WELCOME TO FLORENCE, WISCONSIN CENSUS PAGE

 

 

Florence County
Gen Web Project

part of the USGenWeb Project    

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There is no fee for using ANY of the information on this site.  ALL THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IN THIS SITE IS PROTECTED BY US COPYRIGHT LAWS.  Feel free to use/copy for your own personal use -- this is not to be reproduced and/or posted online in any format.  If you have any questions, please email me.

FEDERAL CENSUSES

Federal censuses originated as a head count for representation in Congress.  The earliest is a 1790 in New England, but Wisconsin wasn't far behind.  Just remember that Wisconsin as a state didn't exist until 1848, so you'll be checking Wisconsin Territory and Michigan Territory prior to 1848.  The earlier the census, the more basic the information. (The 1790 pretty much just counted heads!)  By 1860, they started getting interesting; by 1880, they were soundexed and really getting interesting;  and by 1900-1930, you could find out how long a couple were married, how many children the wife had, how long in the country if they immigrated,  year of arrival/naturalization,  and birthplace of the parents.  Censuses are definitely the place to start!  I call them "cluster genealogy"--if you find one, you'll find the rest of the family nearby.  Don't forget to notice who's living "down the block" as these are possible future "kin-in-law".  Every federal archive (all 13!) has a complete collection of all the censuses for every state!  So, if you're like me, you can research Wisconsin federal censuses for free, even though I'm 1300 miles away!  If you're not sure where you're nearest Federal Archive is, check out the "LINKS" on the index/first page of this web site. 

Indexed-- 1820 and 1830 (as Michigan Territory), 1840, 1850. 1860, and 1870 

Soundexed*-- 1880, 1900, 1920 and 1930

Unindexed-- 1910 

Mortality schedules-- 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 

Union Veterans Schedules--1890 

  STATE CENSUSES

We're fortunate that Wisconsin also took a state census--typically on the "5's" (i.e. 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905).  This is great as these censuses help fill in the twenty year gap between 1880 and the 1900 census, left by the destruction of the 1890 federal census.  The bad news is the state didn't ask the detailed questions that the federal did.  Wisconsin basically asked for the head of the household and how many were living there, male or female.  It does still help us decide the time frame that our families lived here and also, gives us a clue as to the ancestor's death or a marriage in the family.  All of these censuses are available at the State Historical Library, some are also at the Area Regional Libraries, and are also available through the LDS (Mormon) Family History Center nearest you. 

*Soundex" was a WPA project that is the neatest thing since sliced bread!  A surname like Czaplewski could be misspelled more often than not!  So, any name that sounded like it to the ear, was grouped together, and then arranged by first name.  The code for Czaplewski is C142--C because it's the first letter, and then the next 3 consonants are given numerical values--the vowels aren't used at all.  Anyplace that has the census films will also have a chart for soundex.  If you have trouble finding your soundex names, e-mail me and I can help.  (There's also a link in the "LINKS" section on the first page of this site that can assist you, too.) 

NEW!!! 1905 STATE CENSUS

BLANK CENSUS FORMS

SETTLING OF THE UNITED STATES, using census data--pretty cool map!

NOTE: Future projects that we hope to make available through this website will include 1880 - 1930 Federal Census indexes -- do check back.

If you have access to any of the STATE CENSUSES and would like to contribute an index of them, just let me know!



This site is maintained by Anne -- copyright 2007