When it comes to censuses, somewhat lesser known is the fact that many states within the U.S. have taken their own censuses, in differing years from that of the Federal census. These state censuses can be just as valuable as the federal census. They often ask different questions and in the case of the 1890 census which was destroyed in a fire, they can be invaluable in finding out where your ancestors were between 1880 and 1900 as some states took their own censuses in that time span.
The questions asked on a state census will of course vary from state to state so I won’t try to list all of the questions asked for each state census within each state here, but I will list each State that took their own census and for what years
Arizona – Census information is available for the years 1866, 1867, 1869, 1872, 1874, 1876, 1880 and 1882.
Arkansas – Census information is available for the years 1823, 1829, 1865 and 1911
California – Census information is available for the years 1788, 1790, 1796, 1797-98, 1816, 1836 and 1844. Complete census information is available for the year 1852.
Colorado – Census information is available for the years 1861, 1866 and 1885.
Delaware – Census information is available for the year 1782.
District of Columbia – Census information is available for the years 1803, 1867and 1878.
Florida – Census information is available for the years 1825, 1855, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1935 and 1945.
Georgia – Census information is available for the years 1798, 1800, 1810, 1827, 1834, 1838, 1845, 1852, 1853, 1859, 1865 and 1879.
Hawaii – Census information is available for the years 1878, 1890, and 1896.
Illinois – Census information is available for the years 1810, 1818, 1820, 1825, 1830, 1835, 1840, 1845, 1855 and 1865.
Indiana – Census information is available for the years 1807, 1853, 1857, 1871, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1919 and 1931.
Iowa – Census information is available for the years 1836, 1838, 1844, 1846, 1847, 1849, 1851, 1852 and 1854, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1925.
Kansas – Census information is available for the years 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1925.
Louisiana – Census information is available for the years 1853 and 1858.
Maine – Census information is available for the year 1837.
Maryland – Census information is available for the years 1776 and 1778.
Massachusetts – Census information is available for the years 1855 and 1865
Michigan – Census information is available for the years 1837, 1845 1854, 1864, 1874, 1884, 1888, 1894 and 1904.
Minnesota – Census information is available for the years 1849, 1853, 1855, 1857 and 1865, plus 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905.
Mississippi – Census information is available for the years 1801, 1805, 1808, 1810, 1816, 1818, 1820, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1830, 1833, 1837, 1840, 1841, 1845, 1850, 1853, 1860 and 1866.
Missouri – Census information is available for the years 1797, 1803, 1817, 1819, 1840, 1844, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864, 1876 and 1880.
Nebraska – Census information is available for the years 1854, 1855, 1856, 1865, 1869 and 1885.
Nevada – Census information is available for the years 1862, 1863 and 1875.
New Jersey – Census information is available for the years 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905 and 1915.
New Mexico – Census information is available for the years 1790, 1823, 1845 and 1885.
New York – Census information is available for the years 1790, 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915 and 1925.
North Carolina – Census information is available for the year 1786.
North Dakota – Census information is available for the years 1885, 1915 and 1925.
Oklahoma – State census information is available for the years 1890 and 1907.
Oregon – Census information is available for the years 1842, 1843, 1845, 1849, 1850, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1865, 1870, 1875 and 1885, 1895 and 1905.
Rhode Island – Census information is available for the years1774, 1777 and 1782, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1905, 1915, 1925 and 1935.
South Carolina – Census information is available for the years 1825, 1839, 1869 and 1875.
South Dakota – Census information is available for the years1885 and 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935 and 1945.
Tennessee – Census information is available for the year 1891.
Texas – Census information is available for the years 1829-1836.
Utah – Census information is available for the year 1856.
Virginia – Census information is available for the years 1782, 1783, 1784, 1785 and 1786.
Washington – Census information is available for the years 1856, 1857, 1858, 1860, 1871, 1874, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1883, 1885, 1887, 1889, 1891, 1892 and 1898.
Wisconsin – Census information is available for the years 1836, 1838, 1842, 1846, 1847, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905.
Wyoming – Census information is available for the years 1875 and 1878.
Remember that many of the censuses listed above only provide partial information. So even if you know your ancestor lived in a certain state within one of those state census years, you may not be able to find them. But certainly make the effort to look. If you do find them the information included may prove very useful indeed.
States for which there is no known state census information include Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia.
