Decennial census records (population schedules and for some earlier years the Soundex name indexes)
Years this material was created: 1832-1940
Quantity: 1,261 rolls
Compiled by J. Todd Ellison, Certified Archivist (last revised October 2005)
 © 1998 by Fort Lewis College Foundation, Center of Southwest Studies account

Links to contents

NARA has released 1930 census data:

On April 1, 2002, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) released the 1930 Federal population census.  At that time, microfilmed copies of the 15th Federal census mandated by the U.S. Constitution became available at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, at 13 of the National Archives regional facilities across the nation, and through the National Archives rental program.  54 rolls of 1930 census records for the Four Corners States (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) are now available for use in the Center of Southwest Studies Research Library at Fort Lewis College. 

The 1930 census consists of 2,667 rolls of population schedules and 1,587 rolls of Soundex indexes for 12 southern states (not for the Four Corners states), totaling 4,254 rolls.  The census provides a wealth of socio-economic information such as the following: names of all persons living in each home; relationship of each person to the head of household; whether the home is owned or rented; value of the home; if the family owns a radio; if they own a farm; whether they attended school or college; if they can read or write; place of birth; citizenship status; and occupation.  The 1930 Census was the last census to ask the same question of every household in the country.

For a complete listing of U.S. National Archives regional facilities and opening times, check the NARA web site at:  http://www.archives.gov/locations/   For information about doing genealogical research using U.S. National Archives resources, see: http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html  For more information on the 1930 census, see http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/1930cen.html  For leads to additional collections at the Center of Southwest Studies that contain records that may be useful for genealogical research, go to http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/inventory/GenealogicalCollections.htm

Using U.S. census records microfilm

These rolls of microfilm are available for self-service use in the Microfilm Reading Room at the Southwest Research Library in the Center of Southwest Studies during the hours that the Research Library is open.  The Center's microfilms cannot be borrowed; they are not available for loan or circulation.  The Microfilm Reading Room is equipped with three microfilm readers (two of which are reader/printers).

The Center does not have the staffing to assist with doing individuals' genealogical research.  This generally is a time-consuming process, with no guaranteed rewards!  If you are unable to come to Durango to use this microfilm and wish to use this collection for purposes of research, you may contact us to see if we can match you with a student researcher whom you can hire to do that work for you.  For an online tutorial to help you get started doing genealogical research, visit the National Archives' site at http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/begin.html.

Search strategy: Using the Soundex microfilmed indexes is a time-saver -- for access to data collected by the 1880, 1900 and 1920 censuses.  This is a filing system that is alphabetical for the first letter of the surname, numeric for the remaining letters of the surname (ignoring all vowels), and alphabetical for the given name.  For instructions and to break the code, first see http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/soundex.html.  Then (once you have distilled the name into a Soundex code) click here to get started by finding the microfilm publication number and roll number of the name you seek.  Try using the 1920 census Soundex indexes for accessing the subsequent census records.

Likewise, the microfilm rolls describing the geographical enumeration districts can lessen the amount of searching a user must do in the population schedules that contain the household data that was collected by the census.

Introduction/ Scope and contents

This collection contains 553 rolls of U.S. census microfilm for the Four Corners States and 708 rolls of U.S. census microfilm for Indians through all of the United States.  All of these microfilms were produced by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C.

The population schedules are on the wider 35mm microfilm; the Soundex indexes, which can be useful for locating a particular individual's name in the more detailed population schedules, are on the narrower 16mm microfilm.  No Soundex name indexes are available for the Four Corners states for the 1910 or 1930 censuses (try using the 1900 and 1920 Soundex lists to locate the Enumeration District, to save yourself time in looking through all of the records of a particular county).

Consult NARA's published guides (collection M 129 -- in OPAC do a call number search for SW Collm 129 to locate its description) for more information regarding census records.  We keep these guides in two document cases in the Microfilm Reading Room in the Southwest Research Library.

This is the overview of the Center's holdings of U.S. census microfilm:

These are filed by NARA publication number, then by roll number.   All the M's are followed by all of the T's for each group of census records in the microfilm storage cabinet.  See printed index to this collection I 002 in document case #1 of collection M 129 (this collection is housed in the microfilm use area).

7th/1850 (M432, 5 rolls)
8th/1860 (M653, 9 rolls)
9th/1870 (M593, 12 rolls)
10th/1880 (T9, T735, T738, T764, & T774, 39 rolls)
[no 11^th census microfilm available  for our states, because the original documents were destroyed by fire before establishment of National Archives]
12th/1900 (T623, T1032, T1035, T1061, T1074, 172 rolls)
13th/1910 (T624, 37 rolls)
14th/1920 (T625, T1224, M1549, M1552, M1577, M1590, 220 rolls)
15th/1930  (T-626, 54 rolls)

The Center also has the following microfilms pertaining to Native American census records from the U.S. National Archives:

• Indian census rolls, 1884-1940 (M595, 692 rolls)

• Parsons & Abbott census of Creek Indians, 1832 (T275, 1 roll)

• Census of Cherokee Indians east of Mississippi River, with index, 1835 (T496, 1 roll)

• Census of Old Settler Cherokee, 1895, with index, 1896 (T985, 2 rolls)

• Eastern Cherokee enrollment records by Guion Miller (M685, 12 rolls)

The Center also has the microfilms of the 1895 State of Colorado census which is useful for compensating for the nation's loss of its 1890 federal census records:

• Collection I 003: Colorado state census of 1885 records on microfilm, 1884-1940 (M158, 8 rolls).  This mid-decade state census data is especially useful because the 1890 federal census records were destroyed in a fire in 1921.

Microfilm holdings list

The following are the Center of Southwest Studies’ holdings of census records for Colorado and adjacent states (in most cases, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona).  Click on the hyperlink for a roll-contents list, where provided.

YEAR	CENSUS	STATE	TYPE OF RECORDS	#ROLLS	NARA#,  roll #s
1850	7th	NM	Population schedules	4	M-432,  r. 467-470
1850	7th	UT	Population schedules	1	M-432, r. 919
1860	8th	KS	Arapahoe County population schedules	1	M-653,  r. 348
1860	8th	NB	Population schedules	1	M-653, r. 665
1860	8th	NM	Population schedules	5	M-653,  r. 712-716
1860	8th	UT	Population schedules	2	M-653,  r. 1313-1314
1870	9th	AZ	Population schedules	1	M-593, r. 46
1870	9th	CO	Population schedules	2	M-593,  r. 94-95
1870	9th	NM	Population schedules	5	M-593,  r. 893-897
1870	9th	UT	Population schedules	4	M-593,  r. 1610-1613
1880	10th	AZ	Population schedules	2	T-9, r. 36-37
1880	10th	CO	Population schedules	7	T-9, r. 87-93
1880	10th	NM	Population schedules	3	T-9,  r. 802-804
1880	10th	UT	Population schedules	5	T-9,  r. 1335-1339
1880	10th	AZ	Soundex name index	2	T-735, r. 1-2
1880	10th	CO	Soundex name index	7	T-738, r. 1-7
1880	10th	NM	Soundex name index	6	T-764, r. 1-6
1880	10th	UT	Soundex name index	7	T-774, r. 1-7
1885	special	CO	State census microfilm	5	M-158,  r, 1, 3-5, & 7
1890	11th	1890 U.S. census records are not available, were destroyed by fire in 1921		0	none
1900	12th	AZ	Population schedules	4	T-623,  r. 45-48
1900	12th	CO	Population schedules	14	T-623,  r. 117-130
1900	12th	NM	Population schedules	5	T-623,  r. 999-1003
1900	12th	UT	Population schedules	7	T-623,  r. 1682-1688
1900	12th	AZ	Soundex name index	22	T-1032,  r. 1-22
1900	12th	CO	Soundex name index	68	T-1035,  r. 1-68
1900	12th	NM	Soundex name index	23	T-1061,  r. 1-23
1900	12th	UT	Soundex name index	29	T-1074,  r. 1-29
1910	13th	AZ	Population schedules	5	T-624,  r. 38-42
1910	13th	CO	Population schedules	15	T-624,  r. 112-126
1910	13th	NM	Population schedules	7	T-624,  r. 913-919
1910	13th	UT	Population schedules	10	T-624,  r. 1602-1611
1920	14th	AZ	Population schedules	7	T-625,  r. 46-52
1920	14th	CO	Population schedules	19	T-625,  r. 155-173
1920	14th	NM	Population schedules	7	T-625,  r. 1074-1080
1920	14th	UT	Population schedules	9	T-625,  r. 1861-1869
1920	14th	AZ	Soundex name index	30	M-1549,  r. 1-30
1920	14th	CO	Soundex name index	80	M-1552,  r. 1-80
1920