Massachusetts Census

United States U.S. Census Massachusetts Census

Tips

If at first you don't find a name, try again under another spelling.
Photocopy each ancestor's census. Identify where you found it.
Look for an ancestor in every census during her or his lifetime.
On the family group record show each person's census listings.
Study others in the same household, neighbors, and anyone with the similar names nearby on the census in community context.

For a list of the exact date of each federal census, click here.

Online Massachusetts indexes and images

Template:Census Online Massachusetts

Federal population schedules

Microfilm images

Indexes: fiche, film, or book

For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of Massachusetts, click here

Federal non-population schedules

Online indexes and images

Online Federal Non-Population Schedules for Massachusetts
		Free			Free at Some Libraries (usually with library card)			Pay
Year	Type	Record Search	Census Bureau	Google Book	Heritage Quest	Ancestry FHL	Ancestry Library	Ancestry Home
1890	Veterans	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1880	Defective	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1880	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1870	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1860	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1850	Mortality	Link	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1840	Pensioners	-	BookLink	BookLink	-	Link	Link	Link

Microfilm images

1880 mortality schedules (Family History Library film 1421020–23)
1870 mortality schedules (Family History Library film 1421018–19)
1860 mortality schedules (Family History Library film 1421017)
1850 mortality schedules (Family History Library film 1421015–16)

Indexes: fiche, film, or book

For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of Massachusetts, click here.

State and colonial censuses

State and Colonial Censuses of Massachusetts

1945

Lost^[1]^[2]

1935

Lost^[1]^[2]

1925

Lost^[1]^[2]

1915

Lost^[1]^[2]

1905

Lost^[1]^[2]

1895

Lost^[1]^[2]

1885

Lost^[1]^[2]

1875

Lost^[1]^[2]

1865 May 1

Exist^[2]^[3]^[4]

1855 June 1

Exist^[2]^[3]^[4]

1850

Lost^[2]

1840

Lost^[2]

1837 May 1

Lost^[2]

Existing and lost censuses

For a list of available and missing Massachusetts censuses, click here.

Why use a census?

A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses

Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:

Sources and footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992)[[Template:Lainha]], 57-61.
↑ ^2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 ^2.10 ^2.11 ^2.12 Henry J. Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1948) [[Template:Dubester]], 24-29.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992)[[Template:Lainha]], 57-61. Original censuses at the Massachusetts State Archives. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Lainhart" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Census, 1855–1865 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974) [[Template:Mass5565]]. For online census editions see "Online Federal and State Population Schedules for Massachusetts" above.

Template:Stub

[Lainh-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992)[[Template:Lainha]], 57-61.

[Dubest-2] 2.00 ^2.01 ^2.02 ^2.03 ^2.04 ^2.05 ^2.06 ^2.07 ^2.08 ^2.09 ^2.10 ^2.11 ^2.12 Henry J. Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1948) [[Template:Dubester]], 24-29.

[Lainhart-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992)[[Template:Lainha]], 57-61. Original censuses at the Massachusetts State Archives. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Lainhart" defined multiple times with different content

[MassCn5565-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Census, 1855–1865 (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974) [[Template:Mass5565]]. For online census editions see "Online Federal and State Population Schedules for Massachusetts" above.

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