Census records are very important research tools for genealogists and cultural historians. In the United States, beginning in 1790, the census was taken every ten years. The 1890 census, however, was lost in a fire in 1921 and only fragments survived, but none for Maryland. This two-volume compilation is a reconstruction of that census for Harford County, which identifies approximately 90% of the 28,980 people in Harford County at that time.
Since the original 1890 census for Harford County was lost, every scrap of information about it is like mining for gold. Information was gleaned from a variety of sources, including newspapers, death records, church records, Bible records, cemetery records, tombstone inscriptions, funeral home records, court records, probate records, naturalizations, school records, marriage records, military records (including the 1890 Special Census of Civil War Veterans compiled by L. Tilden Moore), business records, local histories, family histories, and Find a Grave online. A considerable amount of time was also spent researching and correcting errors discovered in many primary and secondary sources.
This compilation is more than a reconstructed census of names, dates, and places. It is also a directory that includes businesses, churches, and civic, social, and political organizations, i.e., a snapshot of the life activities and experiences of many of the citizens in 1890, including vocations, avocations, and more. Unlike the census, it includes full names, maiden names, married names, and nicknames in many cases. In addition to places of origin and family relationships, it also includes places of residence, dates of birth and death, and places of burial for most of them, and baptisms and divorces for some of them.
