African American Census: Difference between revisions

In Census records, from 1790-1840, only names of the head of household were provided, along with the number of slaves. In 1850 and 1860, the Federal government took a supplemental slave census, giving the slave owner's name, and the number of slaves by gender, age, and a designation of black or mulatto. The names of all free blacks were included in the 1850 and 1860 census. Beginning in 1870, the census listed the names of all African Americans.

African-American genealogical research can be challenging, especially after you hit the brick wall of the 1870 census. There are, however, more and more ways to get over that wall and more resources to learn the techniques for doing so. Included here are some of the best the Internet has to offer, as well as some searchable census sites of particular interest for African-Americans:

AfriGeneas's census schedules online:

Christine's African American Genealogy Website, an excellent resource for roots-seekers, includes links to a variety of genealogical sources and African American homepages:

Christine's Genealogy Website's census links for African-Americans:

Linda Ball's Ebony Ethnics site:

African-American Genealogy Ring, dedicated to genealogists who are researching African-American family histories:

About.com's list of links for African-American research:

Cyndi's List of African American genealogy resources:

Researching Your African-American Roots by Christine Sievers:

Cliff Murray's African American Lifelines' site to help inspire you and help you get over those brick walls in your research:

University of North Carolina's site of North American Slave Narratives:

Ancestry.com's Slave Narratives (paid website):

Another useful website with links to the census by state:

{| class="plain"

| '''1930'''

|-

|-

Age

|-

Birth month and year

|-

Birthplace (state)

|-

| Birthplace of parents (state)

|-

| Marital status (single, married, widowed, or divorced)

|-

| Number of children born to mother and number still living

|-

| Occupation

|-

| Relationship to head of household

|-

| Residence (town and county)

|}

Use census indexes to:

* Quickly find almost any ancestor and where they lived (if there is an every-name, national index, such as the 1880 and 1930 U.S. Census Indexes)

This resource can be accessed at the Family History Library and many family history centers (ask for help to find where the fiche are kept).

'''1880 Census Indexes'''

{| class="plain"

| '''Ancestor's Surname'''

|-

|-

|-

| 3. Cross out the remaining vowels (A, E, I, O, U, or Y).

|-

| 4. If there are any double letters, cross out one of them.

| CRRGT = C-RGT

|-

| ASCRFT = A-SRFT

|-

|-

|}

{| class="plain"

| '''Code'''

|-

| B, P, F, V

|-

| C, S, K, G, J, Q, X, Z

|-

| D, T

|-

| L

|-

| M, N

|-

| R

|}

# On the Title Details screen, click '''View Film Notes'''.

# On the Film Notes screen, look for city indexes after the Soundex film numbers for the rest of the state.