Using Census Records to Find Civil War Ancestors
Federal Enumerations Help Locate Union and Confederate Veterans
Oct 25, 2009
U.S. federal censuses are taken every ten years, as required by the Constitution. The purpose of the census is to determine the population in order to allocate Congressional seats, electoral votes, and government funding to states. Early census records merely listed the head of household and the number of residents, but each census starting with the 1840 enumeration included all family members. Since then the basic list of questions has been supplemented by additional queries about individuals, though each census included different questions. Of particular interest to genealogists interested in Civil War ancestors are the 1890, 1910, and 1930 enumerations.
1890 Civil War Veterans and Widows Census Schedules
In 1890 a special Civil War Veterans and Widows Schedule was created, and enumerators asked whether a person had been a Union or Confederate soldier, sailor, or marine during the Civil War, or was a widow of such a person. These schedules provided rank, company, regiment or vessel, dates of enlistment and discharge, length of service, post office, and the nature of any disability.
These records are available for District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The records for states whose names begin with a letter in the first part of the alphabet were burned, along with the regular 1890 census records, in a fire where they were stored in the Commerce Department building in 1921.
1910 Federal Census Veterans Questions
The 1910 federal census included a question for all men over 50 years of age born in the U.S., as well as all foreign-born men who arrived before 1865: whether they were veterans of the Civil War, and if so, for which side they fought. Veterans are marked on the census as UA (Union Army), UN (Union Navy), CA (Confederate Army), or CN (Confederate Navy).
1930 Veteran of Various Wars Questions
While not many Civil War veterans were still alive in 1930, a surprising number were. Long-lived men who had been very young soldiers were still to be found. That year the Census Bureau asked if a person was a U.S. military or naval veteran who had served in any of the following wars: Civil War, Spanish-American, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer, Mexican Expedition, and World War I. Those who answered yes were asked to name the conflict, and the census forms show the abbreviations for the war in which the veteran served.
Finding Census Records
Census records are readily available from paid subscription services or on microfilm, both of which are frequently accessible in public libraries for free. Many transcriptions have also been posted online, but researchers are wise to view information on the actual census images.
For more in-depth information about all Federal censuses, readers can consult books such as:
- Your Guide to the Federal Census, by Kathleen W. Hinckley.
- The Census Book: A Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes, by William Dollarhide and James A. Derheim.
When Civil War ancestors have been identified, details of their military experiences may be found in many other sources, including the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System.
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