United States Census 1890

United States Genealogy

U.S. Census

1890 Census

The Eleventh Census of the United States (1890) was destroyed/damaged by fire, at the Commerce Dept. in 1921. Less than 1% survived, covering 6,160 individuals. The remaining population schedules "Eleventh Census of the United States, 1890" (M407) have been microfilmed.

1890 Census was taken beginning 1 June 1890, for two weeks to thirty days.

Content

The following information was recorded by the census taker:

1. Name
2. Age
3. Sex
4. Address
5. Number of families in the house
6. Number of persons in the house
7. Number of persons in the family
8. Relationship to head of family
9. Race: white, black, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, Chinese, Japanese, or Indian
10. Marital status
11. Whether married during the year
12. Total children born to mother
13. Number of children living
14. Birthplace
15. Birthplace of parents
16. If foreign born, how many years in the United States
17. Naturalized or in the process of naturalization
18. Profession, trade, or occupation
19. Months unemployed during census year
20. Able to read and write
21. Speak English; if not, language or dialect spoken
22. Suffering from acute or chronic disease (if so, name of disease and length of time afflicted)
23. Defective in mind, sight, hearing, or speech
24. Crippled, maimed, or deformed (with name of defect)
25. Prisoner, convict, homeless child, or pauper
26. Home is rented or owned by the head or a member of the family
27. (if so, whether mortgaged)
28. Head of family a farmer, if he or a family member rented or owned the farm
29. If mortgaged, the post office address of the owner

1790-2000 Info: http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-2.pdf

Value

The 1890 census can be used to:

1. Determine how many children total in a family
2. Determine immigration details

1850-1930 Search Tips: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1850-1930.html

Unique Features and Problems

1. Listed the address of the individual
2. Listed if a person was a soldier, sailor, or a marine during the Civil War
3. Listed whether they were Union or Confederate
4. Listed whether they were a widow of a veteran
5. Listed, if a mother, the number of children she had and how many were living
6. If foreign born, the individual was asked how many years they had been in the United States and if they were naturalized or in the process of being naturalized
7. Lists what language the individual speaks
8. Lists number of months employed
9. Asks if the home is rented or owned (and mortgaged)
10. Listed individuals in Army forts, US vessels, Navy Yards, & prisons.
11. Most schedules destroyed by fire in 1921
12. Special 1890 schedules enumerating Union veterans & their widows from the Civil War are sometimes used as census substitute.

Missing Records

Population schedules for all states and territories were destroyed except for those listed below. Some 1890 Census Veterans Schedules also survived.

1890 Surviving Population Schedules

The following population schedules have survived for the 1890 federal census:

Alabama

Perryville Beat No.11 (Perry County) and Severe Beat No.8 (Perry County)

District of Columbia

Q Street, 13th St., 14th St., R Street, Q Street, Corcoran St., 15th St., S Street, R Street, and Riggs Street, Johnson Avenue, and S Street

Georgia

Columbus (Muscogee County)

Illinois

Mound Township (McDonough County)

Minnesota

Rockford (Wright County)

New Jersey

Jersey City (Hudson County)

New York

Brookhaven Township (Suffolk County) and Eastchester (Westchester County)

North Carolina

South Point and River Bend Townships (Gaston County), Township No. 2 (Cleveland County)

Ohio

Cincinnati (Hamilton County) and Wayne Township (Clinton County)

South Dakota

Jefferson Township (Union County)

Texas

J.P. No. 6, Mountain Peak, Ovilla Precinct (Ellis County)
Precinct No. 5 (Hood County)
No. 6 and J.P. No. 7 (Rusk County)
Trinity Town and Precinct No. 2 (Trinity County)
Kaufman (Kaufman County)

To see a map showing the location of the surviving schedules click here.

Where to Find the Records

The remainder of the 1890 Federal Census covering 6160 individuals is available online.

Online

• 1890 United States Federal Census Fragment (Ancestry) ($)
• United States Census, 1890 (FamilySearch) - index only

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

United States Census Population Schedules, 1890 (FamilySearch Historical Records)

See Also

• 1890 Census Veterans Schedules

Websites

• 1790-2000 Info: Census.gov
• 1850-1930 Search Tips: Archives.gov
• 1890 Census Findings
• Ancestry.com
• See ancestry.com for their 1890 Census Substitute.
• HeritageQuest

References

1. Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guide book to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. (Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006.)

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