Rhode Island, State Census, 1935 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Rhode Island 

What is in the Collection?
The collection consists of images and an index to population schedules of the census of Rhode Island taken by the state in 1935. Rhode Island began taking its own state census every ten years in 1865 and continued through 1935; however, the 1895 census is missing.

Officially known as the 1935 state census, these schedules are on computer cards dated January 1936. This census is an every-name list of the state's inhabitants as of 1935. The collection includes most individuals within the enumerated counties. The census records do not show individuals in family groups.

The 1935 census was recorded by enumerators directly onto punch cards which were then arranged alphabetically by county, then by township (not by town), and then by surname and given name. The census was taken January through March 1936, but was a list of the State’s inhabitants as of 1935.

The census was compiled to obtain a count of the population of the state to determine how many representatives the state would send to Congress.

Censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes images available for all users. However, rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians. Images in this collection are available for viewing if you are a registered FamilySearch user. You can register for a free FamilySearch account here.

For additional information about image restrictions, please see the Restrictions for Viewing Images in FamilySearch Historical Record Collections page.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
The cards may include the following information:


 * Date and place of enumeration including city, township and county
 * Principal's name and address
 * Principal's gender, race and marital status
 * Date of and place of birth
 * Naturalization status
 * Usual and present occupation
 * Employed or seeking employment
 * Whether or not principal is literate
 * If at school, name of school and grade
 * Physical disabilities
 * Has principal ever had measles, scarlet fever, or diptheria

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * The name of your ancestor
 * Other identifying information such as their birthplace or the names of other family members.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in your ancestor’s name in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about those in the list to what you already know about your own ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person.

View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Film number" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

With either search keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the census, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record. Birth records often list biographical and marital details about the parents and close relatives other than the immediate family.
 * Use the race information to find records related to that ethnicity such as records of the Freedman’s Bureau or Indian censuses.
 * Use the naturalization information to find their naturalization papers in the county court records. It can also help you locate immigration records such as a passenger list which would usually be kept records at the port of entry into the United States.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related.
 * Be sure to extract all families before you look at other records. The relationships given will help you to organize family groups. The family groupings will help you identify related families when you discover additional information in other records.
 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household, so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even a county.
 * You may be able to identify an earlier generation if elderly parents were living with or close by a married child.
 * You may be able to identify a younger generation if a young married couple still lived with one of their sets of parents.
 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family in the census.
 * The census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.

I Can't Find Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Check for an index. There are often indexes created by the court or local historical and genealogical societies.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.

For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry): Image Citation: