1890 Civil War census Cattaraugus county New York

This is NOT an index. These are ACTUAL CENSUS IMAGES OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY on CD from the 1890 United States special census of Civil War Union soldiers. The pages here contain a virtual gold mine of information to anyone researching their family history in this time period.

CIVIL WAR BUFFS:  This is a fascinating look at the lasting effects of the Civil War on the thousands and thousands of men who lived with injuries suffered during the war.  Every Union veteran alive in 1890 was given the opportunity to explain what injuries (if any) they incurred during their service and any lasting effects.  You'll see soldiers with "right leg shot off" or "deaf in one ear" or "sunstroke" or any number of ailments.  We tend to forget that the war didn't just "end" in 1865, but lived on in the lives of these men.  This is a graphic reminder of that. 

This particular census is hard to find and its existence is not widely known of.  It contains information about almost every surviving soldier of the Union army and/or his widow.  Genealogical information from 1890 is highly sought after among researchers because the entire 1890 census of the general population was destroyed in a fire.  This left a gap of 20 years between the available censuses, frustrating researchers. The Union Veterans’ census is one of the only remaining sources available to find your ancestors in 1890. 

The history behind this census:  An act of Congress on March 1, 1889 provided that the 1890 census also include "a list of the names, organizations, and length of service of those who had served in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States in the war of the rebellion, and who are survivors at the time of said inquiry, and the widows of soldiers, sailors, or marines . . . " 

The upper half of each page contains:

• the name of the veteran (or if he did not survive, the names of both the widow and her deceased husband)

• the veteran’s rank

• company, regiment or vessel

• date of enlistment

• date of discharge

• length of service in years, months and days.

The lower half of each page contains:

• the post office address of each person listed

• disability incurred by the veteran (if any)

• under the heading "general remarks," other information necessary for a complete statement of the veteran’s term of service.

Persons who enlisted and served under assumed names, and afterwards assumed their lawful names, are listed under their real names followed by their aliases.

In a few cases names of Confederate veterans were recorded inadvertently. There are actually some cases in which the man’s name is crossed out and labeled "Confederate."

I actually looked at this census and found out, to my surprise, that my great great great grandfather was included in the list! I was unaware that he served in the Civil War until I discovered this census. Using this information, I was able to then obtain his Civil War papers on file with the National Archives.

Even if you know that your ancestor served in the Civil War, you can still learn new information about him from this census. For example, do you know if your ancestor was injured during the war? This will give you that information and allow you to get a glimpse of what life was like in America in the years following the war. Who knows who or what you will find out about your ancestors in this census!  You might be as surprised as I was!