Daily AncestorCh
Ch in the census color or race column means Chinese; the 1940 and 1950 censuses wrote Chi.
The 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 enumerator instructions give Ch for Chinese in the color or race column. The 1940 and 1950 instructions spell it Chi. The Census Bureau notes that a Chinese category first appeared in 1860, in California only.
In other columns Ch. can stand for church or child, so check the heading. A Ch entry is a pointer to Chinese Exclusion case files and other federal immigration records.
As seen in a recordSex, race and age columns of the 1910 census
Lee, Sam, Head, M, Ch, 46
Sources
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Daily Ancestor. "Ch." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/census-ch. Last checked 2026-10-10.