If you want to find information on your long-lost ancestors in the U.S., then the Census data is a good place to start. Census data has been accumulated for centuries. All you need is the name of your relative or ancestor, and the state in which they lived. That’s all you need to begin your genealogy research to expand your family tree lineage.
The first Federal Population Census was taken in 1790, and
has been taken every ten years since then. Regrettably, Census data after 1940
is not currently available because of a 72-year restriction on access to the
Census. The last Census data released by the National U.S. Archives was 1940,
and was released on April 2, 2012. The 1950 Census data will only be released
in 2022.
A typical Census will provide the following information for
each household:
- The names of family members
- Their ages at a certain point in time
- State or country of birth
- Their parent's birthplaces
- Year of immigration
- Street address
- Marriage status and years of marriage
- Occupation(s)
Census data can also give you important clues to follow when researching family ancestry. For example, the 1840 Census reported the name and age of Revolutionary War pensioners, and the 1820 census reported the number of persons in each household who engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing. Since 1900, the Census indicates the person's year of immigration to the United States. This information should help in locating a ship passenger arrival list. By following these clues, you will be able to find other records about the same ancestor in your family tree.
Good luck with your genealogy research!
