Use the Census to Trace Ancestors Back to Ireland ~from Family Tree University Extracting immigration information from the census is an essential step in determining who your Irish ancestors were and where in Ireland they came from. As you are no doubt aware if youve done genealogical research, US federal censuses were taken every 10 years starting in 1790. The most recent census thats open to the public is 1940. Information residents had to provide in federal censuses varied from decade to decade, with schedules taken during the peak Irish immigration years -- the late 1800s to early 1900s -- giving the most information. The first census to give clues to immigration was 1870. Below is a summary, beginning with 1870, of questions asked in federal censuses relating to immigration and ethnicity. 1870: race, birthplace of each person and whether parents were foreign born, male citizens (including naturalized citizens) over 21 who could vote 1880: race, birthplace of person and parents, supplemental schedule for American Indians 1900: race; birthplace of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized; ability to speak English 1910: race; birthplace and mother tongue of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration, whether naturalized, and whether able to speak English, and if not, language spoken 1920: race; if foreign born, year of immigration, whether naturalized, and year of naturalization; birthplace of person and parents; mother tongue of foreign born; ability to speak English 1930: race; birthplace of person and parents; if foreign born, language spoken in home before coming to US, year of immigration, whether naturalized, and ability to speak English; for American Indians, whether of full or mixed blood and tribal affiliation 1940: race, birthplace, citizenship of foreign born 1950: race; birthplace; if foreign born, whether naturalized Abbreviations used in the naturalization column included Na for naturalized, Pa for first papers (declaration of intention to naturalize) filed, Al for alien, or NR for not reported. When searching censuses, watch for clusters of other Irish on the same page and on the pages surrounding your ancestors listing. Take note of these names and watch for them to appear in other records, perhaps as fellow passengers on a ship, signing as baptismal sponsors, or as witnesses to other documents. These people may have come from the same place as your ancestor. If you are reaching dead ends on your own ancestors, try finding more on those people and where they came from.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 18:49:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015