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School Census Records

As we all know, the 1890 census burned. However, there is a resource here in Texas which sometimes serves as a substitute for this missing census. It also is a great resource in and of itself. These are the school census records. They were kept from around 1900 up through the 1950's or 1960's. These records listed not only the student but the parents and siblings in the household as well and were done yearly. With the possible exception of the most recent records, they are public records. In some counties, the County Clerk keeps and maintains the records. In other counties, they are kept by the County Judge. There may be some restrictions on how you can access these records, but they can be invaluable in breaking through brick walls in the early records.

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Permalink Reply by Khathu on July 20, 2009 at 11:25am

Barbara, I was unaware that thwe records went back that far. I have been only able to locate them for the 1930's and beyond. I will definitely take another look at them. Thanks for the information.

Permalink Reply by Craig Manson on July 21, 2009 at 11:03pm

I was lucky enough to have found some school census cards for some of my ancestors. This example is from 1901 in Milam County. It's for my grand-uncles Carl Manson and Otis Preston Manson (who was known as Preston.) It's signed by my great-grandfather, Otis Manson (1871-1950). One of the historical ironies reflected here is that the school trustee who also signed the card, Daniel Henry Sanford, was the grandson of Reuben Sanford (1796-1846), whose family owned as a slave my gg-grandfather Billy Sanford (1809-1916). They "acquired" him in Virginia, took him to Tennessee when they moved there in 1819, and finally brought him to Texas when they moved again in 1854. Billy Sanford was the father of my great-grandmother, Otis' wife Betty Sanford Manson (1872-1955).

Permalink Reply by Laura Hauser Melton on July 24, 2009 at 11:53am

How does one find a copy of a record when they do not live in Texas?

Permalink Reply by Craig Manson on July 24, 2009 at 12:39pm

Laura,

Here are some ideas:

(1) ask one of your GenealogyWise friends who lives in Texas to look the matter up in the particular county concerned!
(2) contact the county clerk or the county library and see if they'll do a lookup for you.
(3) contact the local genealogical society and see if they have the record or can find it for you.
(4) check the catalog of the Family History Library onlineand see if the type of record is available for the county you are interested in. Then visit your local Family History Centerand order the record on microfilm from the Family History Library.

Permalink Reply by Dodie Ford on July 24, 2009 at 2:48pm

Laura, place a call to or write to the courthouse where your ancestor lived, died, etc. You do have to know the county. The HandyBook for Genealogists has addresses and phone nos of all the county courthouses in the US.

Say you were looking for a death record: give them the name of the person who died, date of death (as much as you know) and the place (county). Ask them to look for the death in their records and advise you of the procedure and cost of obtaining a copy of the record if they find it. If they have it, it will prob cost you somewhere bet $10-20 to get it. I have found around $10 to be a standard charge but it's not the same at every courthouse and the costs may be increasing.

Most county clerks are familiar with genealogist's requests and will do, at least, one lookup for you. County Clerk's are usually very busy. But, If you have multiple things you are looking for, you could contact someone (maybe in this group) who is living in the county where your ancestor lived and ask them to do some lookups (if not actual research) for you. Many people do this in each state and county in the US.

Check on US GenWeb-Texas website for someone to do lookups/research in the county you are interested in. This will prob cost you. I use the $10 per hr standard to have someone look up something for me. They do have to drive and use gas and spend their time and make copies, etc.

But, just for, say a death record, the best bet is to contact the County Clerk's office in the county where the ancestor died. I never have had any problem doing this and most are congenial.

Next best thing is to go to Family History Library check their catalog. Then, order microfilm into the Family History Center nearest you.

It might help if you post here the name and county and other information for the ancestor you are researching in Texas.

Permalink Reply by Craig Manson on July 24, 2009 at 9:55pm

There's another category of research resources out there too: the voluntary/cooperative model. For example, you could go to the website Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness and ask for someone to get a record for you. Of course, you should try to reciprocate for that person or somebody else. Another site in that model is Find-A-Grave.

Permalink Reply by Khathu on July 24, 2009 at 6:28pm

Craig, that is great resource. I will contact the courthouse in Bowie, Cass, Leon and Smith Counties to see if they have the records and if so how far back to they go. Thanks for sharing.

Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on July 27, 2009 at 7:12am

I just found that a Gus LaCour was the census taker for the school census in Liberty for the 1891-92 years, I'm trying to determine if this was my great great grandfather who did live in Liberty accoording to the 1900 and 1910 census. IS there a way to find this census?

thank you!

Permalink Reply by Barbara Cunningham on July 31, 2009 at 10:15am

A written request to the Liberty County Clerk would, at the very least, inform you how to access the school census records.

School Census Records

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