Census Records: A First Step for Researching Immigrant Ancestors

 By Lauren Kuntzman

Federal Census Records are one of the most commonly-used resources for researching ancestors living in the United States. Census records contain a surprising number of clues about immigration and make for an important first step in researching immigrant ancestors. 

Beginning in 1880 and continuing through 1924, there was a period of mass immigration to the United States. Census records for this time period asked questions aimed at capturing data about this trend. 

Here are 3 details about an ancestor’s immigrant experience that you may learn from Census Records: 

1. The Year an Ancestor Arrived in the United States

 The 1930, 1920, 1910, and 1900 censuses ask for an individual’s year of immigration to the United States. The 1900 census also asks for the number of years an individual had been in the United States. 

Here’s an example from the 1920 Census, Medina City, Medina County, Ohio in which we learn that Mr. Oscar Olson arrived in the USA in 1889, while his wife Alice and father-in-law Lewis arrived earlier, in 1880. 

For the 1880, 1870, 1860, and 1850 censuses, you may be able to infer when a family arrived in the United States, looking at the children’s birthplaces. 

As an example, look at the Gardner family living in Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio, in 1850.  Although the children in the family aren’t listed in chronological order, we can see that 6-year old George was born in Germany, while 4-year old Barbara was born in Ohio. As such, we can infer that the family moved from Germany sometime between 1842 and 1844.  

2. An Ancestor’s Citizenship Status

The 1950 and 1940 censuses asked foreign-born individuals if they were citizens. The 1930, 1920, 1910, and 1900 asked immigrants if they were naturalized citizens or aliens. The 1920 census also asked for an individual's year of naturalization. 

Looking back at the Olson family, we see that Oscar, Alice, and Lewis are marked as “NA” which stands for Naturalized. We also learn the years in which they became naturalized - an important clue for finding their naturalization records.  

Earlier, the 1870 census asked if individuals were male U.S. citizens 21 years old or older, while in 1830 and 1820, households were asked for the number of individuals who were foreigners who had not become naturalized citizens. 

3. An Immigrant Ancestor’s Country of Birth

Every census between 1950 back to 1850 has asked for individuals’ birthplaces. 

The 1950 and 1940 censuses asked a portion of the population for their parents’ birthplaces. This question was asked of all individuals in 1930, 1920, 1910, 1900, and 1880.  Meanwhile, the 1870 census, asked simply if an individuals’ parents were of foreign birth. 

In a related question, in 1940, part of the population was asked what language they first spoke (their “mother tongue” or “native tongue”). Similar questions were asked of the entire population in 1930, 1920, and 1910.  

Continuing to look at the Olson family, we learn that Oscar was from Sweden and, as expected spoke Swedish, while Alice and her father were both born in England and were native-speakers of English.

Next Steps

After gleaning all the information possible in census records, you’ll want to follow up on the details you learn with Ship Manifests and Naturalization Records.  

This Saturday, 10/15, we have Rich Venezia as guest lecturer joining us via Zoom to share information about finding and using these records.  

Starting at 1:00 pm Eastern, Rich will present: 

Ship Manifests: An In-Depth Look 

Ship manifests are the “go-to” record to find immigrant arrivals in the 1800s and 1900s. Discover all the different information they can tell us. 

Starting around 2:30 pm Eastern, Rich will then share: 

Naturalization Know-How: The Laws and Records of U. S. Citizenship 

Many records were created when immigrant ancestors became American citizens. Learn what they are and how to find them. 

You can join us via Zoom, or opt to watch the presentations together, here at the Medina Library Community Rooms. 

Registration is required.  Sign up to join us at https://mcdl.info/Slam.

Call the MCDL Genealogy Team with any questions at 330-725-0588 x5017.