Great State Censuses - Continued

Have you checked out any of the RI State Censuses I wrote about last time? I hope so, because now we'll talk about the last two that are available from FamilySearch.org.

The 1925 RI State census is another great way to get additional information relating to your family research. In fact, this census is quite nice since it puts families into family groups, similar to the US censuses. Here is an example for a family in West Warwick, RI (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11773-153700-72?cc=1532195)

The information is very limited, but the people are generally grouped by family, you can see who was living in a particular house, and their ages. Another interesting bit of info is whether or not any of the immigrants had been naturalized. Using this information, you can narrow a search for naturalization papers for RI residents a bit more by splitting the gap between the 1920 and 1930 US Federal census.

The 1935 RI state census is much more like the 1915, where you need to reassemble the family groups. Check out this punch card for Angiolina Lautieri. https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11614-25664-36?cc=1529126&wc=6887664

They were using punch cards as an early computer system to tabulate the data that they collected. This census is not as helpful as the 1925 in terms of the family groupings, but some additional information, such as the date of birth (FYI, Angiolina's had 3 years shaved off her age!) may help fill out some of that vital information.

Probably one of the most useful aspects of the 1935 RI state census, is that it can help pinpoint people's locations, so that you can find them in the 1940 US Federal Census before the name index is completed. (Getting ready for the 1940 US Federal Census is another story for another day!).

I hope that everyone with RI people in the late 19th and early 20th century takes advantage of using FamilySearch.org's offerings of the RI State Censuses.