1890 Ascension Parish Census

An earlier Blog from Leland cited an item posted by a New Orleans librarian, pointed out that Ascension Parish, Louisiana officials found a copy of the 1890 census taken for the entire parish, and that the originals had been microfilmed by the Louisiana State Archives. I thought I would check to see if the Family History Library in Salt Lake has a copy of the microfilm. They apparently do not… but it seems there has been a complete printed extract and index, which the FHL does have: Ascension Parish, Louisiana, 1890 U. S. Census, compiled by Rita Babin Butler, published by Oracle Press, 1983, 270 pages, maps, includes index. This is FHL book 976.319 X2b 1890.

Court officials of Ascension Parish, Louisiana retained a work copy of their 1890 census schedules before sending an official copy to Washington, DC. One of only two U.S. counties (parish in this case) to have a complete copy, this is a rare and valuable research aid for those searching Louisiana ancestors. Ascension Parish is about 40 miles up the Mississippi River from New Orleans, just south of West Baton Rouge Parish, and straddles both sides of the Mississippi.

From the book’s preface: “In 1890, Ascension parish consisted of eight wards, with Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the west side of the Mississippi River and Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8 on the east side. Apparently, Modeste, Hohen Solms, Port Barrow, and part of Smoke Bend were 1; Smoke Bend, for the most part, was in Ward 2; Ward 3 was the center of Donaldsonville; the outskirts of Donaldsonville and Point Houmas, Lemanville, and Abend were in Ward 4; Darrow and Burnside were in Ward 5; Geismar and Belle Helene were in Ward 6; Gonzales was in Ward 7; and Galvez, Hope Villa, Oak Grove, Prairieville, and Duplessis were in Ward 8.”

Where is the other U.S. county with a complete copy of their 1890 federal census?

Well, not really an official copy of the 1890, but since people in Washington County, Georgia wanted to save a few dollars, they decided to make their own copy of the 1890 census name list, copied it into their Court of Ordinary records, and saved having to pay the Census Office for an official copy. In 1890, the federal government had required that any county that wanted a copy would have to pay for it — and of the 3,100 counties in the U.S., not one of them asked for an official copy. At least, none that we know of.

Since the last of the burned and water damaged 1890 census schedule fragments were ordered destroyed by Congress in the 1930s, it appears that Ascension Parish, Louisiana and Washington County, Georgia are the only two in the U.S. with a full copy of their 1890 census name lists.

Now. All you have to do is to make sure your ancestors came from one of those two counties.