form, the National Archives in Pittsfield has a growing collection of books for
answering census related questions. You can find all of the materials listed
below on the shelves of the microfilm research room.
Atlases, Gazetteers and Dictionaries
American Place Names
by George R. Stewart.
Origins of 12,000 U. S. place names.
American Place Names of Long Ago by Gilbert S. Bahn.
Population and locations of cities and towns in the United
States, excerpted and reprinted from the 1898 edition of Cram's Unrivaled
Atlas of the World.
Ancestry's Concise Genealogical Dictionary
by
Maurine Harris.
Entries from church records, census data, tax rolls, land
records, naturalization papers, immigration documents, medical records, deeds,
probates, civil registrations and poll books.
Atlas of American History.
Collection of historical maps of the United States.
Examples: “The United States, 1783-1802”; “The 12 Largest Cities and Towns,
1790”; “Settled Areas 1800”; “Canals, 1785-1850 and the Cumberland Road”;
“Settled Areas 1850”; “Settled Areas 1890”. Additionally there are maps
showing free and slave states and territories at the start of the Civil War,
westward movement, the development of railroads, and the geographical
distribution of immigrant groups.
Directory of Massachusetts Place Names by Charlotte
Davis.
A finding tool for current and obsolete counties, cities,
towns, sections or villages in Massachusetts.
Encyclopedia of Local History and Genealogy by Ronald
Jackson & Gary Teeples
Directory of all past and present counties in each state of
the United States.
Fanning's Illustrated Gazetteer of the United States.
A guide to the “location, physical aspect, mountains,
rivers, lakes, climate, productive and manufacturing resources, commerce,
government, education, general history, etc. of the states, territories,
counties, cities, towns and post-offices” in the U.S. with population and
other statistics from the 1850 census. Reprint of the 1855 edition.
Gazetteer of New Hampshire by John Hayward.
Originally published in 1849, Hayward’s gazetteer contains
descriptions of all of the counties, towns, and districts in the state at that
time; also, of principal physical features and a statistical account of New
Hampshire agriculture, commerce, and manufactures.
Gazetteer of the State of New York (1860) Embracing a
Comprehensive View of the Geography, Geology, and General History of the State,
and a Complete History and Description of Every County, City, Town, Village, and
Locality, with Full Tables of Statistics by J. H. French.
Detailed descriptions of New York State in 1860.
Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire
by
Sybil Noyes, et. al.
A dictionary of names and places from 17th century Maine
and New Hampshire.
Hammond Atlas of the World.
Maps of the world illustrating physical features as well as
global relationships.
Hammond New Contemporary World Atlas.
Atlas of the world including physical data, population,
agriculture, industry and resources.
Historical Data Relating to the Counties, Cities and Towns in
Massachusetts by Paul Guzzi.
A summary of the central events in the foundation and
growth of the 351 cities and towns of Massachusetts, from their beginnings to
the latest developments.
New Hampshire as It Is in Three Parts by Edwin A.
Charlton.
A historical sketch, a gazetteer and a general view of New
Hampshire in 1855.
Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America by Frank
R. Abate, editor.
A multi-volume guide to 1,500,000 places in the United
States and Territories.
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United State. by
Henry Gannett.
Reprint of the 1905 edition.
Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses by William
Thorndale & William Dollarhide.
County outlines at 10 year intervals for census records
from 1790-1920.
1997 Rand McNally Road Atlas.
Road Atlas of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Township Atlas of the United States
by Jay Andriot.
An index with maps to the minor county subdivisions of the
48 coterminous United States.
Webster's New Geographical Dictionary.
A dictionary of place names for over 47,000 places around
the world giving location, population and a brief history.
Surname Indexes
Census for the Town of Cheshire, Massachusetts, 1800-1880
by Alice Halvorsen.
Listing of year, microfilm page number and line, first and
last names, age and birthplace.
Census for the Town of Cheshire, Massachusetts, 1900, 1910 &
1920, by Alice Halvorsen.
Census for the Town of Hancock, [Massachusetts], 1790-1920
by Alice Halvorsen.
Listing of
year, microfilm page and line number, name, age, and place of
birth.
Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire
by
Sybil Noyes, et. al.
A dictionary of names and places from 17th century Maine
and New Hampshire. Birth, marriage and death data are given for names, based
in part on civilian and military lists from each town.
Heads of Families Index, Federal Census, Lanesboro, 1790-1920
by Maurice Lyon.
A finding tool for surnames in the town of Lanesboro or
Lanesborough, Massachusetts referring to NARA census records.
Peru [Massachusetts] Census by Maurice Lyon.
An index to the census for 1790-1920, providing year, page
and line number on the NARA microfilm, name, age, and place of birth.
Index for the Borough of Queens, New York, 1910
by Alice
Halvorsen.
Alphabetical list of heads of household in Queens, NY, in
1910, showing the enumeration district number, microfilm roll and page number
at NARA, for the first roll of Queens only.
Finding Aids
Census,
Boston 1910, Index of Streets, Courts, Places,
and Wards and Precincts
Identification of wards and precincts from street
addresses, or courts, or places in Boston at the time of the 1910 Federal
Census.
Federal Population Censuses, 1790-1890: A Catalog of
Microfilm Copies of the Schedules, rev. ed.
Federal Population Census, 1900:
A Catalog of
Microfilm Copies of the Schedules.
Federal Population Census, 1910:
A Catalog of
Microfilm Copies of the Schedules.
Federal Population Census, 1920: A Catalog of
Microfilm Copies of the Schedules. National Archives Trust Fund Board.
These are catalogs of NARA microfilm for the federal
census. They list census roll numbers by state, by county, and, as applicable,
by enumeration district. In their introductions the catalogs also describe
census layout and content; give research hints; and for those censuses with
soundex they have sample cards, help on soundex, and a soundex rolls index.
Hickey's Street Finding Guide to the 1880 Census for Lowell
Massachusetts by Walter Hickey.
Street index to the 1880 federal census for Lowell,
Massachusetts.
Hickey's Street Finding Guide to the 1900 Census for Lowell
Massachusetts.
Hickey's Street Finding Guide to the 1910 Census for Lowell
Massachusetts.
Hickey's Street Finding Guide to the 1920 Census for Lowell
Massachusetts.
Index to Census: 1800-1910 for Massachusetts Towns and 1920
for Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, NARA.
A listing of microfilm roll numbers for towns and
institutions.
Index to Maine Towns, US Census, 1790-1920, NARA.
An index to Maine towns in federal census records, listed
in alphabetical order, indexed to microfilm reel number .
Indian Records, NARA.
Finding aid for Indian Records, including census.
Kansas Territorial Censuses, 1855-1859
by C. Prechtel-Kluskens.
Description and background for the Kansas Territorial
Censuses, 1855-1859, microfilm publication, M1813.
Research Aid for the Massachusetts 1910 Federal Census
by
Mary Lou Mariner and Patricia Bellows.
A finding tool and index by towns and counties of
enumeration districts, wards, and precincts and where to locate them on the
microfilm rolls at the National Archives. Includes a large foldout street map
of 1910 Boston with the wards indicated plus county maps for the entire
commonwealth.
Research Guide for the New York 1910 Federal Census
by
Ann Hunt.
Index for the 1910 census of New York, organized in two
parts. The first is alphabetical by town names, then numerical within each
town by Ward number (when a Ward is given), listing the microfilm roll number,
volume, enumeration district, and page number where each town begins and each
consecutive enumeration district of the town. The organization of the second
part of the index is alphabetical by county names, then alphabetical by towns
within the counties, than numerical by ward or district (when given).
United States Census Key
by Leonard Smith.
A finding tool for locating census information from county
and/or city providing microfilm roll numbers at both the National Archives and
at the LDS collections for the 1850-1870 Federal Census.
1850 Population Census & 1850 Mortality Schedule, Warren
County, New York by Robert McAlear.
An alphabetical, by town/city, list of census records for
the 1850 residents of Warren County, New York. A mortality record is also
included for that year.
1910 Index to Census, Lowell, Massachusetts, by Street.
Finding tool for the 1910 Census of Lowell, Massachusetts
by street and ward.
1910 Manhattan and Bronx. NARA.
Finding tool to the microfilm rolls pertaining to the 1910
Federal Census of Manhattan and Bronx in New York. This is an alphabetical
index to the streets and an index to the enumeration districts.
1910 Pittsfield.
Finding tool for the 1910 census of Pittsfield,
Massachusetts by street and enumeration district.
1920 Census, Supervisors' Districts.
Finding tool to obtain supervisor's district number. Use
with T1224, Rolls 41-60.
Other
The Census Book by William Dollarhide.
A genealogist's guide to federal census facts, schedules
and indexes providing information on the process of taking each federal census
from 1790 to 1930, tips on how to use each census and forms for recording
census data including Slave Schedules, Mortality Schedules, Soundex Extraction
forms for 1880-1930, a Census Worksheet for comparing data from 1790-1840 in
order to estimate age more closely, and a Census Comparison Sheet for
1850-1930 on which to lay out data from three censuses on one sheet. (Reviewed
in the March 2000 issue of Archival Anecdotes. Also available in The
Bookstore.)
Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives,
National Archives Trust Fund.
A guide to genealogy research in the National Archives
including census.
National Genealogical Society Quarterly.
Articles provide excellent examples of methods for using
the census as a resource. See especially, Rachal Mills Lennon,
cgrs, and Elizabeth Shown Mills,
cg, cgl, fasg, “Mother, Thy Name
Is Mystery! Finding the Slave Who Bore Philomene Daurat”, volume 88, number 3
(September 2000), pages 201-24.
Review of Non-Population Census Schedules by William
Dollarhide.
Identifies all known surviving copies for agricultural,
defective, dependent, delinquent classes, industry and manufacturing,
mortality, slave, social statistics, and 1885 non-population schedules.
State Census Records by Ann S. Lainhart.
A guide to location of state records and details of
contents and dates.
Understanding Colonial Handwriting by Harriet Stryker-Rodda.
An illustrated guide to understanding colonial handwriting. ¨
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