TABLE of CONTENTS

1920 Federal Census – Fifteenth Census of the United States
National Archives Microfilm Designator "T625-xxx".
The enumeration of the State of Iowa comprises 46 rolls of film for 1920.
The enumeration commenced on 02 January 1920.

The Department of Agriculture had requested that the date be changed from the traditional spring/early summer dates to January. The department argued that harvests would be completed and information about the harvests fresh in farmers' minds, and more people would be at home in January than in April.

The format and information in the 1920 census schedules closely resemble that of the 1910 census. The 1920 census, however, did not ask about unemployment on the day of the census, nor did it ask about service in the Union or Confederate army or navy.

Questions about the number of children born and how long a couple had been married were also omitted. The bureau modified the enumeration of inmates of institutions and dependent, defective, and delinquent classes.

Because of the changes in some boundaries following World War I, enumerators were instructed to report the province (state or region) or city of persons declaring they or their parents had been born in Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, or Turkey. If a person had been born in any other foreign country, only the name of the country was to be entered.

The instructions to the enumerators did not require that individuals spell out their names. Enumerators wrote down the information given to them; they were not authorized to request proof of age, date of arrival, or other information. People were known to change their ages between censuses, and some people claimed not to know their age.

The race determination was based on the enumerator's impressions.

Individuals were enumerated as residents of the place in which they regularly slept, not where they worked or might be visiting. People with no regular residence, including "floaters" and members of transient railroad or construction camps, were enumerated as residents of the place where they were when the enumeration was taken.

Enumerators were also to ask if any family members were temporarily absent; if so, these were to be listed either with the household or on the last schedule for the census subdivision. Thus, the user should always check that page. The answers that appear on the microfilmed schedules depend upon what the enumerator recorded and what the people interviewed told the enumerator.

The Bureau of the Census created and filmed Soundex index cards for the entire 1920 census.

New enumeration items in the 1920 Census:
Year of naturalization
Mother tongue of the person
Mother tongue of the parents

Information Recorded:

State, County, Town/Township (per sheet)
Enumeration date (per sheet)
Supervisor’s District Number (per sheet)
Enumeration District Number (per sheet)
Enumerator’s name (per sheet)
Sheet and page number (per sheet)
Street
House Number
Dwelling Number
Family Number
Name of each person whose place of abode on January 1, 1920 was in this family
Relationship to head of household
If home is rented or owned
If home is owned, free, or mortgaged
Sex
Color or Race
Age at last birthday
Marital status
If foreign born, year of immigration
Naturalized or alien
Year of naturalization
Attending school
Can read and write
Place of birth of person
Mother tongue
Place of birth of Father
Mother tongue
Place of birth of Mother
Mother tongue
Can speak English
Occupation

Arranged as follows:
By state or territory, and thereunder by county, and finally by enumeration district.

Research Hints

The microfilm may also show code numbers or letters in some of the columns. Clerks added these codes in red ink (which cannot be distinguished on the microfilm) after the census, to be punched into the cards used to tabulate the census results. The codes usually represent household composition, occupation and class of worker, or simply marks made in the coding, punching, or tabulating operations themselves and should be ignored.

Specific Reference:
1920 Census Schedules for Chickasaw County
Microfilm Roll T625-482: Cherokee Co (EDs 18-28), Chickasaw Co (EDs 46-59), Cedar Co (EDs 28-45), and Cerro Gordo Co (EDs 20-21, 191, and 22-24).