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State Censuses Available for 1885 through
1895
By Jean
Nudd, Archivist
Since the 1890 Federal census is
not available, state censuses taken between 1885 and 1895 are one of the
research tools genealogists can use to fill the gap.
The act of March 3, 1879,
providing for the taking of the tenth and subsequent censuses, also made
provision for any state or territory to take a “semi-decennial” census
“according to the schedules and forms of enumeration in the census of the United
States.” This census was to be taken “during the two months beginning on the
first Monday in June of the year which is the mean between the decennial
censuses of the United States.” A “full and authentic copy of all schedules
returned” was to be deposited with the Secretary of the Interior on or before
the first day of the following September. If a state or territory complied with
these provisions, it was to receive from the Federal Treasury, fifty percent of
the amount paid to all supervisors and actual enumerators within the state or
territory in the preceding United States census.1
State Censuses Taken under the Census Act of March 3, 1879
Five states or territories elected to take the
special census under the terms of this provision:
Colorado,
Florida, Nebraska,
New Mexico Territory and
Dakota Territory. The schedules were
filed with the Office of the Secretary of the Interior and later transferred to
the Office of the Director of the Census Bureau. No editing or publishing of
the returns was ever done by the Federal government. Except for the Dakota
Territory schedules, these copies were transferred by the Bureau of the Census
to the National Archives in 1944.2
Colorado’s
schedules are available on microfilm publication M158, on eight rolls.
These schedules show the same information as the 1880 census except that
frequently the given names were abbreviated to just the first initials.3
Colorado’s census was taken on June 1 using four schedules—general population,
agriculture, manufacturers, and mortality.4
The Colorado State Archives also holds a manuscript copy of this census. The
state copy is missing nineteen counties and the Federal manuscripts are missing
Fremont and Garfield counties.5
Florida
is on M845, thirteen rolls, and the schedules are missing Alachua, Clay,
Columbia and Nassau counties.6
The Nebraska
schedules, on M352, fifty-six rolls, are missing Blaine and Chase
counties.7
M846 contains the schedules for New Mexico,
on 6 rolls of film.8
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque holds an
original copy as well, missing the counties of Bernalillo, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe
and San Miguel.9
The schedules are arranged alphabetically by
name of county and then numerically by enumeration district. Within each
enumeration district, the schedules appear in the order of Schedule I,
population; Schedule II, agriculture; Schedule III, manufactures; and Schedule
V, mortality. Some schedules have slightly different arrangements. For
example, the schedules for Denver consist of enumeration districts four through
twenty in Arapahoe County, but the Chinese in Denver are separately enumerated
in schedules grouped together after the regular districts.10
Most of the
Dakota Territory census no longer exists. Only thirty-seven of the 132
counties in the territory in 1885 have survived.11
The South Dakota schedules were microfilmed and are available on NARA
publication number Z81 for Beadle Lake and Lake Turner. (These three rolls of
film are only available at NARA’s Pacific Alaska Region in Seattle.) This
microfilm also includes the 1895 state schedules for Beadle and Charles Mix
counties in South Dakota.12
All the remaining schedules for the 1885 Dakota Territory are available at the
South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre and the State Archives and
Historical Research Library of the State Historical Society of North Dakota in
Bismarck.13
Other State Censuses
Many states did off year censuses independent
of the Federal government. These are held by state archives and historical
societies and sometimes through the Family History Library. Here is a summary
of those available for the 1885 to 1895 period. For more information see Anne
S. Lainhart’s State Census Records.
Arizona
took a territorial census frequently between 1864 and 1911 for statehood
purposes. These records are available on microfilm at the Arizona State
Archives in Phoenix where researchers can also find “Great Registers,” voter
lists giving roughly the same information as the territorial census, compiled on
the county level every two years beginning in 1872.14
Florida
took an 1895 census, and existing state censuses are available at the Florida
State Archives in Tallahassee and through the Family History Library.15
A copy of the Washington County, Georgia,
1890 federal census is available at the County Courthouse and the Georgia State
Archives in Atlanta, but no state censuses were taken after 1879.16
Only a few towns in Blackford County, Indiana,
still exist from the 1883 and 1889 state censuses held at the Indiana
State Library in Indianapolis.17
The State Historical Society of
Iowa in Des Moines holds state census for
1885 and 1895. These schedules list all members of the household and county of
birth if born in Iowa.18
Kansas also has state schedules for 1885
and 1895 at the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka. These include
agricultural schedules.19
Harvey, Woodson and Wyandotte counties are also available at the NARA facility
in Seattle, on Z118 and Z119.20
Michigan
had state censuses in 1884 and 1894 with a special Civil War veterans’ census
taken in 1888. These are held at the State Archives in Lansing, but not all
schedules still exist for all counties. Michigan’s schedules include
population, agriculture, industry and social statistics.21
The Minnesota
Historical Society in St. Paul holds the state census for 1885 and 1895 and has
published a guide to their genealogical materials.22
The New Jersey State Archives in Trenton
hold the 1885 and 1895 censuses.23
New York took a state census in 1892 (see
Melinda Yates’ article in this issue). Oregon
took a state census in 1885 and 1895. The State Archives in Salem hold
the schedules for only a few of the counties.24
Rhode Island had a state census in 1885
and these are microfilmed and available at the Rhode Island Historical Society
in Providence. The NARA facility in Seattle also has this film.25
The territory and state of
Washington held census in 1885, 1887 and
1889. Microfilm copies are available at the Washington State Library in
Olympia, and the Family History Library holds some counties for some years.26
Wisconsin also did 1885 and 1895 censuses
that are available at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in Madison.27
When looking for a state census, be sure to
check the Family History Library web site at www.familysearch.org to see if they
have copies.
_______________
1. NARA,
Pamphlet accompanying M352, Schedules of the Nebraska State Census of 1885
(Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1961), 1.
2. Ibid.
3. NARA,
Guide to Genealogical Research at the National
Archives (Washington, DC: NARA, 2000), 31.
4. NARA,
Pamphlet accompanying M158, Schedules of the Colorado State Census of 1885
(Washington, DC: NARA, 1965), 2.
5. William
Dollarhide, The Census Book; A Genealogist’s
Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes, (Bountiful, UT:
Heritage Quest, 1999), 147.
6. Dollarhide,
147.
7. Ibid.
8. NARA,
Guide to Genealogical Research,
36.
9. Dollarhide,
147.
10. NARA
Colorado pamphlet, 3.
11. Dollarhide,
147.
12. NARA,
On-line microfilm catalog at www.archives.gov, printed 12 Apr 2004.
13. Ann
S. Lainhart, State Census Records
(Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992), 90, 103.
14. Arizona
State Archives, Guide to Public Records in the
Arizona State Archives (Phoenix: State of Arizona, 1994), 31.
15. Lainhart,
30.
16. Lainhart,
35.
17. Lainhart,
40.
18. Lainhart,
43.
19. Lainhart,
45-46.
20. NARA
on-line microfilm catalog at www.archives.gov, accessed 12 Apr 2004.
21. Lainhart,
62-65.
22. Lainhart,
68
23. Lainhart,
80-81
24. Lainhart,
97
25. Lainhart,
100-101; NARA on-line catalog
26. Lainhart,
109-110
27. Lainhart,
113-114.
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