Where are 1900 U.S. census records for independent cities in Virginia such as Radford?

Anne986

"The Commonwealth of Virginia is divided into 95 counties, along with 38 independent cities that are considered county-equivalents for census purposes, totaling 133 second-level subdivisions." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_and_counties_in_Virginia

Radford was designated an independent city in 1892. Previously, it was part of Montgomery County.

In the 1910 census, , one can browse to the records for independent cities in Virginia such as "Radford (Independent City)."

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/image/index?owc=QZZH-FY8%3A133639801%3Fcc%3D1727033&cc=1727033

In the 1900 census, the independent cities in Virginia are not listed in the Browse index: https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/image/index?owc=9BQF-W38%3A1030552301%3Fcc%3D1325221&cc=1325221.

The records are not appearing in a search, at least not for Robert Blasey, 1900 United States Federal Census, Radford, Va, which is available at Ancestry.com at https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/records/72767835.

A search for census records for Radford (Independent City) has no results for 1900 (or 1920):

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/record/results?count=100&f.recordType=3&q.anyPlace=Radford%2C%20Virginia%2C%20United%20States&q.anyPlace.exact=on

A search for census records for Radford, Montgomery Co. (the older geographical location) also does not return results for 1900 (but does for 1920):

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/record/results?count=100&f.recordType=3&q.anyPlace=Radford%2C%20Montgomery%2C%20Virginia%2C%20United%20States&q.anyPlace.exact=on

I would like to add the FamilySearch record to the person in the FamilySearch Tree. Are these 1900 census records in the FamilySearch collection?

If they are not available, how would I request that they be added?

Thanks, Anne

Áine Ní Donnghaile

Since the 1900 US census is one of the free collections on Ancestry, I checked there to see what they have for Radford. They have two EDs for "Radford City" - ED Ward 01 and ED Ward 02. Drilling deeper shows that listed as ED 90.

https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/

Then I checked on FS. In Montgomery County in 1900, there is ED 90 Auburn Radford Ward 2, which would appear to be the same location. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6DSH-F2V

Hope this helps.

SerraNola

@Anne986 I want to thank you for calling this to our attention. Independent cities should not be found in waypoints under counties as they are now in FamilySearch. Many are not searchable with just the city and state. Your ancestor is one example. This will be reported but fixing the search retrieval may take some time.

Áine Ní Donnghaile

Thanks, @SerraNola When I started looking, I expected to find our old friend, the place auto standardizer, at work.

SerraNola

I'm not sure where to place the blame. In the new image viewer, the header is accurate as "Radford City….." The original indexing has Radford as part of the event place. In search results, there is no Radford. Similar problems with all the independent cities in Virginia (sigh..)

Anne986

Áine, Thank you very much for researching this and making the connection between the Ancestry and FamilySearch databases. This is a really useful technique which I will try to remember for future mysteries.

Anne

Áine Ní Donnghaile

You're welcome, @Anne986. In some cases on Ancestry, you'll even see the FamilySearch microfilm number in the source notes.

Anne986

SerraNola,

Thank you very much for working to improve the organization and indexing of census records for independent cities in Virginia.

Of the 41 independent U.S. cities, 38 are in Virginia, whose state constitution makes them a special case. There are 5 other former independent cities in Virginia: Bedford, Clifton Forge, Manchester, South Boston, and South Norfolk. The three independent cities outside Virginia are Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Carson City, Nevada. Baltimore is the most populous independent city in the United States. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_city_(United_States)

Anne