"New Genealogy Resource Available"
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In some respects genealogical research has recently become a whole lot easier and less expensive. The decennial U.S. Census of Population records for each decade from 1790 to 1930 are now available free of charge to Nebraska residents.

By logging on to www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskaccess, a website maintained by the Nebraska Library Commission, and clicking on the “Genealogy - HeritageQuest” site, a family-history buff can locate the actual handwritten census record of an ancestor. Once logged in to the “HeritageQuest” website, you type in the surname of the family you are researching, select the census year and then select the state in which to search.

The census records are indexed by the name of the head of the family, so if you are searching for a dependent within the family, you either must know the father’s first name, or you must be willing to read through the names of all of the children listed under the head-of-the-family’s name in order to locate the person for whom you are searching. You can reduce the amount of time needed to review the families if you know the county of residence.

Growing up in Idaho where the Trautwein name is a rarity, I am always amazed about the number of Trautwein families located in the East and Midwest. In researching my father’s family in Kansas, I selected the 1920’s census and typed in the last name. There were six Trautwein families living in Kansas at the time of this census. By knowing the county in which my branch of the family lived, I was able to hone in on my father’s family. At this stage of the search, I was reading the actual handwritten census record. I learned the name of each person in the household. I also learned of that person’s age, sex, race, and birthplace (either state or country) and occupation—if employed. To preserve this discovery, I made a copy of this census sheet for my records.

I didn’t have any luck with the 1910 census. The family must have moved into the state between that census and the 1920 enumeration. Unfortunately, the 1930 census is only partially released. The states included thus far are Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Texas and Virginia. In another year or so, I will be able to more thoroughly search that census year.

It’s my understanding that the 1940 census will not be released until after 2010. For the sake of privacy, there is a 70-year spread (a lifetime) between the year a census is taken and the enumeration release date.

While we generally think that a U.S. census is complete---down to every man, woman and child--- that’s not necessarily the case. In the early census enumerations, not all of the collected data was forwarded to the Census Bureau so the data is not as complete for some states. A tragedy occurred in January of 1921 when nearly 99 per cent of the 1890 census was burned in a fire in Washington, D.C. Genealogists continue to grieve over that loss.

For whatever shortcomings the U.S. Census of Population has, it remains one of the most valuable research tools for professional genealogists as well as the weekend family- history buffs. Nebraska residents are most fortunate that the Nebraska Library Commission has purchased the electronic access to this data. When accessing this database at home, a Nebraska driver’s license is needed to verify the user’s Nebraska residence.
In some respects genealogical research has recently become a whole lot easier and less expensive. The decennial U.S. Census of Population records for each decade from 1790 to 1930 are now available free of charge to Nebraska residents.

By logging on to www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskaccess, a website maintained by the Nebraska Library Commission, and clicking on the “Genealogy - HeritageQuest” site, a family-history buff can locate the actual handwritten census record of an ancestor. Once logged in to the “HeritageQuest” website, you type in the surname of the family you are researching, select the census year and then select the state in which to search.

The census records are indexed by the name of the head of the family, so if you are searching for a dependent within the family, you either must know the father’s first name, or you must be willing to read through the names of all of the children listed under the head-of-the-family’s name in order to locate the person for whom you are searching. You can reduce the amount of time needed to review the families if you know the county of residence.

Growing up in Idaho where the Trautwein name is a rarity, I am always amazed about the number of Trautwein families located in the East and Midwest. In researching my father’s family in Kansas, I selected the 1920’s census and typed in the last name. There were six Trautwein families living in Kansas at the time of this census. By knowing the county in which my branch of the family lived, I was able to hone in on my father’s family. At this stage of the search, I was reading the actual handwritten census record. I learned the name of each person in the household. I also learned of that person’s age, sex, race, and birthplace (either state or country) and occupation—if employed. To preserve this discovery, I made a copy of this census sheet for my records.

I didn’t have any luck with the 1910 census. The family must have moved into the state between that census and the 1920 enumeration. Unfortunately, the 1930 census is only partially released. The states included thus far are Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Texas and Virginia. In another year or so, I will be able to more thoroughly search that census year.

It’s my understanding that the 1940 census will not be released until after 2010. For the sake of privacy, there is a 70-year spread (a lifetime) between the year a census is taken and the enumeration release date.

While we generally think that a U.S. census is complete---down to every man, woman and child--- that’s not necessarily the case. In the early census enumerations, not all of the collected data was forwarded to the Census Bureau so the data is not as complete for some states. A tragedy occurred in January of 1921 when nearly 99 per cent of the 1890 census was burned in a fire in Washington, D.C. Genealogists continue to grieve over that loss.

For whatever shortcomings the U.S. Census of Population has, it remains one of the most valuable research tools for professional genealogists as well as the weekend family- history buffs. Nebraska residents are most fortunate that the Nebraska Library Commission has purchased the electronic access to this data. When accessing this database at home, a Nebraska driver’s license is needed to verify the user’s Nebraska residence.