Courses

Maps and the US Census

By Shannon Bennett, Student I love maps. Really, maps are a fantastic research tool, and even more important when you are using census records. Think about it, why do you think that would be the case?  I can think of several reasons; hopefully mine and yours match. Boundaries in the U.S. shifted, changed, and morphed over the years into what we know today. During western expansion, borders could be re-written almost overnight. Think about how many times over the course of the 10 years between enumerations this may have happened. In fact, your family may never have  actually picked up and moved but that doesn’t mean that they are listed as living in thave actually when the next census came along. Frustrating isn’t it? That’s why I was excited to see a section about maps included in the US Census Records  course . You should have access to the maps for the all of the places you are researching. It can really help you put the information you learn into perspective. Particularly, like I already said, if you know your family never moved but the census states differently. Locating those shifting boundaries is like turning on a light bulb on in a dark room sometimes. Maps can also help you determine how the territorial and state boundaries shifted over various years.  Even better, sometimes territories had their own censuses. This makes knowing when states formed from them even more critical. These territorial census records are interesting but they don’t always contain as much, or the same, information as the Federal records. My husband’s family moved to the Washington Territory in the 1870s. Looking at these records helped fill in the family information in-between the Federal Censuses.  It also helped reconfirm information like ages and places of birth. Okay, I am off to take the final. See you online!

There’s More to the US Census

By Shannon Bennett, Student How many of you knew that there were other types of US Census schedules?  If you did know, did you know how many different types there are? I knew about a couple of them but I had no idea that there were so many. Non-population schedules are great ways to gather more information about the family and the community you are researching. They can tell you about the job people held, if they lived on an Indian Reservation, what animals or crops they raised, about the industries in the town, and even information about their deaths. That is a lot of information, a lot of really good information, which can not only lead you to more information but in some instances it could give you a completely new insight into the environment they worked and lived. Over half of the 1890 Veteran’s Schedule was lost with the destruction of the 1890 Population Schedule, but I have to tell you it is a schedule I love to search (to read more about Veterans Schedules see the FamilySearch Research Wiki). While not many of my direct line ancestors are in it (majority of the Alabama to Kansas forms were destroyed, and my family hails from Indiana) I was lucky enough to find additional information on many of my husband’s trickier lines. I also learned that I need to go back and look at the Agricultural Schedules. Some non-population schedules are available from Ancestry.com . Unfortunately for me, they are not digitized and I will most likely need to go to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. to see them.  A majority of my family were farmers and when I went back to look at their population schedules I saw many of them were included on the Agricultural Schedule too.  That information could give me a lot of information about their farms and how they lived. Unfortunately, like with a lot of the research I do, many of the schedules I would really, really like to research are not available for the state the majority of my family is from. I have an Ancestry.com subscription and thankfully they tell you on drop down menus what states are available. Those drop- down menus will save you hours of fruitless searches! If you are researching American ancestors think about what you could find in these non-population schedules. I bet you could…

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Associations and Occupations

By Shannon Bennett, Student Do you ever read something and feel your head getting full? That feeling of “oh no, this is a lot of stuff, how am I ever going to remember it all?” Well, that’s the feeling I have right now after finishing the next section of the English: Occupation-Professions and Trades course. This last week I learned more than I ever knew about associations. What are associations you ask?  Well, there were three main types we studied: guilds and livery companies, trade unions, and professional associations. I thought I knew what the last two were, but I was wrong. However, I didn’t know anything about guilds and livery companies. I was really intrigued to learn about the livery companies of London. No, I don’t have ancestry from there (that I know of) and no, none of my ancestors were of those trades (once again, that I know of) but the history of those companies was simply fascinating. Livery companies were guilds in the City of London known for their livery, or dress colors they wore, which represented the guild on state occasions. The members of the guild entitled to wear the colors were known as the “livery” opposed to the “freeman” who were waiting to be promoted to the livery as vacancies happened.  It is important to note that livery companies were not found outside of London.  These organizations in other cities or boroughs were known as guilds when located outside of the City. We learned about other membership levels, how the guilds were structured, the way they evolved from medieval times to the 20th century, and what resources for research are key for genealogical research. It was dense reading but very interesting and very informative. Really makes me wish I knew more about my English ancestors so that I had an excuse to delve further into these records. The next modules are going to cover details pertaining to specific types of occupations and where researchers could find information on them. I am looking forward to this. Social history is one of the interesting topics for me and since I am an American I am sure there will be things listed that I had no idea about. See you online!

Sink or Swim: US Census Records

By Shannon Bennett, Student Nothing like jumping in and seeing if you sink or swim. There is no goofing off and easing into the subject matter with this course. You are into the meat of the subject from page one, which is great!  Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to start off strong. There is just a lot, and I mean a lot, of information. These first two modules cover the U.S. Census from 1790-1940. There are detailed explanations of what is on the census, why it was there, how it changed, and what the data means. That is a lot of information covered 15 times over. Good, needed, and useful, but a lot of information. I particularly appreciate the breakdown for each census on what was asked. Seeing it typed out in list form made it easier to digest and understand than just looking at it across the top of a census page. It was also fascinating to see how that information changed, evolved, and grew over the decades. I could easily see how the census became an incredible source for statistical information about the population of the United States at that time. The section on strategies for using the Federal Census was particularly good. Three examples were given on ways that researchers can analyze the information on the records, particularly when they are tracing a person or a family through multiple census years. Of course, you might have a way that you like to do it that is not at all like they suggest, but it was great to see how other people might analyze the information. When I am tracing a family through the census I tend to use a timeline approach. Each person is placed on a timeline and the information for each year is placed on the chart. When this is used in conjunction with a narrative (all of the information from the record written out in words) a nice flowing chart comes together. Other people use worksheets, but that makes my head hurt from information over load. What I think is the important takeaway message is that we each have different ways we like to breakdown and analyze the information we come into contact with. As long as we are consistent, don’t miss items, and can understand what is presented our method doesn’t matter.  If you don’t have a consistent method though, you…

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Starting the US Census Records Course

By Shannon Bennett, Student   One of the main go-to sources for genealogical information in American research are the federal census records. Within the first few days or weeks of researching you will pointed to it and be immersed in the glory of all that data. However, unless you really dig into the census many people never uncover the real gems that are hidden just beneath the surface. The course US: Census Records  is a comprehensive look at the U.S. Census from 1790-1940. Glancing through the syllabus I know I will learn a lot even though I am pretty comfortable with using the census for my research. The instructors, Scott Andrew Bartley and Beverly Rice, cover a lot of material in the various modules. At first it appeared daunting, particularly when I opened the binder section and saw the sheer amount of pages that were staring back at me. But, you know what, when you are talking over 15 censuses covered in one course, I guess that should be expected. I am looking forward to learning more about the census history, why they did things, and what was discovered. Also, I am really excited to learn more about the other schedules. I have researched a little into other census schedules, like the 1890 veterans schedule, but I am not as comfortable with them as I would like to be. Hopefully, by the end of the course I will be comfortable the whole way around! I was pleased to see that the instructors are going to touch on non-state censuses as well. I am particularly interested in the Colonial and Territorial censuses, but they are also going to address Native American census records as well. That information will be invaluable for anyone with Native American roots or colonial / explorer roots. The last module will be on alternative and substitute records. I wonder if this is where we will get advice on where else to look for information in case the census you need is missing. Most people are familiar with record loss, particularly the loss of a majority of the 1890 U.S. Census to fire, and I am pleased to see the instructors intend to touch on alternative records. To me, the further you are from the date of creation for a record the more likely it is to be lost. I think knowing where to look for alternative information…

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