Genealogy Insider - census records

WorldVitalRecords.com Adds Census Indexes from Footnote

Diane — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:44:47 GMT

Subscription genealogy site WorldVitalRecords.com announced a partnership to provide its US Collection subscribers with access to historical records site Footnote’s indexes to the 1860 and 1930 US censuses.

WorldVitalRecords.com members can search the two censuses on WorldVitalRecords.com and see a transcription of basic information from matching records.

To view the digitized census returns, they'll need to subscribe to Footnote. Or, of course, they can access census records in HeritageQuest Online or Ancestry Library Edition through a library; visit a Family History Center to use Footnote there for free; search subscription site Ancestry.com; or use census microfilm at a library, Family History Center or National Archives facility.

Footnote’s 1860 census index also is part of the FamilySearch Record Search Pilot.

A subscription to the World Vital Records US Collection costs $39.95 for a year. A subscription to Footnote costs $79.95 a year.

Genealogy News Corral: September 14-18

Diane — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:29:24 GMT

Without further ado, our genealogy news roundup for the week:

Subscription site Ancestry.co.uk (sister site to the US-focused Ancestry.com) has added London parish records, which among other events cover deaths from the bubonic plague and the 1666 Great Fire of London. They’re part of a collection of London records from 1538 to 1980.

Google Books, where you can search millions of out-of-print books, is partnering with On-Demand Books to let you use any Espresso Book Machine to print books in the public domain that Google has digitized from. (There aren’t a lot of places to find these book machines—click here for locations.) Learn more on the Google Books blog.

Visit the Family History Expos blog for a list of 10 great tips for using social networking sites to do genealogy research and connect with your family.

FamilySearch Indexing has launched new indexing projects from Indiana, Idaho, Canada, Spain, Guatemala, and Peru. The 1920 census index for Ohio is undergoing preparation for publication on the free FamilySearch site. Hooray! (We’re from the Buckeye State.) The 1920 census for Texas; Carroll County, Ind., marriages; and several international collections also are being readied for release.

World Vital Records lowered the price of its World Collection subscription to $99.95 (from $119.95). This collection gives you access to all the site’s US records, plus those from Canada, the UK, Ireland and other countries. See the November 2009 Family Tree Magazine for our guide to using World Vital Records.

Don’t forget to visit the Michigan Genealogical Council Web site for information on an online petition in support of the Library of Michigan, as well as links to news of budget-related library cuts across the country.

FamilySearch Record Search Site Updates

Diane — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:51:51 GMT

FamilySearch sent a note to let us know about recent additions to its free Record Search Pilot site. Those include:

records from Brazil; Mexico; British Columbia, Canada; the Czech Republic; and Hungary

1892 New York state census (some counties are missing from this census; see the FamilySearch wiki page about the collection for a list)

Philadelphia, Pa. marriage indexes, 1885 to 1951

The Record Search site changed a bit earlier this month. From the home page, you can search across all collections. To find a specific database, click Browse Our Record Collections below the search form. On the resulting map, click the region you’re interested in searching, then click the title of the database you want to search.

On the individual database page, click About This Collection to go to the FamilySearch Wiki page on the database. There, you’ll see a sample record image and information on the creation, content, coverage and reliability of the collection.

1930 Census Is Free on Footnote In August!

Diane — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:44:46 GMT

Historical records subscription site Footnote is making its 1930 census records free during August (you’ll need to sign up for a free Footnote registration).

If you’re a newbie genealogist, this is a great opportunity to jump in with the most recent federal census open to the public (1940 census records will be available in 2012).

If you’ve been doing genealogy for awhile, use this chance to try Footnote’s search and record viewer. Footnote uses a keyword search that filters your results with each term you add.

I like the "Refine Your Search" panel on the results page, which lets you select from available terms. For example, if you’ve entered the last name Wagner, age 43, in Cincinnati, you’ll be able to choose from first names of people who fit those criteria.

When you view the record in Footnote, you can see notes other users have added to the record (you can toggle this option on and off).

You can learn more about using Footnote from our eight-page Web guide—it just happens to be on sale for $3 at ShopFamilyTree.com.

The guide has an overview of Footnote, a navigation guide, step-by-step search demos, quick links, and hacks and shortcuts. It’s a PDF, so you can download it on the spot, open it with the free Adobe Reader on a PC or a Mac, click through to the recommended links, and print it if you so choose.

PS: Footnote also has extended its $59.95 subscription offer for another week, until Aug. 10.

Meet Jamie the Intern!

Grace — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:47:00 GMT

Hello, Genealogy Insider readers! My name is Jamie Royce, the Family Tree Magazine intern. I'm currently a student at the University of Cincinnati, and I am a native to the area, with family strewn all across the Queen City. I'm also just embarking on my inaugural genealogical journey, which I'll be sharing with you this summer.

On my first day, Diane showed me how to do an Ancestry.com search. We started off with my paternal grandfather because I knew the most information about him, and the 1930 Census popped up. My grandfather's name was misspelled, of course, but something more interesting was found: My 5-year-old grandfather and his mother, who had her married name of Royce listed on the census, was living with her two sisters and their mother, no husband to be found.

Diane and I thought this was weird as there were no wars going on or anything during the time, but with no explanation my findings just slipped to the back of my mind.

A few days later I was talking to my mother and explaining to her the living situation of my Grandpa R. and his mother. She thought it was interesting as well, and then slipped in this bit of information: "Well you know, your Grandpa R.'s mother wasn't married when she had him. Royce is her married name."

No, actually, I didn't know that, Mom. How would I?

Then I realized that my family gets its surname through marriage, as my Grandpa R. was not related to his mother's husband biologically; so I'm only biologically related to people with the last name Royce that descend from Grandpa R. This was a bit shocking to learn.

I was left with so many questions. When did Grandpa R.'s mother get married? Why was she living in her mother's house if she was already going by a married name? Where is her husband? What was his name?

Unfortunately, Hamilton County doesn't have older marriage licenses or vital records digitized, so I'll have to make a trip downtown to find Grandpa R.'s birth certificate and his mother's marriage license. But the 1930 Census did indicate that Grandpa R.'s father is from Kentucky; whether that's his birth father or his mother's husband, I'm not sure.

I also wonder if the mystery Royce adopted Grandpa R. as a son. Grandpa R. did take the name Royce, but I'm not sure what is birth certificate says, if his name was ever legally changed, or if he was adopted by his mother's husband. It clearly is, at the very least, a bit of an open secret that Grandpa R.'s father was not his mother's husband. All of these questions will make my research harder.

Without a definitive original last name on my Grandpa R., I may never find his birth certificate. Does the record indicate his last name was his mother's maiden name of Kiely? Does it now have Royce? Does it have his currently unknown biological father's last name? I may have to scour all of the records around my Grandpa R.'s birth date to find what I am after.

I looked up the address listed on the census for my Grandpa R. and his family, and it turns out the house still stands and is exactly 200 years old. Next week I will tell you all about it, complete with pictures. You won't believe how close I lived to my ancestor's home this entire time without even knowing it.

Search Four Canadian Census Indexes Free Online

Diane — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:30:53 GMT

FamilySearch has added indexes to the 1851, 1861, and 1871 Canada Census to its record search site (click North America on the map, then scroll down to the list of Canadian records).

The 1881 census already was online, and plans are in place to add the 1891 census.

All are the products of a three-way partnership: Ancestry.ca provided indexes to the 1851 and 1891 censuses, and FamilySearch created indexes for the 1861, 1871, and 1881 censuses. (Both sites offer these indexes.) The originals are housed at Library and Archives Canada.

Information in these census might include your ancestor's name, age, birthplace, religion, occupation, residence and ethnicity. Some information on the records is in French.

Note that FamilySearch has posted only the indexes, not the record images. It will eventually release record images to “qualified FamilySearch members.” (I believe this means volunteer indexers who’ve indexed a certain number of records.)

If you find ancestors in the free FamilySearch index for the 1851 census, you can use the location information to find those folks in the unindexed 1851 census images at the Canadian Genealogy Centre Web site. (The Canadian Genealogy Centre also has 1901, 1906 and 1911 census images, but you must know about where your ancestor lived to use them.)

The Family History Library also has the records on microfilm (run a Keyword search of the online catalog on Canada census). You can rent the film through your local Family History Center.

The digitized records also are available on the subscription sites Ancestry.ca and Ancestry.com (which also have the 1901, 1906, 1911 and 1916 censuses).

1911 Wales Census Is Now Online

Diane — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:36:05 GMT

FindMyPast.com has added the 1911 Wales census to www.1911census.co.uk, its partner site with the British national archives. The census lists 2.4 million Welsh residents.

You can search the index by person or place, then purchase credits redeemable for viewing a transcription of the record (10 credits), or the record itself (30 credits).

Due to high demand, Britain's 1911 census records are being made public as each region’s census is digitized, ahead of the previously scheduled 2012 release date (with some sensitive information about illnesses and the children of women prisoners held back).

The first release was in January. In addition to Wales, records for all England’s counties are now online.

New Podcast Episode Has Census Tips and More

Diane — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:02:12 GMT

The latest episode of the free Family Tree Magazine podcast delivers census records help, genealogy social networking tips and more.

In this May 2009 episode, Curt Witcher, who manages the renowned genealogy department at the Allen County Public Library, chats with host Lisa Louise Cooke about special “non-population” census records and how to glean important genealogical information from them. Contributing editor David A. Fryxell serves up creative tips for using the census. And Justin Schroepfer, marketing director for historical records subscription site Footnote talks about I Remember, a brand new Facebook application just launched this month.

Listen now at FamilyTreeMagazine.com or in iTunes. Click below for RSS subscriptions options:

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Last Chance for $10 Off Census Webinar

Allison — Mon, 11 May 2009 21:58:55 GMT

The hours are waning to take advantage of the $10 early-bird discount on our next online workshop, Online Census Secrets: Best Web Sites and Strategies to Find Your Ancestors.

Diane and I will be leading this online seminar--"webinar" for short--May 27 at 7 p.m. EDT. If you've ever had trouble locating an ancestor in the census, you'll learn helpful tips and hints in this interactive session. We'll be demonstrating online census searching on screen, so you can see our advice in action.

Registration includes participation in the live workshop and Q&A session, of course, as well as these goodies:

• Online access to the workshop recording after the session concludes
• PDF of the presentation slides for future reference
• “Master the Census” article PDF
• Quick-reference chart showing which Web sites have which censuses and indexes

And until midnight EDT tonight (May 11), you can get $10 off the $49.99 workshop fee if you use coupon code: h6cl3cv7x4.

Visit our Web site for more details on the census workshop and to learn more about how webinars work.

Learn Secrets for Finding Ancestors in Online Census Records

Diane — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:31:45 GMT

Census records are among the first resources genealogists check for relatives. But it doesn’t take long to discover it’s not as easy as typing a name into a database and out pops your ancestor.

Our next Webinar will teach you secrets for finding census records both on free and fee-based sites. Online Census Secrets: Best Web Sites and Search Tips to Find Your Ancestors covers:

• key facts about US censuses and census Web sites
• how to access online census records for free
• how to use the major online census collections at Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest Online and other sites
• a comparison of different sites’ records and indexes
• search strategies for finding elusive ancestors

The Webinar takes place Wednesday, May 27 at 7 p.m. EDT. Registration costs $49.99, but you’ll get $10 off when you register before midnight May 11.

Not only will you participate in the live, interactive class (you see slides and demos and hear the presentation; you can ask questions at any time by typing into a box and hitting Send); but you'll also get access to the recorded Webinar after it’s over, a PDF of the presentation, our “Master the Census” article, and an online census records reference chart.

Learn more about our Online Census Secrets Webinar and register on FamilyTreeMagazine.com.

If you’ve never taken an online workshop before, click here for more details about how Webinars work.

Free Download: Where to Find 1880 DDD Census Records

Diane — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:46:08 GMT

I wanted to let you know we’ve just uploaded a new genealogy Cheat Sheet to our online Research Toolkit: A state-by-state listing of where to find 1880 supplemental census schedules of “defective, dependent and delinquent" classes (“DDD schedules” for short).

Download it as a PDF from our Record References page.

You'll know to look for your ancestor in DDD schedules if his 1880 US census listing has a mark in columns 15 through 20, showing whether he was ill or had a physical or mental disability. If so, DDD schedules might give more information about his condition or reasons for being institutionalized.

These special schedules, recorded only for the 1880 US census, aren’t in online databases such as Ancestry.com’s. Some states’ DDD records are on microfilm at the National Archives and/or genealogy libraries; other states' records are in original form at state archives and libraries. Few are indexed.

We can’t promise our listing is comprehensive, but it does give locations and Web site addresses of repositories where we could find DDD records for each state or territory. If you’re still having trouble finding DDD schedules for your ancestor, start by contacting the state archives where he lived.

For help using DDD and more special census records—including agriculture, manufacturing, mortality, slave and other schedules—look for our guide in the July 2009 Family Tree Magazine. It starts mailing to subscribers this week.

1911 UK Census Goes Online

Diane — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:20:15 GMT

The 1911 UK census is online for the first time at 1911census.co.uk, a site from the fee-based UK genealogy site FindMyPast.com.

The scheduled release date wasn’t until 2012, but public demand got it moved up. But sensitive information relating to illnesses and to children of women prisoners will be held back until 2012.

The 1911 census covers England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as those aboard Royal Naval and Merchant vessels at sea and in foreign ports. It’s also the first British census to include full details of British Army personnel and their families stationed overseas.

More than 27 million people's census entries—80 per cent of the English records—are available today. Over the coming months, 9 million records from the remaining counties of England, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, as well as the naval and overseas military records, will be added.

You can search 1911census.co.uk by name, place and birth date (you’ll need a free registration). By summer, you’ll also be able to search on an address. Each record page view costs 30 credits; you can buy 60 credits for about $10.30.

The record images are color, scanned from the original census returns, which generally results in better images than scans from microfilm.

Florida State Censuses Now on Ancestry.com

Diane — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:16:58 GMT

Take note if your ancestors lived in Florida: The subscription genealogy site Ancestry.com has added a collection of several Sunshine State censuses: 1867, 1875, 1885, 1935 and 1945 (these last two can help fill in gaps after the latest federal census open to researchers in 1930).

These records total 3.8 million names—some of which may sound familiar, such as actress Faye Dunaway, a 4-year-old in 1945; former attorney general Janet Reno, who lived in Dade County at age 6 in 1945; and NASCAR founder William France, Sr., a Daytona auto mechanic in 1935.

Not all states took censuses, but where they're available, they're great for researching between federal censuses. State censuses taken around 1890 can substitute for that missing federal census.

Find a state-by-state list of state censuses here. Records are usually on microfilm at the state archives or library, as well as at the Family History Library (you can borrow the film through a Family History Center near you).

Ancestry.com has censuses from states besides Florida, including Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, New York and others.

Free Database of the Week: Census Records of Nebraska

Grace — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:20:16 GMT

I picked up this great resource from our Nebraska State Research Guide: Census Records of Nebraska from Nebraska & Midwest Genealogical Record.

From the main page, you can view Nebraska territorial and state census extractions published in vols. 9-22 of the Nebraska & Midwest Genealogical Record, the journal of the Nebraska Genealogical Society. The database includes the 1854, 1855 and 1856 territorial censuses, plus a couple federal mortality schedules at the bottom of the page.

If you're hot on the trail of a Cornhusker ancestor, you can also browse surnames in the Nebraska & Midwest Genealogical Record name index.

A great reference to determine historical boundaries is Nebraska Counties, which has maps from when the territory was formed in 1854 to the state's last county name change in 1925.

FindMyPast Adds English Census, Baptism Records

Diane — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:01:48 GMT

If your ancestors were born or lived in London, you’ll want to take note of two new additions to FindMyPast’s paid-access online records:

In its ongoing effort to redigitize the 1901 English census—using new scanning technology to produce clearer images and better transcriptions than earlier versions of that same enumeration—the company added 4.6 million records covering the county of London.

This summer, FindMyPast and the Origins Network began working with FamilySearch to index the 1841 to 1901 British censuses (read our report). You can search the 1841 through 1861 indexes free on FamilySearch Record Search.

FindMyPast’s growing collection of parish records now includes 2.3 million new baptisms, including 346,000 from East London. The parish records are a joint project with the UK Federation of Family History Societies.

FamilySearch Answers Questions about Free Census Indexes

Diane — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:31:09 GMT

Since announcing joint US and English census projects with Ancestry.com and FindMyPast, FamilySearch has gotten questions from its record indexing volunteers, who want to know if the indexes they’re creating will continue to be free to the public.

FamilySearch released a statement today saying that “The answer is a resounding YES!”

“All data indexed by FamilySearch volunteers will continue to be made available for free to the public through FamilySearch.org—now and in the future,” says the statement sent by FamilySearch spokesperson Paul Nauta. “Access to related digital images may not always be free to everyone.”

Why's that? Here’s the bottom line:

FamilySearch works within the needs of historical record custodians (such as governments, local and national archives, and historical societies) around the world.

Indexes will always be free at FamilySearch, even if the index costs elsewhere.

If FamilySearch is able negotiate with record custodians to get free access to record images for everyone online via the FamilySearch site, it will.

For some records, FamilySearch may only be able to negotiate free image access for visitors to the 4,500 worldwide Family History Centers (which are open to anyone), along with limited home access to FamilySearch members.

Those FamilySearch members eligible for limited home access to the restricted record images would include volunteer indexers who contribute a certain amount of work, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (whose tithes help keep FamilySearch operating).

Web developers are coming up with a way to verify the identity of FamilySearch members and expect to have it ready next year.

You also often can get free access to the record images by visiting the custodial repository.

Effort Underway to Open 1926 Irish Census

Diane — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:12:54 GMT

The Council of Irish Genealogical Organizations (CIGO) wants the Irish government to open the country’s 1926 census ahead of schedule—as soon as possible, instead of in 2026, as Ireland’s 100-year restriction dictates.

CIGO has started an online petition to support the Genealogical Society of Ireland’s (GSI) soon-to-be published parliamentary bill dealing with the release of the 1926 census.

The group argues the 1926 census should be opened because “virtually every adult then living is now deceased” and the data recorded is similar to that available in civil registration and other records.

Members also point out the 1926 census would be particularly helpful to genealogists. Many of those enumerated were born before Irish civil registration began in 1864, and it was the first census in 15 years (the scheduled 1922 count was skipped due to the Irish Civil War).

Precedent favors opening the census, according to CIGO. “Public access to the 1901 and 1911 Irish census was established as early as 1961 . . . only 50 years after the 1911 census had been compiled.” (In the United States, censuses are opened 72 years after they're taken.)

The National Archives of Ireland is publishing the 1911 census online; so far, you can search records for Dublin. A partnership with Library and Archives Canada also calls for digitizing the 1901 census.

Until then, since there’s no microfilm index to the 1901 and 1911 censuses, find your ancestors using the advice in Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's March 2008 Family Tree Magazine Irish roots research guide:

To find the Family History Library (FHL) census microfilm with your ancestors’ county, first learn the district electoral division (DED). Find the DED in Townlands in 1901-1911 Censuses of Ireland, Listed by District Electoral Divisions, on FHL microfilm rolls 1544947 through 1544954. Then run a place search of the FHL catalog on the county and civil parish names, and look for a 1901 or 1911 census heading. Click on each title, then on View Film Notes to find the roll for the right DED. (You can rent FHL microfilm through a Family History Center near you.)

Click here to read more about the initiative and link to CIGO’s online petition.

Footnote Adds 1860 Census

Diane — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:12:52 GMT

The historical records subscription site Footnote has branched into census territory by adding 1860 US census schedules to its collection.

Footnote took a different angle with this addition—not surprising, since census records are widely available on the Web.

The site, which divides its collections by historical era rather than record type, has grouped the 1860 census with its Civil War collection and made the database interactive. That means subscribers can attach stories, photos and comments to entries in the census.

You also can use Footnote’s records viewer to adjust the brightness and contrast of digitized records and invert images (so they appear as white print on a black background instead of the other way around).

The viewer actually is pretty cool: You hover over an entry and a pop-up window tells you the person’s name. You click for other information, and to see other users’ comments (or add yours). At the bottom of the viewer is a "film strip" you use to navigate to other pages. Here's a look:

The Civil War collection also includes a pension index, Confederate soldiers’ service records and Southern Claims Commission files. Footnote is working with FamilySearch and the National Archives on a pilot project to digitize Union widows’ pension applications.

Annual subscriptions to Footnote cost $59.95.