THANKS Martha!!!
Without doubt, this will definitely help my census scanning tremendously!
I've had some
serious doubts/questions re: some census reports/enumerators and this will
surely help
to clarify!
Have a great day!
Grump
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martha Smith" <pixmom(a)earthlink.net>
To: <CARDEN-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 11:13 AM
Subject: [CARDEN-L] FYI - helpful census info.
Listers, FYI - Helpful Census Information
Here's some helpful info about census records that you might not know
about.
It would explain why people have often gotten confused. The
following
information came from a genealogy mailing list:
How many of us have failed to read the instructions for searching the
census? I know I've been guilty of just assuming what I see was the
truth,
and subsequently, may have dismissed some census, especially those in
the
time period previous to 1850, as not being the correct line because it
didn't fit my preconceived notions of the number of people in that family.
Of course, people being people these instructions may not have been
totally
followed by every census taker, but it does help to know about this
surprising instruction. Here are some details about the mechanics of
taking
a census that most of us probably haven't paid much attention
to.
Beginning with the 1790 (first) Federal census and continuing with every
census thereafter, each enabling
law authorized by Congress specified a census DAY for gathering the census
information from every household in America. From 1790 to 1820, the census
DAY was the first Monday in August.
The census DAY was NOT the day the enumerator arrived at a household, it
was
the DAY for which all the statistics of the census were collected.
The
actual instructions given to all the U.S. Marshals right before the 1820
census explains:
"....all the questions refer to the DAY when the enumeration is to
commence;
the first Monday in August next. Your assistants will thereby
understand
that they are to insert in their returns all the persons belonging to the
family on the first Monday in August, EVEN THOSE WHO MAY BE DECEASED at
the
time when they take the account; and, on the other hand, that they
will
NOT
include in it infants born AFTER that day."
Similar instructions have been given for every census since 1790, but with
different census days.
Census DAY for each census, 1790-1920, and the time allowed to take the
cens
us is as follows:
1790 2 August 9 months
1800 4 August 9 months
1810 6 August 10 months
1820 7 August 13 months
1830 1 June 12 months
1840 1 June 18 months
1850 1 June 5 months
1860 1 June 5 months
1870 1 June 5 months
1880 1 June 1 month
1890 1 June 1 month
1900 1 June 1 month
1910 15 April 1 month
1920 1 January 1 month
Genealogists should record TWO dates when copying information from the
census:
1. The Census DAY and
2. The Ehumeration DATE.
No matter how many months it took for an enumerator to reach a house, he
was supposed to gather the
information AS IF TIME HAD STOPPED on the CENSUS day. Every person whose
regular abode was in a particular household on the census DAY was to be
enumerated, even if a person were away at the time of the enumeration.
Understanding the impact of the census DAY versus the enumeration DATE may
explain why certain people appear in a census listing, even though you
have
other evidence to show the person died before the household was
enumerated.
If a person were alive on the census DAY, that person was to be
included.
Even if it took some time for the enumerator to get around to the house to
take the census, the person COULD HAVE BEEN DEAD FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.
Or, you may wonder why that youngest child in a family was not listed in a
census, even though born in that particular census year. If a child were
born after the census DAY, that child was not to be included - even if the
census taker had visited the house and was aware of a playful little
toddler
crawling around in front of him.
For example, on the 1880 Census the information was to be as of 1 June
1880.
Births before 1 June would be counted;
those coming after 1 June would not be counted.
People dying before 1 June would not be enumerated,
but those dying after 1 June would be enumerated.
That means if someone died June 2 but the census was not enumerated until
15 September, the person would still be enumerated as though he were
living.
I thought his was interesting. Martha
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