For the censuses conducted from 1880 to 1920, you can use microfilmed indexes organized under the American Soundex system. The American Soundex system is an indexing method that groups names that are pronounced in a similar way but are spelled differently. This indexing procedure allows you to find ancestors who may have changed the spelling of their names over the years. For example, you find names such as Helm, Helme, Holm, and Holme grouped in the American Soundex. They are available for 1880 – 1940
- 1880 census. All states but only for the households with children age ten and under.
- 1890 census. No records exist with Soundex code because most of the census was lost by fire.
- 1900 census. All states are included.
- 1910 census. Using the Mira code, twenty-one states were included: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
- 1920 census. All states are included.
- 1930 census. Ten states were included: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. It was also partially done for the states of Kentucky and West Virginia.
Soundex Details
The Soundex card will only provide a summary of the information that is found in the actual census. The file cards included the following information:
Name
Race
Month and year of birth
Age
Citizenship status
Place of residence by state and county
Civil division
Where appropriate for urban dwellers
City name
House number
Street name
Volume number, enumeration district number, and page and line numbers of the original schedules from which the information was taken.
Household cards
Individual cards
Cards for institutions, military posts, naval stations, and U.S. flag vessels
Household cards show the name of the head of the household with the following information about the individual
Race
Month and year of birth
Age
Birthplace
Citizenship status if foreign born
Street address may be included.
Relationship to the head of household, Month and year of birth, Age, Birthplace, Citizenship and status if foreign born
If there were individuals living in the home that were not part of the immediate family, an individual card was prepared for that person. Individual cards were prepared for persons
Living alone
Persons living with families who were not immediate members of the family
Members of an immediate family but who had different surnames
Persons in hotels
Boarding and rooming houses
Institutions
For persons on military posts and naval ships and at naval stations; and persons enumerated on U.S. flag vessels in all U.S. ports on the first day of the census only. These cards give the
Individual’s name
Month and year of birth
Age
Birthplace
Citizenship status
Address
Name of person or institution with whom enumerated
Any relationship to that person or institution
Institution, military post, naval station, and U.S. flag vessel cards show only the
Address of the establishment
Number of persons enumerated
Note: Names of the individual persons are not listed
Card arrangement. You will find the cards arranged by state or territory.
Card arrangement. You will find the cards arranged by state or territory.