Yellowstone Genealogy Forum

Yellowstone County School Census Records

The Yellowstone Genealogy Forum® has transcribed the school census records for Yellowstone County, Montana for years 1914 through 1930 onto a CD-ROM in an effort to preserve the information for future generations. The use of these census records is often overlooked, yet they are one of the most valuable sources of reliable information.

A sample of the record information follows:

LAST_NAME	FIRST_NAME	BDATE	SEX	FALNAME	FAFNAME	MOLNAME	MOFNAME	COMMENT	ADDRESS	DIST	YEAR
Fafoya	Jesus	Sep-05-1920	M	Fafoya	Faustino	Bustamante	Maruisia		Shepherd	37	1926
Fafoya	Manuela	Jan-15-1921	F	Fafoya	Faustino	Bustamante	Mariusia		Billings	37	1926
Fafoya	Panfila	Mar-04-1913	M	Fafoya	Faustino	Bustamante	Maruisia		Shepherd	37	1926
Fagan	Geo. E.	Mar-05-1916	M			Father Shevlin		Orphan	Laurel	7	1930
Fagler	Marie	Apr 17,1913	F	Fagler	Conrad	Fagler	Maggie		Worden	24	1914
Fagler	Pauline	Jul 13,1911	F	Fagler	Conrad	Fagler	Maggie		Worden	24	1914
Fahl	Gilpha L.	Jan 31,1904	F	Fahl	Frank A.	Fahl	Eliza		Billings	3	1914
Fahl	Zelda	Aug-03-1905	F	Kamp	E. S.	Kamp	Eliza		Laurel	7	1917
Fahl	Zelda	Aug-03-1905	F	Kamp	E. S.	Kamp	Eliza		Laurel	7	1918

There were 57 districts created in Yellowstone County, each with ever-changing boundaries depending upon the school population shifts over time. School district #2 (Billings City limits) has not been included as there are well-documented copies available in the Superintendent's School Districts office in the City Hall. These records provide access to annual changes in family history. Every effort has been made to copy the records exactly as originally written by the census takers, regardless of known changes that have taken place or as represented by other sources. However, in spite of great efforts to achieve complete accuracy, there is a chance that human spelling errors or interpretation of the handwriting, may have crept into the transcription.

Montana became a state on November 8, 1889. Two years prior to that, it was necessary that the territorial land be platted; and that the school land be set aside within each planned county for future use before consideration of statehood could be made. Montana, as with other states facing statehood, had a cultural problem with immigrant intervention, and taking of the census became a very difficult chore during the early years. Many people stated to the early census takers "... it was none of their business who we are", and refused to fully cooperate in the listing of their children. Some feared that they would be deported. Initially, the state needed only to identify the number of children (age 0 through 21) who lived in a household so that the land for the schools could be apportioned and the appropriate amount of funds distributed to each county. However, it soon became apparent that this would not work, since who was to know whether or not a child had been entered more than one time just to qualify for additional money. The state money was originally allocated at about $1000.00 per child per year, and it was obviously necessary to have an accurate accounting of its expenditure to prevent corruption! Therefore, the legislatures in the territorial offices established a list of items required for the census that must be taken each year and monitored each year by state auditors for accuracy and assurance that there were no duplicates.

These factors were:

Child's Last and First Name, Age at time of census*, Birth date, Child's Sex

Child's Father's Last and First Name

Child's Mother's Maiden Name ** and First Name (or name of guardian)

Place of Residence by Town, assigned School District and Year Census was taken

*Age was not always completed; and is not recorded on these records. The age was used by the administrators to account for distribution of funds for their district's elementary and advanced schooling costs. The child's sex has been reported exactly as stated in the records. Often, the reported sex of the child changes from F to M, or M to F; and back again (F=Female; M=Male) due to the census taker's errors.

** Often the Mother's Maiden name was not entered for either of two reasons: 1) The family refused to permit the name to be identified, and 2) when the parent was not at home during the census taking, the guardian or children who were present simply didn't know the maiden name.

Taking the census was a real chore for several years; with only the mother at home; or sometimes only the children, or perhaps a friend or neighbor, at the time the census taker called. The mother generally refused to reveal her maiden name. The children seldom knew their mother's maiden name; and rarely knew the other children's birth dates. Thus, much of the data reflects only the child and father's surname. Sometimes the birth dates are different from year-to-year, or else missing altogether. As time progressed, many people either changed the spelling of their names, or the census takers changed it for them. Many times the first letter of the surnames names was changed! In reviewing the records, it may appear that there was a "typo", such as "Henery" instead of "Henry". But the spelling is identical to the spelling on the original record. Since the spellings can vary widely, one should search for all variations of that name (e.g., Mary might be recorded as: M, M., Mar, Mary, Mari, Maria, Marie, etc.) Should there be a "gap" in the annual census information for a particular person, it might be necessary to check other variations of potential spellings; or search for the student by checking the parent's name, birth date, town or census district year. Some portions of the records were previously destroyed, so there are gaps in these records. These are certifiable records.

There are over 100,000 names on the disc.

Authorization to use this information for personal genealogical needs has been granted by the Montana State Superintendent of Schools in Helena. It may not be used for commercial purposes or resold to a third party. Ref: Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney letter dated 6 July 1998.

Note: Original School District #7 and District #24 records for the year 1923 were missing, and therefore are not part of this publication! District #2 (Billings City Limits) was not made available for recording.

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