Florida Census Records

See Also Researching in Census Records - What is the name, age, sex, color, occupation, and birthplace of each person residing in this house? Which of these individuals attended school or was married within the year? Who among them is deaf and dumb, blind, insane, “idiotic,” a pauper, or a convict? Is there anyone in the household over twenty years of age who cannot read and write? What is the name of the slave owner? How many slaves belong to the owner? What is the tribe of this Indian? What were the places of birth of the person’s parents? In what year did this person immigrate to the United States and, if naturalized, what was the year of naturalization? For answers to these and other questions, researchers look to census records......

Statewide Records that exist for Florida 1830, 1840, 1850 ,1860 ,1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society has published statewide indexes to the 1830 and 1840 territorial censuses and the 1850 federal census of the new state of Florida.

There are Industry and Agriculture Schedules (lists do not exist for all counties for each year) availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Union Veterans Schedules were conducted in 1890. Census of surviving Union veterans of the Civil War or their widows, listing service information, any service-connected disability, and current address.

Spanish: The Spanish took a number of censuses during their periods of colonial control (1565-1763 and 1784-1821). Most have been published, though some may be hard to find. "The 1783 Spanish Census of Florida" was published in four consecutive issues of the Georgia Genealogical Magazine, beginning with no.39 (Winter 1971). The Spanish Census of Pensacola, 1784-1820: A Genealogical Guide to Spanish Pensacola" by William S. Coker and G. Douglas Inglis, reproduces ten valuable censuses and population lists, one or another taken roughly every four years. Most of these documents are in Spanish, but on occasion they can richly repay careful research. For further understanding of the Spanish period generally, see chapters 2-6 of Paul S. George's A Guide to the History of Florida (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1989).

State Schedules: The state of Florida conducted its own censuses in 1845, 1855, and every ten years from 1875 through 1945. Unfortunately, very few enumeration schedules have survived.

In the holdings of the Florida State Archives are some fragmentary census returns of families with school-aged children. One for Franklin County dates from 1855, and another for Franklin from 1866 has been published; see "Franklin County Children Ages 5-18 in 1866," The Florida Armchair Researcher 1 (Spring 1984): 7-8. The archives has census returns for 1867 from Hernando, Madison, Orange, and Santa Rosa counties. The 1875 Alachua County census also survives at the state archives.

Fortunately, Florida accepted partial funding from the federal government for a census taken as of 1 June 1885. There were schedules for population, agriculture, manufactures, and mortality. They are arranged alphabetically by name of county and thereunder numerically by type of schedule. Arrangement within the schedules is by enumeration district, precinct, or city. Thirty-five of the thirty-nine counties of the state in 1885 are included on the thirteen rolls of National Archives Microfilm Publication M845 (the schedules for Alachua, Clay, Columbia, and Nassau appear to have been lost). The Putnam County Genealogical Society Quarterly Journal has published fully indexed transcriptions of the 1885 Putnam County population schedules, and several similar projects are reported to be in progress, so a query to local genealogical or historical societies might yield good things.

The Florida State Archives has the original schedules of the state censuses of 1935 and 1945, accessible alphabetically by county and thereunder by numbered election precincts. The schedules give name, address (and whether inside or outside city limits), age, sex, race, relation to family, place of birth, degree of education, and occupation. There is no index to these records. A personal visit is required.

• Florida Census Books at Amazon.com
• Florida Census, 1820-90: This collection contains the following indexes: 1820 Census Index (Pensacola and Escambia River Areas); 1825 Leon County Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1850 Slave Schedule; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1860 Slave Schedule; 1870 Federal Census Index; 1890 Veterans Schedule; 1890 Naval Veterans Schedule; Early Census Index, Vol. 1-2.
• Florida State Census, 1885: This database is an index with corresponding images of the 1885 Florida State Census
• Census & Voter Lists - A census is an official list of the people in a particular area at a given time, while voter lists show those who were registered to vote in a certain area. The valuable information found on census records helps you to understand your family in their time and place. Voter Lists serve as a confirmation of residence in between the years that the census was taken.

Since 1790, the U.S. government has taken a nationwide population count every ten years. Unique in scope and often surprisingly detailed, the census population schedules created from 1790 to 1920 are among the most used of records created by the federal government. Over the course of two centuries the United States has changed significantly, and so has the census. From the six basic questions asked in the 1790 census, the scope and categories of information have changed and expanded dramatically.

Early censuses were essentially basic counts of inhabitants; but as the nation grew, so did the need for statistics that would reflect the characteristics of the people. In 1850, the focus of the census was radically broadened. Going far beyond the vague questions previously asked of heads of households, the 1850 census enumerators were instructed to ask the age, sex, color, occupation, birthplace, and other questions regarding every individual in every household. Succeeding enumerations solicited more information; by 1920, census enumerators asked twenty-nine questions of every head of household and almost as many questions of everyone else in the residence. (Only a very small segment of the 1890 census remains; a fire in the Commerce Department destroyed the vast majority of the original records for that year. Because of privacy considerations, census records less than seventy-two years old are not available to the general public; thus, the 1930 census is the most recent available to the public.)

Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do the U.S. federal censuses. The population schedules are successive “snapshots” of Americans that depict where and how they were living at particular periods in the past. Once home sources and library sources have been exhausted, the census is often the best starting point for further genealogical research. Statewide indexes (see “Indexes,” below) are available for almost every census; they are logical tools for locating individuals whose precise place of residence is unknown. While some inaccuracies are to be expected in census records, they still provide some of the most fascinating and useful pieces of personal history to be found in any source. If nothing else, census records are important sources for placing individuals in specific places at specific times. Additionally, information found in the census will often point to other sources critical to complete research, such as court, land, military, immigration, naturalization, and vital records.

The importance of census records does not diminish over time in any research project. It is always wise to return to these records as discoveries are made in other sources because, as you discover new evidence about individuals, some information that seemed unrelated or unimportant in a first look at the census may take on new importance.

When you can’t find family, vital, or religious records, census records may be the only means of documenting the events of a person’s life. Vital registration—the official recording of births, deaths, and marriages—did not begin until around 1920 in many areas of the United States, and fires, floods and other disasters since have destroyed some official government records. When other documentation is missing, census records are frequently used by individuals who must prove their age or citizenship status (or that of their parents) for Social Security benefits, insurance, passports, and other important reasons.

How to Find Census Records - All available federal census schedules (those made from 1790 to 1920) have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.; at the National Archives’ regional archives; at the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) in Salt Lake City and LDS family history centers throughout North America (see chapter 8, “The Family History Library and Its Centers”) ; at many large libraries; in genealogical society libraries; and through companies that lend microfilmed records. Some state and local agencies have census schedules for the state or area they serve. Generally, microfilm copies may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Starting With the Census - It is usually best to begin a census search in the most recently available census records (1920) and to work from what is already known about a family. With any luck, birthplaces and other clues found in these more recent records will point to locations of earlier residence.