How to Cite a US Census (1900–1940)

Last week, we covered some of the items that are often overlooked in the 1940 US census. I hope you learned at least one new thing and took some time to go back and review at least one 1940 census to make sure you gleaned everything that this particular census has to offer.

This week I thought I’d keep it simple :)

But Julie, your title indicates that we’re diving in to citations…that’s not simple!

Don’t worry, I’ve got you!

Citations for censuses are actually one of the easiest citations, because they are pretty standard, compared to other records types. This one generally accepted “formula” applies to US census populations schedules from 1900 to 1940.

Ready?

Here we go…

This is the full citation that would be used as a footnote or an endnote. First is the formula, followed by a real example.

[census year] US census, [county], [state], populations schedule, [civil division(s), such as township, town/city, and/or ward (for larger cities)], p. [page], enumeration district (ED) [ED number], sheet [sheet number], [dwelling number], [family number], [person of interest]; NARA microfilm publication [identifier], roll [roll number].

1920 US census, DuPage County, Illinois, population schedule, York Township, Villa Park Village, p. 202-B (stamped), enumeration district (ED) 28, sheet 1-B, dwelling 23, family 23, George Rottman; NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 365.

Note: The same formula can be followed for the 1880 US census, with the exception that there is no sheet number, so you’d just omit that part.

Note: For the 1940 census, there is a household number in lieu of a dwelling and family number, so follow the example below.

1940 US census, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, Chicago, ward 38, p. 35047-B (stamped), enumeration district (ED) 103-2425, sheet 14-B, household 380, George Rottman; NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 998.

See! Not too bad :)

Your action item for the week is to craft a source citation (or double check if already done) for the 1940 census you reviewed last week.

Have questions or want to share your citation? Join the discussion of this post on Facebook!

© Julie Tarr. This article was first published at Genealogy In Action; appearance of this article elsewhere, without my permission, violates copyright.