Census records are a unique source of information for family historians because they document an entire household or family group at regular intervals in time. Generally occurring every ten years, census records show the movements and growth of a family. The many data fields report information on age, place of birth, occupation, ethnicity, arrival in America (for those not born in the U.S.), and information about military service.

Federal population census records, 1790-1930, are available for research at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, and in Regional Archives throughout the country. The National Archives at College Park does not have census records. NARA will only copy exactly identified pages of the Federal census.

To obtain records or information about individuals who were cared for by the Department of Mental Health, you may contact the Patient Records, S.C. State Hospital, at 803-898-1803. You may also get information from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 8301 Parklane Road, Columbia, South Carolina 29223, 803-896-6205.

The National Archives is a treasure trove of materials that can be used to trace your family lineage. More information is available on Beginning Your Genealogical Research.

The State Library in Trenton, Rutgers in New Brunswick, the New Jersey Historical Society, and Newark Public Library are excellent places to conduct NJ historical research. We have some information on Somerset County at our library. Call, email, or come in and we will try to help you. Also, click on our Online Resources, Selected Websites, Genealogy for more information and links.

In 1920, the census asked "if naturalized, year of naturalization." In 1930, the Census asked only if the person were naturalized. The 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses asked if a person owned or rented a house. In 1930, the schedules also included the value of the home or the amount of rent paid each month.

Few records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do the federal censuses. The census is often the best starting point for further genealogical research. If nothing else, census records are important sources for placing individuals in specific places at specific times. When you can't find any family, vital, or religious records, census records may be the only means to find any details of a person's life.

The mail delivery strategy included an advance letter, questionnaire mailout, and a reminder card for nonrespondents (the reminder card was sent to all on the mailing out list -- as a thank you card to those that have responded and to those who have not yet responded). This was conducted in areas with predominately non-city-style addresses. Census workers delivered the questionnaires to housing units and at the same time updated their list of addresses of the units in their assignment area.

The address list and related maps are the foundation of a complete and accurate census. Some of the people not counted in the 1990 census were missed because the Census Bureau did not know their housing units existed. A complete address list will ensure that Census 2000 will be accurate. Up-to-date maps helped the Census Bureau verify where each housing unit was located.

These counts are used to determine the number of members of Congress allocated to each state and how each district map is drawn. They are used to distribute money from federal, state and local governments for schools, bridges, hospitals, social programs and other uses.

A - Records and sources include original Parish Records (PRs), Bishops' Transcripts (BTs), Nonconformist Chapel Registers, Censuses (every decade from 1841 to 1891), Wills, Land Tax Assessments, Tithe Maps and Schedules, IGI, GRO/St Catherine's Index, Monumental Inscriptions MIs), etc.

Yes, however they are limited. Official records were destroyed in a fire in 1872, so information prior to that date is sketchy. We do have some unofficial records from the local churches and a cemetery inventory which help fill in the blanks. There are laws governing the purchase of certified copies of vital records. Please contact the Town Clerk’s Office for further information. The Converse Free Library has a pamphlet noting the location of other resources for local genealogy research.

For information on records available from TSLA, please see our page for Genealogical Services Available by Mail.

For purposes of surname genealogy studies, DNA refers to the 23rd chromosome pair. Females have two x chromosomes, while males have one x and one y chromosome. The y chromosome is passed from father to son and is usually identical from father to son. Occasionally, there is a mutation. Over 1000s of years, these mutations have resulted in distinctive DNA profiles or fingerprints for different families. These differences are the focus of DNA testing in genealogy, often called Y-DNA.

part of any research into the history of a family tree, knowing where an ancestor came from or lived helps you to identify other, related, information, such as the proximity to the location of where others in the same family lived. Normally, it is very difficult to appreciate how close or far away two locations can be in relation to each other. Maps can immediately show this proximity or relationship, without the reader having any other "local" knowledge.

No, the practice of researching the origins of family names is called ONOMASTICS whereas GENEALOGY is a research into the origins or ancestry of your own family. However the outline of the history of the origin of your own family names is often a good place to begin to research your genealogy in that it may offer useful pointers to the country or locality in which the name was originally found in addition to other useful information, such as bearers of the name and migration information.