Finding the 1890 Census as You Look for Civil War Ancestors

In the last entry I mentioned we'd be searching for the 1890 Census, and here we are! Since the 1890 Census was partially burned and as a result deemed unusable and destroyed, we are not going to find it. What we are actually looking for are the surviving documents that make up the Special Enumeration of Union Veterans and Widows. This document is available in major genealogy collections, such as the LDS Family History Centers; the Allen County Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana; and the Library of Michigan in Lansing, Michigan.

If you are able to visit the Library of Michigan in person, first take a look at the Index to 1890 census of the United States / compiled by Helen Smothers Swenson ; decoded by Frances Terry Ingmire. This excellent resource will tell you exactly where to look for your ancestor in the Special Enumeration. This tome is also available at Kalamzoo Public Library and Western Michigan University Library.

This resource was a great aid in my search for my Great-Great Grandfather Ira Slawson. It told me that he had fought with two New York regiments and also the companies he had been in. This information was helpful in applying for military records and in conducting further research in libraries and on the Internet.

Why the big emphasis on this special enumeration? Here's how Cyndi Howell of Cyndi's List fame describes it:

An act of March 1, 1889, provided that the Superintendent of Census in taking the Eleventh Census should "cause to be taken on a special schedule of inquiry, according to such form as he may prescribe, the names, organizations, and length of service of those who had served in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States in the war of the rebellion, and who are survivors at the time of said inquiry, and the widows of soldiers, sailors, or marines." Each schedule calls for the following information: name of the veteran (or if he did not survive, the names of both the widow and her deceased husband); the veteran's rank, company, regiment or vessel, date of enlistment, date of discharge, and length of service in years, months, and days; post office and address of each person listed; disability incurred by the veteran; and remarks necessary to a complete statement of his term of service. Practically all of the schedules for the States Alabama through Kansas and approximately half of those for Kentucky appear to have been destroyed, possibly by fire, before the transfer of the remaining schedules to the National Archives in 1943.

You can view Cyndi's original quote at http://www.cyndislist.com/cyndi/pensions.htm

For an additional treat, scroll up to the top of Cyndi's page to read the story about her search for her Civil War ancestors.

The bottom line for us is that each item of information we pull from the Special Enumeration gives us a lead that we can pursue and develop into part of the narrative that makes up our ancestor's life.