Genealogy Boot Camp Session Two: Federal Census Records 1790-1930

1840 Census Record Age ranges and sex are given for household members, but not names. Only heads of household are listed by name.

1930 Census Record

Using Census Records A Case Study

1930 Search Result for Lorraine Black Click on the link to view the Original Image.

1930 Census Record Lorraine D. Black is living with her father, Ralph Black, his wife (presumably her mother) and her grandmother, Sienna E. Black.

Create a Timeline

Create a Pedigree Chart Lorraine Black b. abt. 1925 in Illinois Ralph A. Black b. abt. 1901 in Rhode Island m. abt. 1923 Dorothy C. b. abt. 1903 in Illinois ? d. prob. bef. 1930 m. prob. bef. 1901 Sienna E. b. abt. 1861 in Holland

Search 1920 census for Ralph Black who was born in Rhode Island.

1920 Search Result for Ralph Black

1920 Census Record Ralph A. Black is living with his widowed mother, Mrs. S.E. Black, and his brother, Raymond J. Black. Mrs. S.E. Black was born in Holland. Raymond J. was transcribed Ray Morris J. by the indexer.

What Have We Learned? Lorraine Black b. abt. 1925 in Illinois Ralph A. Black b. abt. 1901 in Rhode Island m. abt. 1923 Dorothy C. b. abt. 1903 in Illinois ? d. prob. bef. 1920 m. prob. bef. 1897 Sienna E. b. abt. 1861 in Holland

1910 Census

1910 Census Record Direct Evidence: Married for 28 Years in 1910. Indirect Evidence: Married about 1882 Ralph A. Black is living with his father, Edward J. Black and his mother Sybretekia(?) E. Family sources confirm this was her “ethnic” name. Two additional siblings are revealed.

Keep adding new information to your family timeline

What Have We Learned? Lorraine Black b. abt. 1925 in Illinois Ralph A. Black b. abt. 1901 in Rhode Island m. abt. 1923 Dorothy C. b. abt. 1903 in Illinois Edward Black b. abt. 1860 in Rhode Island d. aft. 1910 m. abt. 1882 Sienna E. /Sybret??ia b. abt. 1861 in Holland ? b. prob. bef. 1844 in Ireland ? b . prob. bef. 1844 in Ireland

1900 Census Search Transcription errors can make searching difficult!

1900 Census Record Same household – next page Edward Black household

Compare information from previous censuses. Does the information match?

What Have We Learned? Lorraine Black b. abt. 1925 in Illinois Ralph A. Black b. abt. 1901 in Rhode Island m. abt. 1923 Dorothy C. b. abt. 1903 in Illinois Edward Black b. March 1860 d. aft. 1910 m. abt. 1882 Sienna E./Sybret??ia Dekker b. April 1861 ? Black b. prob. bef. 1844 in Ireland ? b . prob. bef. 1844 in Ireland Ary Dekker b. Jan 1832 in Holland ? b. prob. bef. 1846 d. bef. June 1, 1900

1880 Census

1880 Census Record More geographic detail is given for Catharine’s birthplace. Terschelling is an island in Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. Sienna E. is enumerated under her middle name. Or is it really her first name? One of the children was born in Massachusetts. Might this indicate they immigrated through Boston?

What Have We Learned? Lorraine Black b. abt. 1925 in Illinois Ralph A. Black b. abt. 1901 in Rhode Island m. abt. 1923 Dorothy C. b. abt. 1903 in Illinois Edward Black b. March 1860 in Rhode Island d. aft. 1910 m. abt. 1882 Sienna E./Sybret??ia Dekker b. April 1861 in Holland ? Black b. prob. bef. 1844 in Ireland ? b . prob. bef. 1844 in Ireland Ary Dekker b. Jan 1832 in Holland Catherine b. abt. 1833 in Terschelling, Friesland, Netherlands d. bef. June 1, 1900

1880 Census

1880 Census Note the different birthplaces for John Black’s children. Incorporate this evidence into your timeline. Edward J. Black is living with his Irish father, John Black, and his presumed mother Jane. Five siblings are also identified.

What Have We Learned? Lorraine Black b. abt. 1925 in Illinois Ralph A. Black b. abt. 1901 in Rhode Island m. abt. 1923 Dorothy C. b. abt. 1903 in Illinois Edward Black b. March 1860 in Rhode Island d. aft. 1910 m. abt. 1882 Sienna E./Sybret??ia Dekker b. April 1861 in Holland ? John Black b. abt. 1813 in Ireland m. prob. bef. 1847 ? Jane b . abt. 1821 in Ireland Ary Dekker b. Jan 1832 in Holland Catherine b. abt. 1833 in Terschelling d. bef. June 1, 1900

In Class Activity 1930 Census Record Analysis

Searching Ancestry for Census Records Tips and Tricks

This general search screen gives you limited options and searches only a fragment of what’s available on Ancestry. For best results, search each census year individually.

Select an individual census year to search.

1930 Census Search Options Narrow your search by entering a birthplace. (Use states or foreign countries) Only include family members if they were living together in the same household in 1930. Change the birth year range from 0 to 2 to accommodate for some variance in reported ages.

Soundex Results for Karsted (K623)

Census Search Challenges

Use of Initials

Middle Names & Nicknames 1930 Census 1920 Census

Indexing/Transcription Errors Correct in census. Wrong in index.

Citing Your Census Record

Genealogy BootCamp: Session Two: Federal Census Records 1790-1930

1860 Slave Schedule