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KEEPING UP WITH GENEALOGY ON THE INTERNET: CENSUS SEARCHES

© Christine Sievers

After checking on what new contacts I have for my surname, I next look for new records that have been transcribed online. Census records are great for breaking down brick walls. And, there is a growing number of indexes and census schedules being transcribed. As the amount of data grows, I like to keep watching for something that may be helpful in my research.

Before searching for census records, you need to know what county the census you are looking for is in. One of the problems you may encounter is that the city you are researching is now in a different county from the one it was in at the time of the census. For an interesting view of county changes see the gif at Evolution of United States County Boundries.

First, find out what county your city is in today. The United States Geological Survey has a search engine at USGS Mapping Information: GNIS United States and Territories Data Base Queries. Enter the city, then indicate the state in the drop down menu.

Then, for further information about the historical growth of the county go to USGenWeb Project state Listlinks, and follow the links to your county. When you are there do some sleuthing to find the information you need.

Once you have your list of cities and counties, you are ready to search in the databases. To avoid going over the same material, keep a dated research log. It saves a lot of time later.

Here is a checklist to search on a periodic basis:

1. Census Project Inventory: a USGenWeb project that is attempting to eventually transcribe all of the states' census schedules, the work of incredible volunteers and my first stop for searching

2. Distant Cousins - Index to Online Census Data: provides a link to online census, and would love to include your link if you have transcrbed census online

3. CensusLinks: includes localities outside US, a nice feature is that it has the date of when information was added

4. Cyndi's List - U.S. - Census: scroll down to U.S. Census Indexes & Records

Also, two good sites if you are doing African American research:

5.Christine's Genealogy Website - Census Research

6.African-American Census Schedules Online

NEXT WEEK: other online searches

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