For many people, the 1900 US Federal Census will be the first federal census available for their ancestor since 1880, as much of the 1890 census was lost in a fire.

The 1900 US Federal Census provides details for your research that many censuses do not. For the first time, birth month and year were recorded for every member of the household. Married members of the household were asked how long they had been married. This information may help you locate church or civil birth and marriage records for your ancestors.

You can learn the year your ancestor immigrated to the United States, how long they lived there, their naturalization status, and whether they spoke English. Finding this information can lead you to your ancestor’s passenger list or naturalization records.

Other new questions also include whether your ancestor owned or rented their home, and the number of children a woman had given birth to and how many of her children were still living.

Enumerators went door-to-door when filling out the census forms, which allows you to see information about several homes in your ancestor’s neighborhood on one page. It may be useful to browse the other households on the same page or surrounding pages as you may find additional members of your ancestor’s family living in the same area.