New York, Stati Uniti, Censimento dello stato, 1915

This database contains an index and images of the 1915 New York state census.

Historical Background

New York began taking formal state censuses in 1825 both to determine representation in state government and to produce statistics the government might find useful. The state took a census every ten years from 1825 through 1875, another in 1892, and then every ten years again from 1905 to 1925. State censuses like the 1915 census are useful because they fall in between federal census years and provide an interim look at a population. The 1915 New York census also took place during an era of heavy immigration; between the 1910 and 1920 federal censuses, the state would add almost 1.3 million inhabitants.

What You Can Find in the Records

The census form included columns for

• permanent residence
• name
• relationship to head of household
• color
• sex
• age
• nativity (country)
• citizenship (if naturalized, where, when)
• occupation
• inmates of institutions and infants under one year of age (to record residence when admitted)

The final column for inmates and infants served a dual purpose. It was used to list the “residence (Borough, City or Town and County) given by or for the inmates when admitted,” unless the inmate had no other permanent residence. For children under one year of age, enumerators were told to “write the exact number of days of its age on June 1, 1915. For example, if the child was born on January 1, 1915, you would enter the age as ‘151 D’. (If a child is under one year of age and was born at some other place of abode than that in which its permanent residence is on June 1, 1915, enter in column 12 the city or village and state in which it was born; in column 1, street and street number).”