United States, Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890

What is in This Collection?

This article describes the surviving population and veteran (Union Army and Navy and widows) schedules. Most of the 1890 census materials were destroyed in a 1921 fire. Index and images of the surviving population schedules for 6,160 names exist only for the states of Alabama, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas. The schedules are from Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census and is NARA microfilm publication M407.

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• Logbook of Frank Lowell, Special Agent, Alaska District No. 2, 1890 Census. NAID 202288465
• 1890 Census, Delaware

The U.S. federal census was conducted each decade from 1790-present. This information pertains to censuses conducted in 1850, 1860, and 1870.

Federal census takers were asked to record information about all those who were in each household on the census day, which was 1 June. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information he collected was supposed to be about the people who were in the house on the census day. The basic census enumeration unit was the county. Each county was divided into enumeration districts, one for each enumerator. The completed forms were sent to the Census Office in the Commerce Department in Washington D.C.

The U.S. federal census was taken at the beginning of every decade to apportion the number of representatives that a state could send to the House of Representatives in Congress. In the absence of a national system of vital registration, many vital statistics and personal questions were asked to provide a statistical profile of the nation and its states.

Population schedules consisted of large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules were arranged by place, such as township or post office. The places were not filed in any particular order. The arrangement of families on a schedule is normally in the order in which the enumerator visited the households.

Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified. The National Archives has a sample census form you can download.

Related Articles

• Kelle Blake. "First in the Path of the Firemen. The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, Part 1" Prologue 28 (Spring, 1996)
• Christopher A. Nordmann. "Substitutes for the 1890 Census." NGS Magazine 33 #4 (October-December 2007): 23-26.
• Evangeline Thurber. "The 1890 Census Records of the Veterans of the Union Army." National Genealogical Society Quarterly 34 #1 (March, 1946) 7-9. FS Library 973 B2ng

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Image Visibility

FamilySearch provides images and indexes subject to contractual limitations and changes. Access to images and indexes may vary. Some collections may only have partial indexes without images. See Restrictions for Viewing Images for details.

To Browse the Population Schedules

To Browse the Veteran Schedules

Index and images of surviving veteran schedules enumerating Union veterans and widows of veterans of the Civil War for the states of Kentucky through Wyoming. Some returns include U.S. Naval Vessels and Navy Yards. The schedules are from Record Group 15, Records of the Veterans Administration and is NARA microfilm publication M123. See also Evangeline Thurber. "The 1890 Census Records of the Veterans of the Union Army" published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Veterans and widows schedule

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1890 Family Schedule page 1

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  1890 Family Schedule page 2

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  1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows