Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census, 1890

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census, 1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Großherzogtum), Volkszählungsamt. Volkszählung am 1. Dezember 1890. Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin. 5.12-3/20 Statistisches Landesamt (1851-1945).

Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy formed in 1701 through a division of the Duchy of Mecklenburg. In 1815, it became a grand duchy. The area of the former Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg is now part of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This database contains all of the surviving fragments of the 1890 Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census, including an electronic name index, as well as images of the original census records.

About the 1890 Census:

In 1890, Mecklenburg-Schwerin was divided up into different district jurisdictions. These four district types were 1) Ritteramt (R.A.), 2) Domanialamt (D.A.), 3) Klosteramt (K.A.), and 4) Stadt. Each individual district, except for the Stadt districts, encompassed numerous towns. Each Stadt district included the city by the same name and, generally, suburbs.

The 1890 census consists of five form types:

• Form A – Namensliste (Name List): Lists the members of a given household
  
• Form B – Zählkarte (Census Card): Card providing more detailed personal information about an individual
  
• Form C – Zählkarte, Abwesende (Census Card, Absentee): Card similar to Form B for members of the household not present at the time of enumeration
  
• Form D - Bevölkerungs-Tabelle (Population Schedule): Lists the heads of house for each household in a given enumeration district
  
• Form E - Control-Liste (Control List): Same as Form D
  

Since individuals may be listed on more than one form type, it is possible that you will get multiple search result hits for the same person. Please also note that discrepancies in information between forms for the same individual may exist. For example, a name may be abbreviated on one form, but not on another. Likewise, discrepancies in Ancestry’s indexing of a name between forms may also exist. For example, a name may be clearly decipherable on one form, but more illegible on another, resulting in two different indexed spellings of the same name.

What Information Can I Find?

Information available for an individual will vary according to the form type that they are found on. For all form types the following is listed:

• Town of enumeration
  
• Name of individual
  

For some forms, the following information may also be listed:

• Relationship to head of household
  
• Gender
  
• Birth date
  
• Birthplace
  
• Occupation
  

Additional information about an individual may be available on the actual census record and can be obtained by viewing the census image.

What’s Missing from the Collection?

Unfortunately, much of the 1890 census has not survived over the years. For the most part, only one, if any, of the above form types is available for research for a given locality. Even though Forms D and E are essentially the same, both are included here in this database in case a record for an individual has survived in one form set but not the other.

The following is a list of what records have survived according to district type.

• Domanialamts – Forms D and/or E have survived for most localities in Domanialamts. Almost no Form A, B, or C’s have survived, except in three towns: Stuck (Domanialamt Grabow), Bössow (Domanialamt Grevesmühlen), and Alt Zachun (Domanialamt Hagenow). However, the records for these towns are also incomplete.
  
• Ritteramts - Only records for the town of Gnoien (Ritteramt Gnoien) have survived and for the most part only the Form A's. No records from any of the other Ritteramts or towns in Ritteramt Gnoien have survived.
  
• Klosteramts - None of the records from the towns in Klosteramts are known to have survived.
  
• Städte - Records for many, but not all, of the cities have survived, including (to varying degrees) Form A's, B's, C's, and E's.