Genealogy and History Fan

Census records are some of my favorite genealogy “tools”. Through the years, I have spent countless hours going through those wonderful records viewing each person that was listed.

I remember the first time I was introduced to census records. I was seventeen and had decided to “try my hand” at family history research. I went to our local public library which was the Emmeline Fairbanks Memorial Library in Terre Haute, Indiana. They had a great genealogy section. One of the librarians showed me how to load and work the microfilm reader. The first film I looked at was the 1850 Jackson County , Indiana census. The librarian had explained how important the 1850 U.S. census records are. They were the first year of census records that listed the names of each member of the household. The previous census records only gave the head of the house and the number of males and females in the household, according to an age range.

What a blessing those 1850 census records (and all census records) are to us. It is still a big thrill for me to look through those records and anticipate who and what I will find. View a census record and see who you can find!