Not All of the 1890 US Census Burned!

Nearly a century ago, a devastating fire at the U.S. Department of Commerce Building burned up nearly all of the 1890 U.S. Census records. Read all about the fire here.

Sadly, many damaged records sat around for years after the 1921 fire, while the government dithered over what to do. 

Some Records Survived

As shown at top, some fragments of the population schedules are actually still available to be searched. For a complete list of which localities can be searched, take a look at the U.S. Census Bureau's page here.

Better news: Many of the Veteran's schedules (which enumerated Civil War vets) survived the fire. Read more here. 

Veterans Enumerated!

Happily for me, my husband's Civil War ancestors who were still alive in 1890 were enumerated on the special Veteran's schedules that survived. 

This page from 1890 shows Benjamin Franklin Steiner (1840-1924)'s service in the 10th Ohio Cavalry during the Civil War. 

Lots of detail, including exact dates of service and his current town of residence at the time of the enumeration. This was one of the sources I consulted when I wrote a brief biography of Steiner for a booklet on my husband's Civil War ancestors. 

So now, nearly 100 years after the fire that burned up most of the 1890 Census, I can still research Civil War veterans in hubby's family tree.

- I just added this post to the November Genealogy Blog Party, which focuses on veterans and military ancestors. Lots of good blog posts to read there.