The Folsom surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,598 people carried this name — #4,667 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,800 people counted. That is up 1% from 7,505 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Folsom surname
Variant of Foulsham.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Folsom» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In the first U.S. census, 1790
73 families named Folsom, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 426 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.
Families, by state
U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 240 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Folsom in American newspapers,
1900–1924.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 232,657 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Folsom in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1960s.
508 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Folsom. The most, 171, date from the 1880s. Victoria has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Folsom.
Who carried it
People named Folsom,
with a public archive behind them.
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Charles Folsom 1794–1872 · librarian -
George Folsom 1802–1869 · lawyer -
Joseph Libbey Folsom 1817–1855 · military officer -
Jonathan Philbrick Folsom 1820–1893 · politician -
Nathaniel Folsom 1726–1790 · judge
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Asa Folsom 1782–1821
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Folsom,
in the records of 2 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States641 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 301
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 135
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 117
- New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 37
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 22
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 14
- Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 7
- Sacramento County historic burials 6
- U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Robert Elmer FolsomBorn 1949; from San Bruno, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Frank A. FolsomBorn 1910 in Maine. Enlisted 1942 at Portland; welder from Kennebec County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1982, buried at Maine Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Helen Margaret FolsomArrived at New York in 1878 aboard the Russia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 34; sister of mercy.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 641 records for Folsom in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Australia4 records
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Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Mark FolsomArrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the City of Norfolk, aged 23.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Thos FolsomSailed from Victoria in 1855 aboard the New World, bound for San Francisco, aged 40.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 4 records for Folsom in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Folsom.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Folsom is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.