(Iroquois Genealogy Society)
Submitted by Leatha Jimerson
We hope that everyone is doing well during this challenging time in our lives.
Our meeting scheduled for May 14, 2020 has been cancelled. The meeting topic to be presented was NYS Cattaraugus Census 1886-1924.
Since we can’t physically meet, I want to show you where you can find this information on our website: www.iroquoisgenealogysociety.org
Open our web page and at the top, click on COLLECTION (a drop down window appears) and click on DOCUMENT ARCHIVE. Then click on the IROQUOIS CENSUS PROJECT. Be sure to read the narrative of what is contained in this collection.
At the bottom of the page, click on the census abbreviation key (tells you what symbols mean). Then click on the IROQUOIS CENSUS PROJECT button.
You will then see several folders and what years they contain. Click on the one labeled ’02 Cattaraugus 1852-1902’ (if that is where you prefer to start). Each folder contains 2 or more documents for that particular census year. One is a description of the census and the others the actual census and an index. Use the index first since you can find a name easier (it will give you a number associated with the name/household).
The census rolls prior to 1877 provide very little family data. The information will show as follows (eg.): 1-1-5 meaning; 1 male, 1 female and 5 children.
The census rolls for 1877 and later provide full name, age, year of birth of all members of the household, head of household, wife, son and daughter. Based on the census year, it will also provide you with additional information such as occupation, school attended etc.
As you can see, there is a wealth of genealogy information in the census records. There are census records for Allegany, Tonawanda Seneca, Cayuga and other Iroquois Nations. There are other census records on our website located under COLLECTION/DOCUMENT ARCHIVE.
In order to make this information available on our website, many hours of scanning documents were done along with the organization of the folders.
We hope this helps in your research of your particular family. This can take hours and hours of time but, it’s worth it in order to learn more about your family history.
Our June meeting may also be cancelled based upon the circumstances. Until then, making your family journey will keep you busy! Stay well and safe!
