Von: TedSned@aol.com ()
  Datum: 08.12.98, 08:54:12
Betreff: Re: census index

In a message dated 12/7/98 6:16:47 PM Eastern Standard Time, Thomas.Erle@t-
online.de writes:

> Could you please explain a non-US what a 'census index' is?
>
>  What personal information does/did it contain?
>
>  Does/did it differ in different states and times?
>
>
>  Thank you
>
>
>  Thomas
>
Thomas,
There is no simple answer to your question, but let me try.

First of all, a census "index" is just that.  It will match a name (generally
the head of household) with a specific location (i.e., page number) in the
census population schedules.  You then have to go to the population schedule
itself to derive very much personal information.

Population schedules for the censuses between 1880 and 1920 were indexed under
the aegis of the Federal government using the Soundex system.  Generally,
these Soundexes covered the entire US census, but there are some exceptions.
Some areas are missing, and for some only certain households, e.g. those with
children under age 10, were Soundexed.  The 1890 census was almost totally
destroyed by a fire, so there is no Soundex for that year.   The Soundexes are
available on microfilm, but are basically what you would call a Kartei, a card
file.  Most will show the name of the head of household and names and ages of
family members and others in the household, along with a place of residence,
and pointers to the exact place in the population schedule where the full
information is located: state, county, precinct or region, and, very
importantly, the Enumeration District or E.D., and then within the E.D. a page
and line number.  With that information one can quickly locate the appropriate
microfilm and find the individual readily.

For earlier years, such indexes as exist are privately compiled and published.
They may include an entire state, or perhaps just a single county or city.
There are a large number of these, but they do not provide very complete
coverage when taken as a whole.  So for these earlier years, 1870 back to the
first census in 1790, it is often a matter of searching through one or more
rolls of microfilm page by page.

In addition, there were other, non-federal enumerations taken from time to
time which may or may not be indexed.  These might be for example a state
census, or just a county tax list, or what was in colonial times called "lists
of tithables."

The most recent census for which population schedules are available is the
1920 census.  The 1930 census won't be available until 2003, due to
considerations of the Privacy Act (similar to your Datenschutzgesetz).

For more (and probably better) information on this subject, visit the Web site
of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at
http://www.nara.gov .  They have a whole section on matters of interest to
genealogists, and catalogs of all their microfilm publications.

Ted Snediker