The Census
If you are looking for family information, it's important to understand what is available in the census, and when. This is from the Census Bureau website.
Age and sex, 1790-present (but only for free Whites until 1820)
Slave status, 1790-1860
Color or race, 1790-present (see section below)
Citizenship, 1820-1830, 1870, 1890-present
Physical or mental handicap, 1830-1930, 1970-present
Education or literacy, 1840 present
Marital status, 1880-present
Occupation, 1850-present
Industry, 1820, 1840, 1910-present
Employment status, 1880-present (except 1920)
Crime, 1850-1910
Mortality, 1850-1890
Place of birth, 1850-present
Wage rates, 1850-1890
Income, 1940-present
Pauperism, 1850-1860, 1880-1890, 1910
Prisoners, 1880-1910
Institutionalized persons, 1880- 1890, 1910
Year of immigration, 1890-1930, 1970-present
Number of children ever born, 1890- 1910, 1940-1990
Language (or whether the person could speak English), 1890-1940, 1960-present
Language of parents, 1910-1920
Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent, 1970-present
In the 20th century, interest focused as well on people’s economic characteristics—their jobs and how they traveled to work, their income, and how well they were housed. Most of these questions are asked on a sample basis.
