WHY GENEALOGISTS LOVE CENSUS RECORDS
Fill out your census form – your descendants will appreciate it!
DEADLINE – OCTOBER 5!
You
probably already know that the U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 2, states:
The actual Enumeration shall be made within
three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and
within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law
direct.
Why
a discussion on the census here on my blog?
Because, it’s 2020, and I want to encourage everyone to fill out their
census information completely! Your
descendants will appreciate it! If you
have not already completed the census, the deadline is October 5, so please, do
it now!! Rest assured, the results are
not released to the general public until 72 years after it’s taken; this means
your descendants will be able to find you in the 2020 census when it is
released to the general public in 2092!
Census
taking by a government is nothing new – remember Joseph and Mary’s donkey ride
to Bethlehem compliments of the Roman government? Historically, censuses have been conducted to
assess taxes or military conscription.
But the United States census had a different purpose; it was not for the
Government, it was for the People! The
number of state Representatives is based upon the population of their
district. The
first Federal census was taken in 1790, and has been taken every ten years
since. But, to a genealogist, they
supply a wealth of information, not the least of which is confirming where an
ancestor lived in a census year.
The
1790 census only asked for the name of the Head of the household, Free White
Males 16 and older, Free White Males under 16, Free White Females, All other
free persons, Slaves, and number of Dwellings.
1800-1810 broke down Free White Males
and Free White Females by age categories – under 10, 10-15, 16-25, 26-44, 44
and up – All other free persons except Indians not taxed, and Slaves. 1820 added columns for Foreigners Not
Naturalized, and number of persons engaged in Agriculture, Commerce, or
Manufacture. Columns for Free colored
persons were divided into four age categories.
In 1830 and 1840, the age categories were broken down even further: Males 0-4 years of age; 5-9; 10-14; 15-19,
then by decades – 20s, 30s, up to 100 and upwards. Likewise, Females were separated out by the
same age categories. Other categories in
the 1830 census included Slaves, Free Colored Persons. Another addition was columns for deaf and
dumb under 14, 14-25, 25 & up, blind, and foreigners not naturalized, one
set for White Persons and another for Slaves and Colored Persons. 1840 had different additional columns than
1830: Number of Persons employed in each
family in Mining, Agriculture, Commerce, Manufacturing & Trades, Ocean
Navigation, Canal, Lake, River Navitag’n, and Learned Prof’ns &
Engineers. Also, Revolutionary or
Military Service Pensioners were to give their name and age.
While this may
not seem that helpful for genealogy it does give some important information. Genealogists must sometimes think like
detectives to discern what the evidence does and does not suggest:
1. The name and residency of an individual
2. Who was in the household; it confirms number
of children in a home in that particular year, and may also indicate if a
parent or in-law are residing in the household if there is a person listed of a
significantly older age.
3. Since census takers used to go door to door
and visit every home, by looking at the census it is easy to see who lived
nearby, perhaps parents, siblings, in-laws, or the family of a child’s future
spouse.
Beginning
in 1850, every resident was listed in the census. This is how I discovered that George Larew
was born in Maryland.
The 1900 census had two questions for Mothers: Mother of how many children, and number of these children living. This hopefully helped researchers focus on better pre-natal and newborn care.
Probably
one of the most frustrating things about the 10-year-censuses is when dates
and/or names don’t quite add up. Someone
who was 22 in the 1830 census would then logically be 32 in the 1840 census,
but that’s not always the case. When
that occurs, we must consider the variables.
Who gave the information? It
could have been the housewife, a servant, a child, or even a neighbor if the
census taker couldn’t find anyone at home when he/she called. I have found though, if I continue to look at
the lifetime range of censuses for an individual, the ages usually reveal
themselves when two or more censuses will confirm the age
As
far as names, it may be that the person giving the names gave nicknames, or
spoke with an accent, or that the census taker didn’t hear correctly or know
how to spell the name correctly. When I
look up any records on Ancestry, I do not rely upon the transcription given, I
always view the original document. I
find transcriptions errors are made often, especially in older documents when
handwriting styles were different than today (“ss” might look like “fs” and be
transcribed as such).
In
the 1850 census, I found my gr-gr-grandfather’s household: Thomas Churchwell was 37, and could not read
or write. My gr-grandfather, Francis
Marion, was 6 years old and attending school.
Census
records can help sort out family histories, like in the case of my aunt Viola GRISWOLD
CHURCHWELL. Viola was the daughter of Edwin
and Addie GRISWOLD. Addie had been
married before to Daniel WYMAN and they had five children, Leon, Ray, William,
Earl and Mabel. Addie appears as a
33-year-old widow in the 1910 Census in Washington County, Colorado with four
of her children; her oldest son, Leon had died in 1905. Edwin GRISWOLD, aged 54, appears in the 1910
census as a widower with two sons, Harry and Edmond. He also had an older daughter Jessie who was
most likely married at this time. Addie
and Edwin were married and Viola was born to this union in February of 1919,
but sadly, her mother passed away when Viola was just 9 weeks old. Edwin’s daughter Jessie and her husband Harry
SLUSSER raised Viola. Without family sources and the census, I might know that Edwin and Addie had been married before, but the census gave me so much more on their separate families.
The 1940 census was released in 2012 and I found my Larew grandparents living on 9th Avenue in Jefferson County. I was interested to see that my dad, Kermit’s occupation was listed as Caretaker, fox farm. My aunt Lois and her husband Clyde were listed, his occupation was Excavation Laborer, and their two oldest children James E. age 1, and Marilyn Sue, 1 month were in the same household as my grandparents, James and Helen.
I
also found my Churchwell grandparents along with my uncle Calvin, my mother,
and aunt Jean in the 1940 census, living in Washington County, Colorado. Grandpa was working on the farm, Uncle Calvin
was a laborer with the C.C.C. The Civilian
Conservation Corps was a work program during the Depression to try to keep men
employed. In eastern Colorado, the C.C.C.
worked on soil and water erosion projects, hoping to ease the terrible dust
storms that were so oppressive to farm life.
The building of Red Rocks Amphitheater was a C.C.C. project. See https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/civilian-conservation-corps-colorado
In the North West Hundred of Frederick
County, Maryland,
Frances Larrew, aged 23 (should be 33)
Martha, aged 31
Abraham, 10
Elizabeth, 8
James, 6
George, 3
John, 6 mos.
NEXT: THE
STOCKTON FAMILY TREE
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