Prologue: The historic federal census schedules from 1790-1940 are open to the public and comprise important genealogical sources used by family historians. The census population schedules (the name lists) are subject to a federal privacy law which restricts public access for a period of 72 years, the average life span of Americans at the time the law was enacted. Although the current average life span of Americans is now over 78 years, that part of the original privacy law has not been changed. As a result, the last census opened to the public was the 1940 Federal Census, which became available on 1 April 2012. Meanwhile, the 1950 Federal Census is scheduled to be released to the public on 1 April 2022.
The Census Bureau’s Age Search Service has its origins back to 1935, the year when Social Security first started in the United States. When Social Security began, there were many people who were eligible for retirement benefits (age 65 or over) but did not have a birth certificate to prove their age. This was not really that surprising, since statewide registration of births did not happen in all states until 1925, and county-wide vital registrations were not consistent from state to state. There was clearly a need for some other means of proving a person’s age in 1935.
Resulting from these problems, the Census Bureau was asked by Congress to provide a service to people needing some proof of their age, and a special search group was established. The Personal Census Search Group was created as a branch of the Bureau of the Census. For many years the search group was located at Pittsburg, Kansas, and processed millions of requests for a personal census search. At one time, this group employed over 1,500 researchers who were involved in processing the census age searches.
As preparation for their primary mission of searching the censuses for personal requests, one of the first programs initiated by the Personal Census Search Group was the indexing of the 1880, 1900, and 1920 censuses. The indexing method was designed by contract with private organizations, such as the Rand Corporation, who developed the Soundex Indexing System, used first by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The actual indexing of these census years was done by WPA clerical workers, under the supervision of the Census Bureau’s Personal Census Search Group. After the advent of electronic computers, in 1962, the Personal Census Search Group undertook, on their own, the Soundex/Miracode index for the 1910 census.
Back in 1989, Leland Meitzler and myself were in Kansas conducting genealogy seminars, and were privileged to get a personal tour of the Age Search Group facility in Pittsburg, Kansas. We were amazed at the size of their reference collection of city directories, maps, and other finding aids for their use in conducting personal census searches. Obviously, this group had learned early that the most important part of census searching was to know the exact place of residence for a person – that is how the censuses are organized. For example, if a request for a personal census search came in when the place of residence was given only as “Kentucky,” there was a large collection of Kentucky city directories, maps, and published name indexes at their disposal. We also learned that this census branch had acquired thousands of the original blank census forms from past census years, dating back to the 1880 and 1885 censuses. When a “full schedule” report was requested, a staff member would type the exact line from the original (microfilmed) census page onto an original census form, then stamp the parchment with an official seal of authenticity.
In 1998, the Personal Census Search Group moved from Kansas to the Census Bureau’s National Processing Center facility located in Jeffersonville, Indiana (directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky). At that time, the Personal Census Search Group was renamed the Age Search Group, and the Jeffersonville office still operates and processes requests for personal census searches. However, today the group has fewer than 50 people conducting searches. The reason for the smaller group is that the number of census search requests from people approaching retirement age has dropped dramatically. Today, most of these people were born in the 1950s, and usually have a birth certificate on file somewhere. Thus, the need for the census age search service has lessened significantly. But the work is still going on, and genealogists should know that many compelling personal searches can still be conducted for strictly genealogical purposes. The Age Search Group is a self-sustaining government operation, one that must charge a fee adequate enough to cover all of their expenses.
For Whom Can a Personal Census Search be Requested? For What Years? Although the 1950-2010 censuses are still closed to the public, it is possible to have a search done in one of these censuses for yourself, or a search for a deceased person who was your immediate blood relative, i.e., a parent, spouse, brother, sister, child, or grandparent . A search for a deceased person may also be requested by an administrator/executor of an estate; or by a person named as a beneficiary in a will or insurance policy.
How to Make a Request for a Personal Census Search: A search can be conducted for you by the Census Bureau in the 1950-2010 censuses by submitting their special request form, Application for Search of Census Records, Form BC-600. Using this form, you may also include requests for information from a census year already open to the public, beginning with the 1910 census. A downloadable Form BC-600 is available online at www.census.gov/history/pdf/bc-600-2013.pdf.
Search Limitations. Certain information, such as place of birth, citizenship, and occupation, is available only for census years 1910 through 1950. Such information beyond a person’s name, place of residence, age, and position within a household , is not available for census years 1960 through 2010. Later census data formats were simplified for most people listed on a census page, while more detailed samplings were done for a just a few persons per page. So the added information such as occupation, nativity, and language spoken for a person and parents of a person, only applies to perhaps ten percent of the population for the later census years.
Age Search Fact Sheet
The following information was extracted from the Census Bureau’s web page at www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/agesearch.html.
“Fee Required: $65 for a search of one census for one person only. Personal checks and money orders accepted. No credit cards.
Years Searched: 1910 through 2010.
Access: Census records with individual names are not on computer. They are on microfilm, arranged according to the address at the time of the census. Most agencies require the earliest census after the date of birth.
Required Forms:
BC-600 Application For Search of Census Records
BC-600 Application For Search of Census Records (En Español)
Required: A completed BC-600 application for Search of Census Records, signed by the person for whom the search is to be conducted. This person may authorize the results to be sent to another person/agency by also completing item 3 of the application.
Minor Children: Information regarding a child who has not yet reached the legal age of 18 may be obtained by written request of either parent or guardian. A guardian must provide a copy of the court order naming them as such.
Mentally Incompetent Persons: Information regarding these persons may be obtained upon the written request of the legal representative, supported by a copy of the court order naming such legal representation.
Deceased Persons: The application must be signed by (1) a blood relative in the immediate family (parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent), (2) the surviving wife or husband, (3) the administrator or executor of the estate, or (4) a beneficiary by will or insurance. In all cases involving deceased persons, a copy of the death certificate MUST be provided and the relationship to the deceased MUST be stated on the application. Legal representatives MUST also furnish a copy of the court order naming such legal representatives, and beneficiaries MUST furnish legal evidence of such beneficiary evidence.
Results: An official census transcript will list the person’s name, relationship to household head, age at the time of the census, and state of birth. Citizenship will be provided if the person was foreign born. Single items of data such as occupation for Black Lung cases can be provided upon request. If a person is not found, a form will be sent with that information.
Additional data on the same person (Full Schedule): The full schedule is the complete one line entry of personal data recorded for that individual ONLY. This will be furnished in addition to the regular transcript. There is an additional charge of $10.00 for each full schedule. They are not available for 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000. State of birth and citizenship is only available in census records from 1910 to 1950.
Time Involved: The normal processing time is 3 to 4 weeks. Cases are processed on a first in, first out basis. Passport and other priority cases can be processed in a week or less. To expedite there is an additional $20.00 fee required. To receive results within three days, the application will need to be sent by Next-Day Air via the Post Office, Federal Express, or private carrier and enclose a pre-paid express return envelope. Applications can be faxed to you.”
Pros and Cons Summary
– A $75.00 (Full Schedule) request is limited to one person, with just one line of information from one census year. If there is no other written evidence of a birth year for a person, or you have no documented connection to a particular head of household, this may be money well spent. For example, if all that is known about a person is based on oral interviews with relatives, a written document confirming that data can provide the proof needed to hold up in a court of law.
– The requirement that a death certificate must accompany the request for information on a deceased person may make the request overkill – what could be learned that is not already on the death certificate? But if there is suspicion that a death record is in error, a census search may be justified.
– Since the results are related to one person and one census year, adding more persons to show entire family groupings, makes the personal census requests very expensive. Each additional person requires another $75.00 search fee, and if there are multiple members of a family, the search fees multiply accordingly. But, if there is no other way to find the members of one family shown together on one document, the added expense may be warranted.
– Adopted persons with no birth certificate showing their birth names, parents, etc., may use this service to locate themselves in a household recorded in a federal census. Obviously, some details about the birth parent and name must be known, as well as some indication of a place of birth/residence. This type of research is not subject to court ordered restrictions on access to original vital records, therefore, adoption searches are a very popular part of the Age Search Service.
Further Reading:
The 1790-1940 Censuses: A Quick Look – A Genealogists’ Insta-Guide, 4-8 page quick sheets, one for each federal census, 1790 through 1940. The Family Roots Publishing Co website has a new lead-in to these Insta-Guides. See www.familyrootspublishing.com/store/category.php?cat=3443.