Census forms arrived in the mailboxes of most Americans this past week. Today, census information is used to determine government funding and legislative representation. However, information on census forms has long been used by historians worldwide, according to Ronda Sanders with the Hall County Library System.
"They [census takers] didn't start in the United States until 1790," said Sanders. "In 1790, it was very basic. For the most part, they just wanted the head of household name."
Sanders, the genealogy and local history librarian for the library system, says census forms have changed from decade to decade.
"In 1930, they [respondents] would tell if they had been participating in a war," said Sanders. "Were you in the Spanish-American War, the Philippines War, the Boxer War, the Mexican War?"
All of that information is used by genealogists to "flesh out" family history.
"You can find out where people were living. You can find out if you need to look at wills in that area, if you need to look for births in that area, marriages in that area. You can find out, sometimes, how prosperous people were," noted Sanders.
Sanders also pointed out that the Hall County Library System houses shelves full of census information, and the library is available to assist anyone who is interested in reviewing those documents to research family history.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/3/227955