Shortly after the creation of the Social Security Administration in 1935, the Works Progress Administration(WPA) were employed to make an index to the 1880 Federal Census. The indexes were handwritten on 3 by 5 index cards, each card listed the head of household by full name followed by a list of all other persons residing in the household. The 1880 Census Soundex was incomplete in that only families with children of age ten and younger were indexed. If there was a person living in the household with a d ifferent last name than the head of household they would not only be listed as part of the household but would also be listed on a separate card under their own surname. This card would include a notation about the head of household with whom the person had been listed and the relationship to the head of household.

QUESTION: What information can I find on the Soundex cards?
ANSWER:
The Primary Family card lists all persons in the household their age and place of birth. The head of household is listed at the top. The relationship of each person to the head of household is also given. The cards reference the state and county of the family's dwelling and references the location in the census where the family appeared. Besides the Primary Family card there were 3 other kinds of Soundex cards.

• 1)Continuation Card- Very large families needed a second and sometimes a third card to list all of those who lived in the household. These were called Continuation Cards. The first person named on the Continuation Card was the head of household and then the name, relationship, age, and birthplace of the other family members. The card does not list the jurisdictional information like the county, city, and ED. When viewing online images of a Continuation Card at MyTrees.com you will find that the Prim ary Family Card is always imaged with each Continuation card. This means that if there are 2 Continuation Cards for a family that the Primary Family Card will be imaged twice in the database. You will be able to tell how many continuation Cards go with a Primary Family card by the handwritten numbers that are at the bottom of the card. It may read #1 of 3.

• 2)An Individual Card- These cards were used to cross reference children who were age 10 or under and, 1) who had a different surname from the head of the family, or 2) who were not an immediate family member, for instance a nephew, or 3) who resided in an institution without a family. This means that the Individual Card sometimes duplicated parts of the information on the Family cards.

• 3)Institution Card- If you are using microfilm to view the Soundex the Institution cards appear at the end of the last roll of Soundex microfilm for a state or territory. The cards are alphabetically arranged by the first name of the Institution. The Institution Cards usually note only the number of inhabitants of the institution and exclude personal data on any individuals.

QUESTION: How can I use the Soundex to find my ancestor in Census images online?
ANSWER:
The state and county name and the four numbers in the upper right corner of the Soundex card are your keys to using the Soundex to locate an ancestor in the Census both online and at a library. First locate the state and county in which the Family is located. Then using the ED number and Sheet (Page) number locate the image. If you are using film to view the Census find the films for the state and county then use the ED to locate the film. The term Enumeration District was first used with the 1880 Census. The ED, Enumeration District, is a precisely defined geographic area of a county which was assigned to a single census-taker. For example, let's say I have found an ancestor, Charles Baker, in the 1880 Soundex and recorded from the Soundex card that he is living in Parker County, Texas, ED 139, Sheet 2, line 31. I can go to the USGENWEB site or any other site that is displaying census images, click the links to find the Census images for the Parker County, Texas, 1880 Census. The images are isted in directories by county and named using the Enumeration District(ED) as the first part of the file name followed by a dash and then the Sheet number. I would click the image named 139-02.gif in the parker directory and locate line 31 to find Charles Baker and his family listed. Here is the link:
1880 Census Parker County, Texas.

In all my use of the Soundex which is about 20 years I have never found a use for the Volume number. In summation, the most important information to record from the Soundex card is the state or territory, county or city, ED number, Sheet number, and line number.

QUESTION: Will I find Native American Indians listed in the Soundex?
ANSWER:
Indians not taxed, that is, those who lived on reservations or who roamed as nomads over unsettled tracts of land were not counted. Indians who lived among the general population or on the outskirts of towns, were counted as part of the ordinary population. There was a special 1880 enumeration of Indians living near military installations in Washington, Dakota Territories, and California. These would not be part of the Soundex. All other Indians would be listed in the state, county, and locality where they resided and therefore would be listed in the Soundex. Not until 1890 did the census schedules list the Indian population with any accuracy.

QUESTION: What is the Soundex indexing method?
ANSWER:
The Soundex is an indexing method used for the 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 Federal Censuses. It is a coded surname index based on the way a name sounds rather than its spelling. The Soundex system keeps together names of similar sounds but different spellings. The code consists of the first letter of the last name plus three numbers. The system arranges the cards alphabetic according to the first letter of the last name and then numeric afterwards. Cards with like Soundex Codes were grouped together an d alphabetized according to the first name of the head of household. The Soundex only indexes the head of household for each family, not each individual person. In some cases the rules for ordering the cards alphabetically by first name within the same code were not followed so you would need to search the entire Code group for the first name. The are some states that have inter-filed the Soundex codes then alphabetized by the first name of the head of household.

Question: What do the abbreviations mean that are in the relationship field?
ANSWER:
A-------- Aunt
Ad------- Adopted
AdCl----- Adopted child
AdD------ Adopted Daughter
AdGcl---- Adopted Grandchild
AdM------ Adopted Mother
AdS------ Adopted Son
Al------- Aunt-in-law
Ap------- Apprentice
Asst----- Assistant
At------- Attendant
B-------- Brother
Bar------ Bartender
Bboy----- Bound boy
Bgirl---- Bound girl
Bl------- Brother-in-law
Bo------- Boarder
Boy------ Boy
Bu------- Butler
C-------- Cousin
Cap------ Captain
Cha------ Chamber Maid
Cil------ Cousin-in-law
Cl------- Child
Coa------ Coachman
Com------ Companion
Cook----- Cook
D-------- Daughter
Dl------- Daughter-in-law
Dla------ Day laborer
Dom------ Domestic
Dw------- Dishwasher
Emp------ Employee
En------- Engineer
F-------- Father
FaH------ Farm Hand
FaL------ Farm Laborer
FaW------ Farm Worker
FB------- Foster Brother
FF------- Foster Father
Fi------- Fireman
First C-- First Cousin
FL------- Father-in-Law
FM------- Foster Mother
FoB------ Foster Brother
FoS------ Foster Son
FoSi----- Foster Sister
GA------- Great Aunt
Gcl------ Grandchild
GD------- Granddaughter
GF------- Grandfather
GGF------ Great-Grandfather
GGGF----- Great-Great-Grandfather
GGGM----- Great-Great-Grandmother
GGM------ Great-Grandmother
GM------- Grandmother
Gml------ Grandmother-in-law
GN------- Grand or Great Nephew
Gni------ Grand or Great Niece
Go------- Governess
God Cl--- God Child
GS------- Grandson
Gsl------ Grand son-in-law
GU------- Great Uncle
Gua------ Guardian
Guest---- Guest
Hb------- Half Brother
Hbl------ Half Brother-in-law
He------- Herder
Help----- Help
H.Gi----- Hired Girl
Hh------- Hired hand
Hk------- Housekeeper
Hlg------ Hireling
Hm------- Hired Man
Hmaid---- Housemaid
His------ Half Sister
Hsil----- Half Sister-in-law
Husband-- Husband
Hw------- Houseworker
I-------- Inmate
L-------- Lodger
La------- Laborer
Lau------ Launderer
M-------- Mother
Maid----- Maid
Man------ Manager
Mat------ Matron
ML------- Mother-in-law
N-------- Nephew
Ni------- Niece
Nil------ Niece-in-law
Nl------- Nephew-in-law
Nu------- Nurse
O-------- Officer
P-------- Patient
Pa------- Partner
Ph------- Physician
Por------ Porter
Pr------- Prisoner
Pri------ Principal
Prv------ Private
Pu------- Pupil
R-------- Roomer
S-------- Son
Sa------- Sailor
Sal------ Saleslady
Sb------- Stepbrother
Sbl------ Step brother-in-law
Scl------ Step child
Sd------- Stepdaugther
Sdl------ Step daughter-in-law
Se------- Servant
Se.Cl---- Servant's child
Sf------- Stepfather
Sfl------ Step father-in-law
Sgd------ Step granddaughter
Sgs------ Step grandson
Si------- Sister
Sl------- Son-in-law
Sm------- Stepmother
Sml------ Step mother-in-law
Ss------- Stepson
Ssi------ Stepsister
Ssil----- Step sister-in-law
Ssl------ Step son-in-law
Su------- Superintendant
Ten------ Tenant
U-------- Uncle
Ul------- Uncle-in-law
Vi------- Visitor
W-------- Wife
Wa------- Warden
Wai------ Waitress
Ward----- Ward
Wkm------ Workman
Wt------- Waiter

QUESTION: How does Soundex Coding work?
ANSWER:
The MyTrees.com site does not use the Soundex coding for indexing names from the 1880 Census Soundex. So you will not need to know the Soundex code. However I am including some Soundex coding instructions here in case you have the occasion to research directly with a Soundex index. The Soundex, a filing system for the last names, was devised which reduced the sound of the name into a few hard consonants sounds. All the consonants were grouped into categories according to the similarity in sound. A code was assigned for each of the grouped consonants. Every Soundex code used the first letter of the name plus a 3-digit number.

The steps to Soundex encoding are:
1. Write down the last name.
2. Cross out the letters A, E, I, O, U, Y, W, H (except if it is the first letter of the name)
3. Under the name write the first letter of the name, then,
4. Using the Soundex Code below, write a number under the remaining letters starting from the left.
Code Letters
1---- b,f,p,v
2---- c,g,k,j,q,s,x,z
3---- d,t
4---- l
5---- m,n
6---- r
5. If you have a long name use the first letter and only the first three numbers you have written.
6. If you only have one or two numbers, add zeros to make three numbers.
Other rules:
1. Double letters are coded as one letter. Any two consonants that have the same code number and do not have a vowel between then also are coded as one, for example sc, sk, and dt. Do not cross out double letters before coding or you will come up with the wrong code. Lloyd should be L430 but may appear under L300.
Examples of the Soundex codes for a few names are: Johnson is J525, Adcock is A322, Bagley is B210, Christiansen is C623, Lee L000, Mackay is M200, Schmidt is S530.
2. Prefixes- Prefixes to last names such as Van, Von, Di, De, and Le are sometimes disregarded in coding and alphabetizing.
3. Side by Side Letters- Letters with the same code should be treated as only one letter. In the name Jackson, for instance, the k and s should be ignored. This rule also applies to the first letter of a surname, even though it is not coded. For example, Pf in Pfister would received a number 1 Code for both the P and f. Therefore in Pfister the letter f is ignored and the code is P-236.
4. Exceptions- McGee should be M200 but may be coded M220, a nun's name may be coded as if Sister was her last name so it would be S236. Also native American names appear in the Census as one word with hyphens between the syllables and the Soundex Coder may have used the last hyphenated syllable as the last name or the first syllable. For instance Shinka-Wa-Samay may be coded for Samay S500 or Shinka S520. Names with a prefix like Von or De may be coded with or without that prefix for instance Van Bure n may be V516 or B650.