Daily AncestorThe 1890 U.S. Census
Most of the 1890 census was destroyed after a 1921 fire, but fragments naming over 6,160 people and special schedules of Union veterans and widows survive.
The eleventh census began on Monday, June 2, 1890, because June 1 fell on a Sunday. Each family had its own schedule, with a column for each person, and it asked more than any census before.
On January 10, 1921, a fire in the Commerce Department building in Washington destroyed most of the population schedules. What survives is small, but check it before you give up on 1890.
The questions, column by column
| Name and relationship to the head of the family | As in 1880. |
|---|---|
| Whether a soldier, sailor, or marine in the Civil War, Union or Confederate, or the widow of one | Asked on the main population schedule. |
| Mother of how many children, and how many living | A way to find children who died young. |
| Number of years in the United States, whether naturalized, and whether naturalization papers were taken out | Asked of foreign-born men 21 and older. Leads to passenger lists and court papers. |
| Able to speak English, and if not, the language spoken | A clue to an immigrant's origin. |
New this census
- Number of years in the United States and naturalization status for foreign-born men.
- Children born and living.
- A Civil War service question, Union or Confederate, on the main population schedule.
- Ability to speak English.
- Whether the home or farm was owned or rented, and if owned, whether it was mortgaged.
Watch out for
- Surviving general schedules cover only scattered places in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas.
- Union veterans schedules survive mainly for part of Kentucky through Wyoming in alphabetical order, plus some Navy ships and navy yards, one veterans' post (Lincoln Post No. 3) in Washington, DC, and a few scattered pages from other states. Enumerators sometimes listed Confederates too.
- The surviving population fragments are indexed by name in microfilm M496, so checking them takes only minutes.
Other schedules
- Union veterans and widows: name, rank, company, regiment or ship, dates of enlistment and discharge, length of service, post office, and disability.
- Also surviving: the 1890 Oklahoma territorial census, a list of 454 African Americans in Delaware, and statistics of Lutheran congregations.
Where to see it
- The population fragments are microfilm M407 (3 rolls) with an index, M496. The veterans schedules are M123 (118 rolls). The National Archives says all are online, and the major genealogy sites index them.