I frequently encounter inquiries about accessing Census records, especially concerning the United States. It's important to note that these records are freely accessible and can be viewed at the National Archives.
You can obtain images of these records from the National Archives through source citations provided by Ancestry.com. These images are available for free download, saving, reprinting, and other personal uses. For more information and access to these records, visit the National Archives online resources page at
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/online-resources.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to search for Census records:
1. Visit the provided link above and locate the Census year you are interested in.
2. Expand the selected year and click on "Search the XXX Census."
3. Depending on the Census year, there may be various search options available. For this example, let's consider the 1940 Census in the National Archives Catalog with NAID 1660414, which is free to access.
4. After clicking the relevant link, you will find a "Search within this Series" button located in the black panel. Click on it to proceed.
5. Enter the specific details required for your search, such as the state, county, and Enumeration District (E.D.), which can be found in the source citation. As an illustration, you might enter "Mississippi County Arkansas 47-16A" to locate a particular census record.
6. While Ancestry might not always provide the exact page number in the source citation, the S.D. No. (Supervisor's District Number) on the Census page corresponds to the actual page number you are looking for. You may have to scroll to find it, some of the pages have options to search for text.
By following these steps, you should efficiently search for and access the Census records you need from the National Archives.
