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image of the Electric Tabulating System<br />(The Tabulator)
Electric Tabulating System
(The Tabulator)
 
Overview        Card Codes        Occupation Codes        Birthplace Codes        Why Take a Census?

1890 Census: Birthplace

The individual Census Takers who would visit your home or farm were given a list of codes for each possible place you may have been born.

Keep in mind that the United States of 1890 was very much a country of immigrants. Many of those immigrants were coming (or had recently come) from Europe. The trip would take around 7 days1 , even by the fastest steamships in 1890, so the census list actually has two separate codes for those people born at sea.





Hollerith Card: List of 1890 Census Occupation codes.



1 Ocean Passenger Travel - The Speed of the 1890 Steamships, http://www.gjenvick.com/SteamshipArticles/TransatlanticShipsAndVoyages/OceanPassengerTravel/1891/04-SpeedOf1890Steamships.html