Talk:Rhode Island Census

If at first you don't find a name, try again under another spelling.
Photocopy each ancestor's census. Identify where you found it.
Look for an ancestor in every census during her or his lifetime.
On the family group record show each person's census listings.
Study others in the same household, neighbors, and anyone with the similar names nearby on the census in community context.

For a list of the exact date of each federal census, click here.

Online Rhode Island indexes and images[edit source]

1900-1940[edit source]

Online Federal and State Population Schedules of Rhode Island
		Free			Free at Some Libraries (usually with a library card)*				Pay
		Family Search^[1]	Internet Archive^[2]	Misc.	Heritage Quest^[3]	Fold3^[4]	Ancestry FHL^[5]	Ancestry Library^[5]	Ancestry Home^[5]	Archives^[6]	Family Link^[7]
1940	indexes	Link	-	Link Link	-	-	Link	Link	Link	-	-
1940	images	Link	-	Link Link Link	-	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link
1935 State	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1935 State	images	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1930	indexes	Link	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link
1930	images	Link	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1925 State	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1925 State	images	Link	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1920	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1920	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1915 State	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1915 State	images	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1910	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1910	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1905 State	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1905 State	images	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1900	indexes	Link	Soundex	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1900	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link

1830-1885[edit source]

Online Federal and State Population Schedules of Rhode Island
		Free			Free at Some Libraries (usually with a library card)*				Pay
		Family Search^[1]	Internet Archive^[2]	Misc.	Heritage Quest^[3]	Fold3^[4]	Ancestry FHL^[5]	Ancestry Library^[5]	Ancestry Home^[5]	Archives^[6]	Family Link^[7]
1885 State	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1885 State	images	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1880	indexes	Link	Soundex	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1880	images	-	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1870	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1870	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1860	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link
1860	images	Link	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1850	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1850	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1840	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1840	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1830	indexes	Link	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1830	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link

1774-1820[edit source]

Online Federal and State Population Schedules of Rhode Island
		Free			Free at Some Libraries (usually with a library card)*				Pay
		Family Search^[1]	Internet Archive^[2]	Misc.	Heritage Quest^[3]	Fold3^[4]	Ancestry FHL^[5]	Ancestry Library^[5]	Ancestry Home^[5]	Archives^[6]	Family Link^[7]
1820	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1820	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1810	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1810	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1800	indexes	Link	-	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1800	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1790	indexes	Link	-	Tran- script	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	Link	-
1790	images	Link	Link	-	Link	-	Link	Link	Link	-	Link
1782 State	indexes	-	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link	-	-
1782 State	images	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1774 Colonial	indexes	-	-	-	-	-	Tran- script	Tran- script	Tran- script	-	-
1774 Colonial	images	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
		Family Search	Internet Archive	Misc.	Heritage Quest	Fold3	Ancestry FHL	Ancestry Library	Ancestry Home	Archives	Family Link
		Free			Free at Some Libraries (usually with a library card)				Pay

Federal population schedules[edit source]

Microfilm images[edit source]

Indexes: fiche, film, or book[edit source]

For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of Rhode Island, click here

Federal non-population schedules[edit source]

Online indexes and images[edit source]

Online Federal Non-Population Schedules for Rhode Island
		Free			Free at Some Libraries (usually with library card)			Pay
Year	Type	Record Search	Census Bureau	Google Book	Heritage Quest	Ancestry FHL	Ancestry Library	Ancestry Home
1890	Veterans	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1880	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1870	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1860	Mortality	-	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1850	Mortality	Link	-	-	-	Link	Link	Link
1840	Pensioners	-	BookLink	BookLink	-	Link	Link	Link

Microfilm images[edit source]

Indexes: fiche, film, or book[edit source]

For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of Rhode Island, click here.

State and colonial censuses[edit source]

Rhode Island state and colonial census schedules^[8]^[9]

Exact Date

Population Schedules

1935 *

Exist

1925

Exist

1915

Exist

1905

Exist

1895

All lost, except Warren Town in Bristol County.

1885

Exist

1875

Exist

1865

Exist

1855

Providence City only.

1782

Exist, combination of census and tax lists.

1777

Exist, except for the towns of Exeter, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, New Shoreham, and Portsmouth.

1774

Exist

1747

Census of freemen; very illegible.

*Although the schedules are dated January through March 1936, the data refers to 1935 and this is officially referred to as the 1935 census.

1865 An index to the 1865 census is on Family History Library films 934776-99.

1747 to 1754, 1774, 1782 These censuses generally name the head of the household and the number of persons in the family. Many of these have been published, for example:

Mildred M. Chamberlain, The Rhode Island 1777 Military Census (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985; Family History Library book 974.5 M2cm).

John R. Bartlett, comp., Census of the Inhabitants of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1774 (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969; Family History Library book 974.5 X2pb, fiche 6046611).
Linda L. Matthew, "1774 Census of Rhode Island" in Rhode Island Roots: Journal of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 35, no. 4 (Dec 2009): 193 (Last of the publication which started 6 years earlier).

The original 1865, 1875, 1885, and 1905 to 1936 state censuses are at the Rhode Island State Archives.

Existing and lost censuses[edit source]

For a list of available and missing Rhode Island censuses, click here.

Why use a census?[edit source]

A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses[edit source]

Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:

Sources and footnotes[edit source]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 FamilySearch, a free online service of the Family History Library, including free images of many federal censuses, including an index of the 1880 federal census of the United States; connected with 1880 census images provided by Ancestry.com, a subscription site.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Internet Archive, a free online service includes free images of most of the federal censuses.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 HeritageQuest has arranged with many subscribing public libraries in the United States to allow users free access on home computers by means of their personal library card numbers. HeritageQuest provides images of all surviving 1790 to 1930 federal censuses, and indexes to many but not all of them.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Fold3, formerly known as Footnote.com, a subscription site partnering with the National Archives and includes some federal censuses. Free access is available at many public libraries.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 ^5.5 ^5.6 ^5.7 ^5.8 Ancestry.com, a subscription site that provides online indexes and images to all surviving federal and many state census records, among other sources. They have three online editions: (1) an FHL edition free only at the Family History Library and a few Family History Centers, (2) a slightly smaller Library edition free only at some public libraries, and (3) a Home edition subscription service for individuals.
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Archives.com, a subscription site that provides online indexes and images to all surviving federal census records, among other sources.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 FamilyLink.com, a subscription site that provides online images (and some indexes) to all surviving federal and many state census records, among other sources.
↑ Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992), 99-101.
↑ Henry J. Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948), 54-57, 71-72.

[Family-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 FamilySearch, a free online service of the Family History Library, including free images of many federal censuses, including an index of the 1880 federal census of the United States; connected with 1880 census images provided by Ancestry.com, a subscription site.

[Internet-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Internet Archive, a free online service includes free images of most of the federal censuses.

[Heritage-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 HeritageQuest has arranged with many subscribing public libraries in the United States to allow users free access on home computers by means of their personal library card numbers. HeritageQuest provides images of all surviving 1790 to 1930 federal censuses, and indexes to many but not all of them.

[Fold-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Fold3, formerly known as Footnote.com, a subscription site partnering with the National Archives and includes some federal censuses. Free access is available at many public libraries.

[ancest-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 ^5.4 ^5.5 ^5.6 ^5.7 ^5.8 Ancestry.com, a subscription site that provides online indexes and images to all surviving federal and many state census records, among other sources. They have three online editions: (1) an FHL edition free only at the Family History Library and a few Family History Centers, (2) a slightly smaller Library edition free only at some public libraries, and (3) a Home edition subscription service for individuals.

[arch-6] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Archives.com, a subscription site that provides online indexes and images to all surviving federal census records, among other sources.

[fl-7] 7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 FamilyLink.com, a subscription site that provides online images (and some indexes) to all surviving federal and many state census records, among other sources.

[8] Ann S. Lainhart, State Census Records (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1992), 99-101.

[9] Henry J. Dubester, State Censuses: An Annotated Bibliography of Censuses of Population Taken After the Year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1948), 54-57, 71-72.

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Talk:Rhode Island Census

Contents

Online Rhode Island indexes and images[edit source]

1900-1940[edit source]

1830-1885[edit source]

1774-1820[edit source]

Federal population schedules[edit source]

Microfilm images[edit source]

Indexes: fiche, film, or book[edit source]

Federal non-population schedules[edit source]

Online indexes and images[edit source]

Microfilm images[edit source]

Indexes: fiche, film, or book[edit source]

State and colonial censuses[edit source]

Existing and lost censuses[edit source]

Why use a census?[edit source]

More about censuses[edit source]

Sources and footnotes[edit source]

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