| |
The
1820 census was begun on 7 August 1820. The
count was due within six months but was extended by
law to allow completion within thirteen months.
Questions Asked in the 1820 Census
Name of family head; number of free white males and
females in age categories 0 to 10, 10 to 16, 16 to 18,
16 to 26, 26 to 45, 45 and older; number of other free
persons except Indians not taxed; number of slaves;
and town or district and county of residence. Additionally,
the 1820 census for the first time asked the number
of free white males 16 to 18; number of persons not
naturalized; number engaged in agriculture, commercial,
or manufacture; number of “colored” persons
(sometimes in age categories); and number of other persons
except Indians.
Research Tips for the 1820 Census
The 1820 census records are useful in identifying the
locality to be searched for other types of records for
a named individual. The 1820 census will, in most cases,
help distinguish the target family from others of the
same name; help to determine family size; locate possible
relatives with the same name; identify immediate neighbors
who may be related; identify slaveholders; and spot
spelling variations of surnames. Free men “of
color” are listed as heads of household by name.
Slaves appear in age groupings by name of owner. By
combining those age groupings with probate inventories
and tax list date, it is sometimes possible to determine
names of other family members and the birth order of
those individuals.
The added questions in the 1820 census break down ages
so that it is possible to gauge the age of young men
more accurately. However, the redundancy of asking the
number of free white males “Between 16 and 18,”
and “Of 16 and under 26,” “Of 26 and
under 45,” “Of 45 and upwards,” is
frequently cause for confusion in attempts to calculate
the total number of persons in a given household. The
column regarding naturalization status may be some indication
of length of residency in the United States and the
possibility of finding naturalization papers in a local
court.
The questions asked regarding number and nature of
those involved in agriculture, commercial, or manufacturing
enterprises allow researchers to make some distinctions
about the occupation of the head and any others in the
household who were employed. Some, though admittedly
not much, identifying information is available where
schedules go beyond stating the number of “colored”
persons and provide an age breakdown as well. The 1820
manufacturing schedules are on twenty-nine separate
rolls of microfilm.
For a state-by-state listing of census schedules, see
The 1790–1890 Federal Population Censuses: Catalog
of National Archives Microfilm (Washington, D.C.: National
Archives Trust Fund Board, 1993). For boundary changes
and identification of missing census schedules, see
William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, Map Guide
to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790–1920.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information above is an excerpt from The Source:
A Guidebook of American Genealogy, edited by Loretto
D. Szucs and Sandra H. Luebking, Chapter 5, “Research
in Census Records,” by Loretto D. Szucs (page
112).
Note: Ancestry.com has made a database of AIS Census
Indexes available to site subscribers at: http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/census/ais/main.htm
|
