State Census Records

This inventory of state census records is the first comprehensive list of state census records ever published. State by state, year by year, often county by county and district by district, the author shows the researcher what is available in state census records, when it is available, and what one might expect to find in the way of data.

Census, the number-one source in genealogy, is a topic in need of detailed finding aids. Nowhere is this more true than for state census records, which rank with federal census records as a major genealogical resource. Some state census records are available only in a state institution, while others exist on microfilm. Some microfilmed records can be obtained on inter library loan from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Lainhart's inventory of state census records untangles the availability of state census information with the most comprehensive list ever published. Until now, we have relied on Henry J. Dubester's pioneering booklet, State Census: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (1948), and several articles. Lainhart's book lists for each state what is available, where it is located, and what kind of data are included. By adding a new and welcome dimension to the census research process, his book is an essential acquisition for institutions and individuals engaged in census research. While genealogists will find the book invaluable, it should also have broad appeal to social science researchers, lawyers, demographers, and others.
- Judith P. Reid, Library of Congress
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.