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The 1900 census was begun on 1 June 1900. The enumeration was
to be completed within thirty days, or two weeks for communities
with populations of more than ten thousand.
- The 1900 population schedules provide the name of each person
in the household
- Address
- Relationship to the head of the household
- Color or race
- Sex
- Month and year of birth
- Age at last birthday
- Marital status; the number of years married
- The total number of
children born of the mother; the number of those children
living
- Places
of birth of each individual and the parents of each individual
- If
the individual was foreign born, the year of immigration
and the number of years in the United States
- The citizenship status
of foreign-born individuals over age twenty-one
- Occupation
- Whether the person could read, write, and speak English
- Whether
the home was owned or rented
- Whether the home was on a farm; and
whether the home was mortgaged
Because the Soundex index to the 1900
census is regarded as one of
the most inclusive
and accurate
of the
federally created
indexes,
it is recommended as a good
starting point for beginning researchers.
Most beginning
researchers have or are
able to find some knowledge
of family names and residences
that will serve as a starting point
for searching the 1900
Soundex
index.
(See “Federal Population
Census Indexes and Finding Aids,” below.) The 1900 census
is an excellent tool for determining dates and places to search
for marriage records, birth records of children, deaths of children,
and the marriages of children not listed. It is also a means of
verifying family traditions, identifying unknown family members,
and linking what is known to other sources, such as earlier censuses,
naturalization records (especially declarations of intent to become
citizens), school attendance rolls, property holdings, and employment
and occupational records. These records can help to trace and document
ethnic origins, and identify overseas and shipboard military service.
Note that some Indian schedules
are kept at the end of the
schedules for the state
instead
of
the county.
The 1900 census is the
only available census that
provides
columns
for including the
exact month
and year of birth
of every person
enumerated. Previous censuses,
and even the 1910 and 1920
censuses, include only
the
ages. The
1900 census
is also
the only census
to include space to record
the number
of years couples were married,
the number of children
born to the
mother, and how
many were
still living. This census
was also the first to indicate
how long
an immigrant had been in
the
country and whether
naturalized; whether a
home or farm
was owned or rented and
whether the owned property
was free of mortgage.
The information above is
an excerpt from The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy,
edited by Loretto
D. Szucs
and Sandra
H. Luebking, Chapter
5, “Research in Census Records,” by
Loretto D. Szucs (page 116).
1900 Census Information Links |
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