1890 U.S. Census Substitute
The 1890 U.S. Census Substitute is a substitute for the original records of the 1890 U.S. Federal Census.
Purpose
It is used by Ancestry.com because seventy-five percent of the original 1890 census records were destroyed in a 1921 fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. before census records were stored permanently in the National Archives.
Questions from the original 1890 census
- address
- number of families in house
- number of persons in house
- whether a soldier, sailor or marine for the Union or Confederate army during the American Civil War, or widow of such person
- relationship to head of family
- race, described as white, African American/black, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, Chinese American, Japanese American, or Native American
- sex
- age
- marital status
- mother of how many children and number now living
- place of birth of person and their father and mother
- if foreign-born, number of years in US
- whether naturalized
- whether papers have been taken out
- profession, trade or occupation
- months unemployed during census year
- ability to read and write
- ability to speak English, and, if unable, language or dialect spoken
- whether suffering from acute or chronic disease, with name of disease and length of time afflicted
- whether defective in mind, sight, hearing or speech, or whether crippled, maimed or deformed, with name of defect
- whether a prisoner, convict, homeless child, or pauper
- home rented, or owned by head or member of family, and, if owned, whether free from mortgage
- if farmer, whether farm is rented, or owned by head or member of family; if owned, whether free from mortgage; if rented, post office box of owner
