Tips for Finding 1880 Census Images at Ancestry

Using the Online LDS Family History Library 1880 Census Index

UPDATE! Ancestry now has the LDS 1880 census index on their website with links to images of the actual census pages. For more information see...

1880 Census Index & Images
(requires payment unless you are already subscribed to Ancestry's US genealogy records collection)

You can also use the index provided by the LDS Family History Library to locate a person or family and then find the online census image at Ancestry. You must be a subscriber to Ancestry's Census Images to be able to access the images online.

Start by locating your ancestor in the LDS Family History Library's online 1880 census index. Then use these tips to help find the image you need...

On the LDS website under the individual or household listing you will see something like this...

Source Information:
Census Place   Centerview, Johnson, Missouri
Family History Library Film   1254696
NA Film Number   T9-0696
Page Number   322A

The key information you need to find your census image is the census place and the page number. The census place is listed in this format: township, county, state. In the example above, Centerview is the township, Johnson is the county and Missouri is the state.

First go to Ancestry's 1880 Census Page Click on the state you are looking for, then the County, then click on the township you need or "All Townships." You should be able to find the township or district you need from the list on the resulting "all townships" page. Scroll through the listings until you find yours. After clicking on the appropriate township you will see image number 1 for that township. Look in the upper right hand corner of that image and note the page number. In our example for Centerview, Johnson, Missouri it says 308A on image number 1. But we need 322A. At Ancestry every two images equal one census page number. So to find page 322 you need to subtract the page of image number 1 (308) from the page you need (322) and then double the resulting number:

322-308=14 then double 14, which gives you 28

Underneath the first image at Ancestry you should see something like...

Go to image [1] of 33

In the box replace the "1" with "29" (28+1) and hit return (or click on "go to image"). The image you end up with should be page 322A. If you have trouble try looking a page or two ahead or back.

So... take the page number you need (in this case 322). Subract the page number of the first image on Ancestry's page (in this case 308). Double the result, add 1 and go to that image (in this case image number 29).

Search Tips
If you don't see your township listed click on "other townships." If you still can't find it then look through all of the townships in the county -- look at each page number for image 1 until you find one close to the page you need. Example: Bellaire township in Crawford County, Illinois is listed at Ancestry under Licking township.

Pages that End in A, B, C & D
You will generally find the pages in the 1880 census listed like this: 322A, followed by 322B, then the next page will be 323C (NOT 322C), followed by 323D, and then 324A and so on. Each page number (like 322) has two pages (either A or B; or C or D). I've noticed that the even numbered pages end have an A or B, while the odd numbered pages have a C or D.

I can't guarantee this will work perfectly every time, but if you play around with it, you should be able to find your image. Good luck with your searches.