One of the best primary sources for researching your family is the Federal Census records. This head count of the nation, mandated by the Constitution, has been taken every ten years since 1790. Enormous efforts were made to count every person in the United States and it's Territories during those years, so the chances of finding your relatives here are extremely high. All of the existing records have been microfilmed and are available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. or in a variety of Branch locations located around the country. In addition, copies of these microfilms may be rented from the National Archives and other vendors or borrowed through Inter-Library Loan for a minimal charge.

    This places these valuable records within everyone's reach regardless of where you live.

    The very early Census records, from 1790-1840 list only the heads of household. All other members of the family are listed by age group only, and are unnamed, so this provides some challenges for the serious researcher. Starting however, with the 1850 Federal Census, each and every member of the family is listed on the Census returns, often with the state or country of birth and a variety of other information including the person's age at the time of the Census. Later Censuses record more information than the earlier ones, including marital status, month of birth, profession, value of real estate owned, birth places of the parents, etc., etc.

    The 1890 Federal Census exists today in small fragments only, due to a fire in the depository in the early 20th Century. What remains has been microfilmed and is available, but it's a pitiful fragment of the original. Unfortunately this leaves a twenty year gap in most ancestor's lives, from 1880 to 1900, which the careful researcher will have to fill with information from other sources.

    The most currently available Census record is the 1920 Federal Census. By law the Federal Censuses are unavailable for 72 years after the Census was taken. This means that the 1930 Census, the next one scheduled to be released, won't be available until 2002 at the earliest. (Practically speaking it will probably be several years after that before it is released to the public due the amount of time it will take to make duplicate copies of the microfilms and then distribute them to the various National Archives Branch Locations.)

    The 1880 through 1930 Federal Censuses were indexed as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Works Project Administration" program during the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s. The 1900-1920 Censuses are completely indexed. The 1930 Census is said to have been only partially indexed, which is a big disappointment to anybody who has ever used these records and appreciates the vast job of sifting through these records without the aid of an index of some kind.

    The 1880 Census is indexed, but only for families with children of ten years of age and younger. This means that anyone with older children only or no children at all, while recorded by the Census Taker, will have to be searched for in the Census on a line by line basis. This can be time consuming, although it isn't as bad as searching some of the later Census records, taken when the population of the United States was much larger.

    Several companies have undertaken the task of indexing the earlier Census records, (Rapid Indexing, Inc. is one company that comes to mind), and these books are available for use at many of the branch locations of the National Archives. These indexes may also be available at some of the larger libraries in your local area. They can save you a tremendous amount of time and are well worth the time and trouble they take to find.

    How do you go about researching a family member using Federal Census records? The first step is start with what you know. Usually that means starting with yourself and working backwards. However, since the most recent Census record available is the 1920 one, you may have to start with your grandparents or even great-grandparents.

    Gather as much information about them as you can before you tackle the Index microfilms. To use these films effectively you should at least know their full names and dates and places of birth. It also helps if you know the names of any siblings and have some idea of where they were living in 1920. You may have to interview your grandparents to discover this information or failing that, assuming they've passed away, you will have to request copies of their SS-5, Application for Social Security Number form, (see this webpage on the SSDI for more information on requesting this form.) You may be able to find this information from copies of Death Certificates, Cemetery or Funeral Home records as well.

    Assuming that you've done your homework and are ready to do some research, it's now time to use the Soundex Microfilm for the 1920 Census. The Soundex system is a specialized way of indexing last names based on the way they sound. I don't propose to go into the way a Soundex Code is constructed for each and every Surname you're looking for. If you are interested, you can read all about it at the following website:

The Soundex Indexing System.

    This will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about this system. The important thing to know is that the system works, no matter how incomprehensible it may seem.

    For those of you researching the Wynkoops, I've already done the hard work and recorded a variety of spellings and Soundex Codes for our name. You will find them at:

Wynkoop Name Spelling Variations.

    If you've moved beyond the Wynkoops and want to research the women in the family under their maiden names, or offshoots of the family under a variety of other names, then I would suggest you use The Soundex Machine. Just enter the name(s) that you want codes for, press "Enter" and it will crank out the proper codes for you automatically.

    To confuse the issue slightly, the 1910 Federal Census was indexed in a slightly different way, although it uses the Soundex Codes to do the indexing. This system was called the Miracode System and you can read more about it at 1910 Federal Census Finding Aids. The primary difference is that you will need to record different information from these cards to be able to find your relatives in the 1910 Census. I would suggest that you read this page first before you go searching in the 1910 Census records.

How to Use Soundex Microfilm:

    If you are researching at one of the branch locations of the National Archives go to the catalog for the appropriate Census year (1880, 1900, 1910, or 1920), then find the state, microfilm publication number, and roll containing the Soundex code. Note that only the beginning and ending Soundex codes contained on each roll are shown. For example, The 1920 Federal Population Census: Catalog of National Archives Microfilm (Washington, DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1995), shows that, for California for 1920 Soundex code A-266 is included on microfilm publication M1551, Index (Soundex) to the 1920 Federal Population Census Schedules for California, roll 3, because roll 3 begins at A-246 Nathan and ends with A-350 Douranana.

    If, however, you are going to rent the microfilms, you will need to research the film numbers online. I would suggest that you go to the following webpage:

The Federal Population Censuses on Microfilm

    Let's suppose you are going to research Wynkoop, (Soundex Code W521), in the 1920 Pennsylvania Soundex Microfilm and you need to know which film to rent.

    Select the following link:

Soundex: Oklahoma - Tennessee

    Search for:

PENNSYLVANIA M1584

    For Soundex Code W521 you will find this roll of film:

696. W-460 S. Bohmen--W-521 William H.

And you would request Microfilm M1584, Roll 696.

    Special Note: Within each Soundex code, the microfilmed index cards are arranged alphabetically by name of head of household, such as A-266 Albert, A-266 Ann, A-266 Arthur, etc.

    Once you have located a Soundex index card for the person or household in which you are interested, note the following information:

County of residence
City, town, village, or Township of Residence

And the four numbers located in the upper right hand corner of the index card:

Volume number
Enumeration district (E.D.) number
Sheet number
Line number.

    If you're at the branch location, use the County name and Enumeration District Number to determine which roll of Census microfilm you need. For example, for 1920 only, Los Angeles County, CA, Enumeration Districts 1-11, 13, 14, 33-37, and 16-32 are located in microfilm publication T625, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, roll 102, while other enumeration districts for that county are located on rolls 103-120.

    If you are renting the microfilm you will need to go back online to this website:

The Federal Population Censuses on Microfilm

    From this page select:

Schedules: North Carolina - Virgin Islands

Under "Table of Contents" it will say:

1920 Census Schedules (T625)

    Using (Ctrl-F) you perform a search for "PENNSYLVANIA". You then look for your Wynkoop in Bucks County, PA in Enumeration District 19:

    This is the film you want:

1542. Bucks Co. (EDs 1-17, 23, 24, 18-22, and 25-42).

So you request Microfilm T625, Roll 1542.

How to Use Census Microfilm:

    You now use the E.D. (Enumeration District) and Sheet Number to locate the proper page where your ancestor is located. Sheet numbers will vary. Sometimes they are stamped in the upper right hand corner, sometimes they're written in crayon in the same place. One thing is sure, there are bound to be a bunch of conflicting numbers written on the sheets. To be absolutely sure you are looking in the correct place you must pay attention to the Enumeration District listed at the top of each Census page. (Note: At the front of the microfilm will be a list of Enumeration Districts to be found on the roll. These districts are listed in the order in which they appear on the microfilm. If your District is listed near the bottom of the list, then you can be pretty sure that the sheet number you are looking for is near the end of the reel too.) Once you find the sheet and Enumeration District you are looking for it's time to hunt for your quarry. You may not find him on the sheet marked with the number you are looking for. Why is this? In a lot of the Census records there is an "A" Sheet and a "B" Sheet. The "A" Sheet is the one that's numbered, the "B" Sheet is usually unnumbered. If you don't find your ancestor on the "A" Sheet then simply check the next Sheet. The chances are pretty good that you'll find who you're looking for there.

    (Note: Be sure to check the next page as well if your quarry and his family falls at the bottom of the Sheet that you found them on. You may find more of the family continued on the top of the next sheet.)

    Note that the Soundex indexes and Census schedules are on microfilm; you will not be able to search them on-line. You can get access to Census microfilm through the National Archives Microfilm Rental Program, in which many public libraries participate. Census microfilm is also widely available at public libraries, state archives, and other institutions with large genealogical collections.

    More than 6,000 libraries nationwide participate in the National Archives Microfilm Rental Program. Visit the Inter-Library Loan division of your local library to find out the participating library in your area. Or call the National Archives at 301-604-3699 to find out the library nearest you. The library can start you on your research and help you determine the exact publication and roll numbers of the microfilm rolls you need to rent.

    Microfilm can be rented directly from the National Archives. You can find the order form at the following webpage:

NARA Microfilm Rental Order Form

    (Note: You need not purchase a Start-up Kit in order to rent microfilm through this program.)

    It is surprising what you can learn from the census records. I heartily recommend that you read the following write up on "Clues in Census Records":

Clues in Census Records

    Nowadays there are indexes to Census Records available online. These are available for an access fee. You might try:

Online Indexes to Census Records, 1790-1870

Or you could try the Familytreemaker Genealogy Library, another commercial site.

    I personally find these online indexes a bit more difficult to use than the microfilm, (although you can't beat the comfort of researching them at home in whatever passes for comfortable attire in your family.) To use these indexes properly you will need to try as many spelling variations as you can think of, or use the list at:

Wynkoop Name Spelling Variations.

Once you've found the person you've been looking for you'll need to record all the information you've found. There are a number of sites on the Web that offer free abstract forms for just such a purpose. These are my personal favorites:

Printable Census Abstracts Forms

Genealogy Records Service genealogy charts and forms

    This has just been an overview of the process. The Soundex process will confuse you for a while, but eventually you'll get used to it. Once you do, you'll be able to research your family without batting an eye. I think you'll find this a pretty addictive habit once you get into it. (I know I have.)

    I want to wish you the best of luck with your research. Maybe we'll meet on a family tree someday.

    Chris