A. A fire destroyed most of the 1890 US census, but fragments for several states made it through. The 1890 special schedules of Union Civil War veterans and their widows survived for half of Kentucky and for states alphabetically after that. The National Archives and Records Administration has a list of 1890 census microfilms at <archives.gov/publications/microfilm-catalogs/census/1790-1890/part-08.html>.

State archives manage some reconstruction projects, such as Idaho's, online at <www.idahohistory.net/1890_census.html>, and genealogical societies oversee others. You can find projects on Cyndi's List <cyndislist.com/census.htm> and by searching Google <www.google.com> for a county or state name and 1890 census. Subscription site Ancestry.com <Ancestry.com > has several 1890 census substitutes, too. Also scour genealogical society Web sites, online bookstores and library catalogs for substitutes published by researchers.