Seeking records of Gourley family migration from South Carolina to Indiana

Dear Ms. Tenbarge,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We suggest that you verify your Gourley family lineage by carefully consulting primary documents such as birth, marriage, and death records.  These documents can ensure that the same names and vital dates are maintained for each generation.  Census records should be used as a rough guide in your case, as the ages and names often can be written incorrectly. 

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the Population Schedules for the 1840 Census, Population Schedules for the 1850 Census, the Population Schedules for the 1860 Census, the Population Schedules for the 1870 Census, the Population Schedules for the 1880 Census, the Population Schedules for the 1890 Census; the Population Schedules for the 1900 Census, and the Population Schedules for the 1910 Census, the Population Schedules for the 1920 Census, the Population Schedules for the 1930 Census, and  the Population Schedules for the 1940 Census in the Records of the Bureau of the Census (Record Group 29) that may contain information about your Gourley family in Indiana.   Some of these schedules have been digitized in part.  The 1940 Census  schedules are digitized and available using the Catalog. See NARA’s 1940 Census Records web page for more information. Also, the 1940 U.S. Federal Census is available online for free through FamilySearch and Ancestry.  For access to the non-digitized schedules, please contact the National Archives at Washington, DC - Textual Reference (RDT1) via email at archives1reference@nara.gov. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

For information about the U.S. Census, see the Census Bureau technical documentation and questionnaires.

You may wish to search Ancestry.com for the U.S. Census. There may be a fee for using Ancestry. Instead, some of the images from Ancestry are available for free on Family Search or at your local library. Many library systems subscribe to these sites, making them free for their patrons.

We also suggest that you review the FamilySearch Research wiki for South Carolina Vital Records and Indiana Vital Records.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!