Census Records Free
The United Census Bureau offers census records free of charge for the censuses taken between 1790 and 1930. All records after 1940 are still covered by a federal statute prohibiting public access until a full 72 years after the census date in order to protect every American citizen's privacy. The next census to open up will be the 1940 census, which will be fully accessible to the public in 2012.
Genealogists, journalists, social science researchers, and family members curious to find out about a particular ancestor, look to census records to establish historical data about a particular person or set of persons:
- personal information
- educational information
- employment data
- citizenship status
- military experiences
This type of information aids historians to not only to find information for a single person, but collectively as a community or a culture. Looking to the census gives a portrait of the life and times of American citizens.
This is a terribly expensive, painstaking process that looks to volunteers to keep our census records free. There are many avenues on the Internet to look for the census information, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Social Security Death Index, and various ancestry and genealogical web sites.
Other local resources may charge a nominal administrative fees for the search and photocopying of information:
- Churches
- Community and local government offices
- Schools
- Libraries
Under the Freedom of Information Act or FOIA, there is much information available through assessor records, voting and tax records, licensing records, and law enforcement records. These records will be available regarding living persons, their public lives, and public property. Older records may require more time to unearth, thus there may be moderate fees attached to the administrative cost of the search. Combining these records with older census records, will help the historian create a full picture of an individual, their community or the culture of their time.
