History

Index of Questions

1920

The 1920 census questionnaire was similar, but slightly shorter, than its counterpart from 1910. "Place of abode" replaced "dwelling house" as the general term for a person's residence. There was no separate schedule for American Indians. Enumerators collected the following information from residents, organized by column:

1. Street of person's place of abode
   
   Enumerators were to write the name of the street vertically in the column, so that they only had to write it once for all of the enumerated persons living on that street
2. House number or farm
3. Number of dwelling house in order of visitation by enumerator
4. Number of family in order of visitation by enumerator
5. Name
6. Relationship to head of family
7. Is the person's home owned or rented?
8. If owned, is it owned freely or mortgaged?
9. Sex
10. Color or race
    
    Enumerators were to enter "W" for White, "B" for Black, "Mu" for mulatto, "Ch" for Chinese, "Jp" for Japanese, "In" for American Indian, or "Ot" for other races.
11. Age at last birthday
12. Single, married, widowed, or divorced?
    
    Enumerators were to enter "S" for single, "Wd" for widowed, "D" for divorced, "M1" for married persons in their first marriage, and "M2" for those married persons in their second or subsequent marriage.
13. Year of immigration to the United States
14. Is the person naturalized or alien?
15. If naturalized, what was the year of naturalization?
16. Did the person attend school at any time since September 1, 1919?
17. Can the person read?
18. Can the person write?
19. Person's place of birth
20. Person's mother tongue
21. Person's father's place of birth
22. Person's father's mother tongue
23. Person's mother's place of birth
24. Person's mother's mother tongue
25. Can the person speak English?
26. Person's trade or profession
27. Industry, business, or establishment in which the person works
28. Is the person an employer, a salary or wage worker, or working on his own account?
29. If the person is a farmer, what is the farm's identification number on the corresponding farm schedule?