Early U.S. Federal Census Records, 1790-1840

How Can Early Census Records Help Us Study and Research Our Ancestors?

• They provide key genealogical data:  Name of the head-of-household.
• Details of their lives are given.
• They provide a location of residence: Locate them, locate other records!
• They can help estimate important dates.  If someone from an age category is missing, it could indicate a death or marriage.
• They offer clues  on what other types of records should be searched for.
• They give data for family profiling: Build a family profile by age and sex categories.
• Information for theory building is provided.

Early Census Facts

• 1790-1840 censuses did not count Native Americans living on reservations or as nomad tribes.
• 1790-1820 – There were no preprinted forms.  Enumerators were given sample copies and they were to make all their own copies, ruling lines on the forms himself.
• The census was public through the 1840 census. They were posted publicly to catch omissions and errors.  Currently, the information is private until 72 years after the records are taken.

Select Household Details Given Year by Year, 1790-1840 U.S. Federal Census

To view a complete list of questions asked for 1790-1840 click here. 

1790

• The head-of-household is named.
• Number of white females and broad age categories for white males.
• Number of slaves – could lead to estate, property or tax records, which may give a slave’s names and age.
• Number of “other” free persons is a category.  This means nonwhite racial/ethnic groups.  Heads of households are named in this category.

1800

• More detailed age categories for free white males and females help you build a more detailed profile.
• “Other” free persons and slave categories are the same.
• Some 1800 census records were rearranged in alphabetical order instead of visitation order.

1810

• Same details as 1800 except:
  •  Enumerators were instructed to obtain information about manufacturing, but were not told what questions to ask.  This meant that data varied widely.
  • Manufacturing information is listed with the population data, at the end of the specified population data.
  • Many enumerators did not ask these questions.

1820

• An age category for free white males between 16-18 years old is added.
  • This is to identify young men available for military service.
  • The men in this category are also listed in the “of 16 and under 26” category.  Be sure not to count them twice.
  • This shortened age category helps narrow down ages.
• Age categories are added for slaves and “free colored.”
  • “Colored” most likely denotes African Americans, but may mean those of a darker skin tone – i.e. someone from Spain, Barbados etc.
• Number of foreigners not naturalized.
  • This is a clue to search for naturalization records
  • The family may have recently immigrated.  This is a clue to check passenger lists.
• Number of persons engaged in agriculture, commerce and manufactures.
  • Gives clues to occupation.
•  A non-population schedule was taken for manufacturing.
  • This schedule is separate from the population schedules.  It is available on microfilm from NARA.
  • Some questions asked were: owner’s name, location of business, type of business, number employees, capital invested, annual production, general remarks.
  • Irregularities with this schedule – some persons listed as manufacturers were not listed, some listed as “engaged in agriculture” were listed, some persons not listed as a head of household were listed in the manufacturing schedule.

1830

• Age categories are expanded.  This helps narrow ages.
• The census day change between 1820 and 1830 may give clues to birth dates.
  • The 1830 census was taken less than 10 years after the 1820 census.  The 1820 census day was August 7.  The 1830 census day was June 1.
  • This could narrow a birth date to a 2 month period.
  • A person listed in the “to 10 years old” category in 1820, and listed in the “of 5 and under 10” would have been born between June 2 and August 6.
  •  Remember to consider child deaths and errors when thinking about this possibility.

1840

• Pre-printed forms provided by the government were used for the first time.
• Categories for “deaf and dumb” and “blind” white and slaves or free colored were added.
  • This indicates that there may be records related to guardianship or institutional records.
• White aliens not naturalized is repeated.
  •  Clue to possible naturalization papers.
• Age categories remain the same.
• Clues to occupation:
  • Lists persons employed in: mining; agriculture; commerce; manufacturing and trades; navigation of the oceans; navigation of lakes; canals and rivers; learned professions and engineering.
• Clues to education:
  • Number of scholars at: universities, colleges, academies, grammar schools, primary, common schools; public charge are recorded.  Search for school yearbooks and alumni directories, as well as school records.
  • Number of white males over 21 who could not read or write.
• The names and ages of Revolutionary War Pensioners were listed.  Search for the individual’s pension file.  Pension files are usually rich in genealogical detail.
• “Deaf and dumb” and “blind” categories remain the same.  Search for institutional records in the area.
• Number of insane and idiotic whites at private and public charge categories are added.
  • These can be clues to possible institutional records.

To view a list of New York State Census holdings in the Grosvenor Room click here.

A Genealogy Website Jumble

In Search of Your Past: The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project – http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/Countyatlas/  – Search for property owners listed on Canadian county atlases.

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection – http://www.davidrumsey.com/ – Thousands of online maps.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers – http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ – This site gives full-text access to hundreds of historic newspapers. It also includes a newspaper directory that gives background information on thousands of titles. The directory can be searched by location, date, language, as well as ethnicity and labor press categories.

BYU Family Archives Immigrant Ancestor’s Project.  – http://immigrants.byu.edu/  – This site may help you locate an immigrant’s place of birth.

New York State Military Museum – http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/mil-hist.htm – This site has many useful features including a unit history project, Adjutant General reports, and a Civil War units newspaper file.

For more great sites, see the genealogy links on the Grosvenor Room web page.

Looking for something to do this Saturday, March 19th? Check out the 2011 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair at Karpeles on Porter Ave.

The Buffalo Small Press Book Fair is a regional one day event that brings booksellers, authors, bookmakers, zinesters, small presses, artists, poets, and other cultural workers (and enthusiasts) together in a venue where they can share ideas, showcase their art, and peddle their wares. The 2011 event will take place on Saturday, March 19th at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum from noon to 6pm. Remember this event is FREE and open to the public!

For directions and more information see http://www.buffalosmallpress.org.

Tips for Researching Your Female Ancestors

1. Use cluster genealogy. Cluster genealogy is the idea that ancestors lived in a cluster of relatives, family, friends, neighbors, etc. Look at the records of individuals in the woman’s clusters to find evidence about her.

2. Don’t limit your cluster research to direct line only.

3. Start with vital records. If there are none for your female ancestor, look for her children or husband. You may find her maiden name, place and date of birth, and other information.

4. Look for home sources such as family bible records, letters, diaries, postcards, quilts, certificates of vital records, funeral cards, report cards, scrapbooks, photo albums, recipe books, newspaper clippings, deeds, passports, medical records, etc.

5. Look for published sources: family histories, local and county histories, genealogy periodicals, local newspapers.

6. Consider her roles and how those could lead to information sources:

• Wife – deeds may mention wife’s name; military pensions may have been applied to by the wife or she may be mentioned in her husband’s records; city directories mention widows/widowers; wills may list wife’s or in-laws names.
• Mother or mother-in-law – military record of children may list parents; probate records may list her maiden name; research all possible children; parents often lived with their adult children when they are older, census records may reveal this. This can reveal a woman’s maiden name.
• Sister or sister-in-law – Obituaries may list surviving siblings.
• Citizen – court records: civil, criminal, divorce, census, city directories, passenger lists, voter records, naturalization records.
• Resident – diaries of other women, letters, newspapers.
• Church member – membership rolls, minutes, baptisms, marriages, confirmations, burials.
• Consumer – store ledgers.
• Employee – business records.
• Club member – membership rolls, meeting minutes.
• Student – yearbooks, school publications records.

7. Focus on location. What records were available where she lived?

8. Focus on opportunity. What was available to her where she lived? What community resources could she have been involved with?

9. Focus on circumstances. What events happened in her lifetime and in her community?

10. Pull together clues to make an indirect evidence case.

11. Unusual first or middle names may indicate the mother’s maiden name. Example: Fairfield.

12. Land records – Be conscious of land sales for small amounts of money ($1.00). If you see a transaction to her husband like this, it could be from her family.

13. Orphan and guardianship records – If a woman was left a widow with minor children they would have likely been granted a guardian, who may have been a male relative.

14. Keep in mind that her name may have changed over time. She may have gone by a nickname or her middle name.

15. If you run into a brick wall:

• Map out her family cluster and consider what records could be available about her. 
• Reframe questions. Instead of “what was her maiden name?” ask “who could have been her parents?”
• Identify possibilities (i.e. parents, siblings) and then eliminate all but the most likely.

16. Check out these books in the Humanities Department:

• The Hidden Half of the Family: A Sourcebook for Women’s Genealogy – Christina Kassabian Schaefer – HSS*CS14.S33 1999
• Discovering Your Female Ancestors: Special Strategies for Uncovering Hard-to-Find Information about Your Female Lineage – Sharon DeBartolo Carmack – HSS*CS14.C385 1998

17. Read case studies – Identify case studies by using HeritageQuest Online (HQ). HQ is a database which includes a periodicals index called PERSI. It indexes how-to articles as well as other topics. HQ is available at every B&ECPL location and from home if you have a library card.

18. Identify likely repositories of women’s resources in the areas where she lived. Check out public, university, and state libraries, as well as historical societies.

Local Women’s History

March is National Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the unique lives and achievements of women.  Several prominent and notable women have called Western New York home.  Below are just some of the Buffalo women who were well-known for their accomplishments.  More information on each of these women can be found in the Grosvenor Room.

Zorah Berry (1889-1969). Local concert promoter who brought hundreds of musical performers to Buffalo during her 40 year career.

Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856-1913).First female architect to practice in the U.S., she designed the Hotel Lafayette on Washington Street.

Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985). Buffalo author who wrote more than 40 works of fiction. Her books sold an estimated 30 million copies.

Katharine Cornell (1893-1974). Broadway actress nicknamed the “First Lady of the Theater.” She was best known for her role as poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in “The Barretts of Wimpole Street.”

Marian DeForest (1864-1935). One of the first female newspaper reporters in Buffalo, she later became an accomplished playwright, founded the Zonta Club, promoted orchestra concerts, and served on the Boards of the SPCA and the Buffalo Public Library.

Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935). Bestselling author of detective fiction who helped popularize the genre with well-constructed plots based on realistic criminal law.

Maria Love (1840-1931). Local philanthropist and social services pioneer; In 1881, she established the Fitch Crèche at 159 Swan Street, nationally recognized as the first day care center in the United States, providing care for the children of the working poor.

Mary Burnett Talbert (1866-1923). One of the most accomplished women of her time, Talbert was a civil rights activist and founded the Niagara Movement, a predecessor of the NAACP.

The Local History Collection in the Grosvenor Room contains resources for information on Buffalo women and local women’s organizations.  See the Local Women’s History subject guide for a list of resources and publications.

Upcoming Event: Author Talk

William Donovan, 1929. Source: Library of Congress.

Former Time  magazine correspondent and Newsweek reporter Douglas Waller will talk about his new book, Wild Bill Donovan, at the Central Library’s Ring of Knowledge on Monday, March 7 from 12-1pm. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

 

Donovan is one of Buffalo’s most colorful characters, noted for notorious raids on Buffalo speakeasies and clubs during Prohibition, and later as the founder of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), forerunner of today’s CIA. A Medal of Honor winner for his WWI military service, he later was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials of war criminals after WWII.

 

To read more about William Donovan, and Waller’s book click here.

 

Check out these resources available about Donovan in the Grosvenor Room:

 

Local History File

Our Local History File is an index to select local newspaper articles, periodicals, and books.  It includes about 30 cards of citations related to Donovan.

 

Books

Donovan, America’s master spy – Dunlop, Richard. Buffalo E748.D665 D86 1982

Donovan of OSS – Ford, Corey. Buffalo D810.S8 D55

The fighting Irishman; the story of “Wild Bill” Donovan – Wilhelm, Maria. Buffalo CT275.D65 W5

 

Scrapbook

William J. Donovan; newspaper clippings. [1921-1959] – Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (N.Y.) CT275.D75 B9

Should the New South Huckleberry Finn be allowed to supplant the Old South Huckleberry Finn?

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The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is home to the original manuscript Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one of the most lauded, yet most banned and censored, American novels. It has been treated thus from the time it first rolled off the press in late 1884 (London edition). The issue most often cited seems to be the use of the word “nigger” in the characters’ vernacular. Although the narrative voice does not use this term, the characters frequently do in their dialog. Often this over shadows the fact that the overriding theme is optimistic and moral because Huck’s conscience wins against the rules that society taught him when he protects his friend Jim. However, it seems that too many have just not been able to see past the “n” word.

So a retired English professor recently decided to replace “nigger” with “slave” and publish the “New South” edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because he was always uncomfortable reading aloud the “N” word when he taught the text and he saw this as a way to make the book more acceptable for younger readers. Yet Twain never intended the book for younger readers and he made it clear in a letter to a Brooklyn Library librarian:

“I wrote Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for adults exclusively, and it always distresses me when I find that boys and girls have been allowed access to them…Most honestly do I wish I could say a softening word or two in defense of Huck’s character since you wish it, but really in my opinion, it is no better than those of Solomon, David, and the rest of the sacred brotherhood.”

Given his own words about Huck Finn, how can one justify changing the intentional language of the text? By the way, if you have any doubt that his words were carefully chosen, come to the Mark Twain Room at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library (http://www.buffalolib.org/content/grosvenor/mark-twain-room) and see for yourself. The leaves of manuscript on display and show many times where he has crossed out and replaced words and phrases one, two and three times! There is no reason to dispute the author’s linguistic intention or to alter it.