Over 99 percent of the 1890 population schedules were destroyed in a fire which took place in January 1921 at the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C.
The Federal Census of 1930 is not indexed for Wisconsin in HeritageQuest. You may browse the census by ward. To perform a search by name, use FamilySearch.org:
The 1940 census records were released by the US National Archives April 2, 2012. While volunteers have been working diligently to index these records, it is still not possible to search by name for many of the records. For now, the best way to find a census record for many parts of the country is to find the enumeration district from an earlier census, and use the ED to find your location in the 1940 census record.
Federal Census Records
In the United States, the federal government has conducted an enumeration of the public every 10 years since 1790. In general, from 1790 through 1840, the censuses recorded only the name of the head of household and tabulated the number of males and females in age categories. Since the 1850 census, each person living in the household has been listed separately by name.
State Census Records
Censuses were taken by the state of Wisconsin from 1836, when it was a territory, until 1905. The 1836, 1838, 1842, 1846, 1847, 1855, 1875, 1885, 1895, and the surviving fragments of the 1865 censuses resemble the early federal censuses, listing only the head of a household by name and summarizing the number of others. The 1905 census was the only state census in Wisconsin to list all the members of a household by name.
Federal Census Records
For census records through 1930, HeritageQuest provides an easy way to find census records. See below for 1940 Census.
http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/census/search/basic
The Parkside library has a subscription to HeritageQuest, so any computer on campus as access. Offsite, a researcher may access the site if they have a Kenosha or Racine Library card. They will need a pin number provided by their library.
For searching, it is best to start broad, and narrow if you have numerous results. You may print directly from the screen, or download the record to the computer.
State & Territorial Census Records
The Parkside Archives webpage provides links to digitized copies of territorial census records.
http://www.uwp.edu/learn/library/Archives/census.cfm
We also have state and territorial census records on microfilm, located in the black file cabinet next to the copier.
What kind of information can you find in the census record? Early records contain little information, but more questions were added as time went on. Here is a chart of what you can learn through the years:
Federal
1790-1840 Head of Household only
1850-1940 Lists every person in residence
1880 More Details on European background
Population Schedules can include information on agriculture and mortality
1900-1940 Immigration information
State & Territory
1836-1847 Head of Household only
1855-1895 Head of Household only
1905 Lists every person in residence
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