Using the MHS Territorial/State Census Index

As usual with on-line indexes, some creativity will help you be successful as you use the Minnesota Historical Society's new index for the Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses.

First, like their birth and death indexes, it has some very helpful options in searching both surnames and given names in the pull down menu. These are in addition to 'exact,' which is a letter-for-letter match:

• 'contains' allows you to enter a sequence of letters that you are confident will be in the name, when a person may have a nickname or two versions of the name. For example, if Elizabeth was sometimes known as Liza, you could use "contains Liza" and get hits for Elizabeth and Eliza in addition to Liza. Or if the family sometimes was O'Leary and other times just Leary, entering 'contains Leary' will get you both possibilities. (This option is particularly useful for the death record index, where some names are entered with Mrs., Dr., Prof., etc.)
  
• 'starts with' allows you to enter the beginning sequence, or just one letter. For example, you only have initials from your other sources. You can enter just one letter, the county, and the year, and get a list of possibilities. Or the name is one that is sometimes translated and sometimes not -- Lorenz, Lawrence, for example.
  
• 'ends with' allows you to enter the ending sequence.

Second, don't assume that all the abbreviations for a given name are tied to the full spelling. You may get additional results if you use 'Wm' along with 'William' and 'Chas' along with 'Charles.'

Finally, continue to carefully analyze your results. Some of the censuses included in the index were taken before Minnesota became a state, and a place of birth may be listed as 'MT.' This is very common on the 1857 census, and stands for 'Minnesota Territory,' and NOT the state of Montana. And don't forget, county borders changed considerably between the 1849 census and the 1905 version.

There is some great information only available in the state census, like the residency questions in the latter versions -- "How long have you lived in the state? in the enumeration district?" can help answer those questions about your family's migration. It's a great tool!

Mary