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Rensselaer County Census Transcriptions This page was last updated 26 May 2008. |
In the table below, we provide links to all the available online searchable censuses for Rensselaer County, NY.
of locations that were later in
Rensselaer County
| City, Town or Village | Year |
|---|---|
| Schaatkooke (Schaghticoke) |
1720*  |
| Colloney RenselaersWyck (Rensselaerwick) |
1720* |
Rensselaer County US Federal Census Transcriptions
CODES:
| None = no such census exists; 1850 = census does exist, so click here to view it; Need = census does exist but still needs to be transcribed |
| City, Town or Village | 1st 1790 |
2nd 1800 |
3rd 1810 |
4th 1820 |
5th 1830 |
6th 1840 |
7th 1850 |
8th 1860 |
9th 1870 |
10th 1880 |
11th 1890 |
12th 1900 |
13th 1910 |
14th 1920 |
15th 1930 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | None | None | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Brunswick | None | None | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1860 | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Clinton* | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| East Greenbush* | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | 1860 | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Grafton | None | None | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Greenbush* | None | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1860 | Need | 1880 | 1890 | None | None | None | None |
| Hoosick | Need | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Lansingburgh* | None | None | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | None | None | None |
| Nassau | None | None | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| North Greenbush | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | 1860 | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Petersburgh | None | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Pittstown | Need | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Poestenkill | None | None | None | None | None | None | Need | Need | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Rensselaerwick Town* | Need | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
| Rensselaer* | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Sand Lake | None | None | None | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Schaghticoke | Need | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Schodack | None | 1800 | 1810 | Need | 1830 | 1840 | Need | Need | Need | 1880 | 1890 | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Stephentown | Need | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 |
| Troy | None | 1800 | 1810 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | Need | Need | Need |
The town of Clinton existed only from 1855 until 1858; up to 1855, it was part of
the town of Greenbush; in 1858, it was renamed East Greenbush. The town of Greenbush
became the city of Rensselaer in 1897. The town of Lansingburgh ceased to exist in 1900.
Rensselaer County NY State Census Transcriptions
CODES:
| None = no such census exists; 1850 = census does exist, so click here to view it; Need = census does exist but still needs to be transcribed |
| City, Town or Village | 1855 | 1865 | 1875 | 1905 | 1915 | 1925 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Brunswick | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Clinton* | 1855 | None | None | None | None | None |
| East Greenbush* | None | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Grafton | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Greenbush* | 1855 | Need | Need | None | None | None |
| Hoosick | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Lansingburgh* | Need | Need | Need | None | None | None |
| Nassau | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| North Greenbush | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Petersburgh | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Pittstown | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Poestenkill | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Rensselaer* | None | None | None | Need | Need | Need |
| Sand Lake | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Schaghticoke | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Schodack | 1855 | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Stephentown | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need | Need |
| Troy | Need | Need | 1875  | Need | Need | Need |
the town of Greenbush; in 1858, it was renamed East Greenbush. The town of Greenbush
became the city of Rensselaer in 1897. The town of Lansingburgh ceased to exist in 1900.
US FEDERAL CENSUSES - Rensselaer County,
NY is lucky in that records survive of all 14
of the US federal censuses that have been taken (and have been released into the
public domain) since the county was created, with
the exception of the 1890 US Census. Records for Rensselaer County, NY survive of
the 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and
1930 US Censuses. Links appear in the table below to all the US federal censuses
for towns in Rensselaer County that have been digitally transcribed.
1890 VETERANS' SCHEDULE - Most of you
already know that the whole of the
1890 US Census was destroyed by fire and that only a tiny fragment survives, apart
from the schedule of US Civil War veterans or their widows; this veterans' schedule
survives for most of the USA, including the one for Rensselaer County, NY. Links
appear in the table below to the entire 1890 Veterans' Schedule for Rensselaer County.
1790 US CENSUS - In addition,
the first US federal census - which was taken in 1790, a year before Rensselaer
County, NY was created from Albany County, NY - also survives. In 1790, Albany
County, NY was quite a bit larger than it is now. This census covers Hoosick,
Pittstown, Schaghticoke, Stephentown and Rensselaerwick town, all of which the following
year became part of the new Rensselaer County, NY. The printed
schedules of the 1790 US Census are now available online, at the
US Census Bureau.
1840 CENSUS OF PENSIONERS REVOLUTIONARY OR
MILITARY SERVICES for the state of New York - This schedule is online and
searchable at
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/census/1840/1840ny_a.html.
ONLINE SEARCHABLE 1880 US CENSUS -
The LDS Church has made available online -- and for free -- the entire
1880 US Census for the whole of the USA, as well as the entire 1881 Canadian
Census and the 1881 British Census. These censuses are searchable by every
name, enabling researchers to find the millions of people who were in
the 1880 US Census who were not previously indexed because their households did
not contain a child age 10 years or under. To access these censuses, go to
http://www.familysearch.org,
then click on SEARCH, and then click on CENSUS. If you don't find what you are
looking for, don't give up. There are a few odd mistranscriptions. I've overcome
this by entering "Smith" as a search value and narrowing down the geographical
area to the town I want, and on the search results page, I click on any Smith
in that town, and when the household comes up, I click on "previous household"
repeatedly until I come to the end of that town, and then I click the "back" button
repeatedly until I'm back at the original Smith family, and then I click on
"next household" repeatedly until I've searched the whole of the census for that town.
I did find the Fullers I was looking for - they had been mistranscribed as Fallon.
NY STATE CENSUSES - The state of
New York also took censuses every 10 years and,
conveniently for us, timed them to take place half way between the federal censuses.
Different years survive for different counties. For a table showing which state
censuses survive for which counties of NY state, click
here.
The six New York State Censuses that
survive for Rensselaer County, NY are the 1855, the 1865, the 1875, the 1905,
the 1915 and the 1925. Unlike the federal censuses, which give more detail in later
censuses than in earlier ones, the state censuses of the 20th century give less
information than those of the 19th century. The 1855 NY State Census gives
relationships within households, a full 25 years before the federal censuses
began doing this. The state censuses also give the county of birth of every
individual, whereas the federal censuses give only the state of birth. Links appear
in the second table below to all the NY State Censuses for Rensselaer County
that have been digitally transcribed. Pat Lawrence has made
a digital transcription of every name in the
1855 NY State Census for Greenbush,
so that search engines can now find the names - many thanks, Pat!
HOW TO ACCESS CENSUSES ONLINE -
A nationwide census transcription project offers an inventory of the censuses so far
transcribed at
The USGenWeb Census Project.
This website makes its census transcriptions available for free. There are no
Rensselaer County, NY censuses on this website, but there are numerous censuses
for other counties in all 50 states of the USA. The closest census to our county
at this website is the 1810 US Census for Washington County, NY.
HOW TO ACCESS CENSUSES NOT ONLINE -
If you need
to search a census that is not yet available online,
you can buy or borrow microfilms for all these federal and state censuses and
search them yourself. They can all be viewed for free at the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints
(LDS) Family History Library in Salt Lake City,
at the New York State Library
in Albany and at the Troy Public Library
in Troy. Federal-census microfilms and state-census microfilms can all be ordered
for a small fee from your local LDS Family History Center (FHC) and, when they arrive,
can be viewed at the FHC on their readers. You do not have to be a Mormon to use
their facilities; I'm not a Mormon, and I've used their facilities extensively for years.
Federal-census microfilms and state-census microfilms can all be borrowed
from or bought from Heritage Quest.
All federal-census microfilms, but no state-census microfilms, can be viewed for
free at any branch of the
National Archives.
Federal-census microfilms, but not state-census microfilms,
can be bought or rented from the
National Archives. Federal-census microfilms, but not state-census microfilms,
can be bought from Census Microfilm
Expeditors. If you know
of any other sources for buying or borrowing census microfilms, please
e-mail me, and I'll post that
information here, too. If you don't own a microfilm reader, don't let that deter you;
you can take the census microfilms you have bought or borrowed to your local public
library and read them on their microfilm readers.
ONLINE CENSUS LOOKUPS - Although I
haven't used this myself, there is a mailing list for
census lookups for every state. The website for further information about
the US Census Lookup Mailing List for New York state is
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Census/NY-CENSUS-LOOKUP.html.
HOW YOU CAN HELP - If you have access
to any census pages and would like to donate your
time to transcribing them for us, we would be most grateful! Before you start, it would
be a good idea to e-mail me, just to be sure
that someone else is not already transcribing the same census - we wouldn't want you
to be duplicating each other's efforts!
We now offer smaller .gif images of the 1855 NY State Census for the Town of Greenbush
which should enable you to download the pages much faster.
Send comments or suggestions to:
Lin Van Buren