I found the following link interesting and may be of help in someones
research. I cut and pasted the web page in following the link. CLUES IN
CENSUS RECORDS, 1790-1840
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http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/oldclues.html>
Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840
Experienced genealogical researchers use clues found in one record to find
other records about the same individual. Although the first six federal
decennial censuses taken from 1790 through 1840 contain less data than those
taken later, they still contain useful clues that should not be overlooked.
Date of Birth
The 1790-1840 censuses generally named only the head of household but
reported the age of each household member in age categories. For example,
the 1810 census reported the number of free white males and females in these
age categories:
"Under ten years of age"
"Of ten years, and under sixteen"
"Of sixteen, and under twenty-six"
"Of twenty-six, and under forty-five"
"Of forty-five and upwards"
While the age range provided by age categories does not indicate an exact
date of birth, it at least gives a "ballpark" figure useful (1) for tracking
the head of household from one census to the next, especially if other
people have the same name, and (2) for tentatively estimating the
composition of the family, which the researcher must confirm from other
records.
For example, in 1810, the household of Alexander Tackles of Warsaw, Genesee
Co., NY, consisted of two males age 16-26 (sons Alexander Jr. and John B.),
one male over age 45 (Alexander), one female under age 10 (daughter
Sophronia), one female age 16-26 (daughter Polly), and one female over age
45 (wife Philena Howard). The census provided the age ranges of family
members; names and exact dates of birth of Alexander's family members were
obtained from other records.
The 1840 census reported the name and exact age of Revolutionary War
pensioners; examples are given in the next section.
Military Service
The 1840 census asked for the names and ages of "Pensioners for
Revolutionary or Military Services, Included in the Foregoing [Household]."
Pensioners included both veterans and widows. For example, veteran Alexander
Tackels, aged 85, was enumerated in the household of Jonathan Arnold in
Middlebury, Genesee (now Wyoming) Co., NY, and the widow Chloe McCullar,
aged 81 1/2, was enumerated in the household of W.W. Blake in St. Albans
Township, Licking Co., OH.
This clue should lead the researcher to Revolutionary War military service
and pension records. The pension files, which are especially useful, have
been reproduced in NARA microfilm publication M804, Revolutionary War
Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (2,670 rolls). Military
service records are also available on microfilm; for more information see
listings for Record Group 93, War Department Collection of Revolutionary War
Records, in Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog
(Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1996), which
is available online or for purchase.
Since elderly persons usually resided with kinfolk, the pensioners' presence
in these households should be a clue that the pensioner may be related to
someone in the household. For example, William W. Blake's wife's maiden name
was Nancy McCullar; she was one of Chloe McCullar's children.
Immigration and Naturalization
The 1820 census reported the number of "Foreigners not naturalized" in each
household; the 1830 census reported the number of "ALIENS--Foreigners not
naturalized" in each household. For example, the 1820 census for Geauga
County, Ohio, reported that these households included aliens:
Name Number of Aliens Township
Thomas Ainslee 2 Parkman
Francis Bark 1 Painesville
Francis Billette 3 Painesville
John Graham 2d 1 Perry
Abel Levins 1 Parkman
Although these censuses do not specify which person or persons in the
household were aliens, this clue should alert the researcher (1) to search
for known household members in immigration records, (2) to be alert to clues
in other records that point to the suspected immigrant's possible foreign
origins, and (3) to search for possible later naturalization records for the
suspected immigrant. Unfortunately, however, there are relatively few ship
passenger lists (immigration records) before January 1, 1820, when the
Federal Government began requiring such lists to be presented to collectors
of customs.
Occupation and Economic Data
1810 Census
In 1810, the U.S. marshals and their assistants who took the census were
instructed to obtain information about manufacturing. However, since they
were not told what questions to ask, the information collected varied
widely. For example, Eli Waste of Wilmington, Windham Co., VT, owned one
loom that produced the following yards of cloth: 60 woolen, 50 linen, 10
cotton, and 50 mixed fabrics, while James Weston [sic, Westurn] of Orwell,
Rutland (now Addison) Co., VT, owned seven sheep, one spinning wheel, and
one little spinning wheel that produced 25 yards of woolen cloth and 15
yards of linen cloth.
Clues about livestock may lead to personal property tax records, kept by the
county treasurer, county auditor, or equivalent official.
1820 Census
The 1820 census reported the number of persons in each household who engaged
in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing.
If household members engaged in agriculture (i.e., were farmers), the
researcher should check for deeds and mortgages in the county recorder's
office or equivalent agency, and for real and personal property tax records
kept by the county auditor, county treasurer, or equivalent official. Not
all farmers owned land or livestock, of course, but it is always worthwhile
to check all extant records for the place where a person is known to have
lived.
If household members engaged in manufacturing, the researcher should examine
NARA microfilm publication M279, Records of the 1820 Census of Manufactures
(27 rolls). According to the instructions given the U.S. marshals and their
assistants, persons engaged in manufacturing included both (1) both
employees in "manufacturing establishments" and (2) "artificers,
handicrafts
men, and mechanics whose labor is preeminently of the hand, and not upon the
field." The manufacturing census schedules in M279 include information
about:
The type of business;
Kinds and quantities of raw materials used;
Number of persons employed;
Number and type of machinery;
Expenditures for capital (equipment) and wages;
Type and quality of goods produced annually; and
General remarks.
Three cautions are in order, however:
First, a person listed as a manufacturer in the population census may not be
included in the 1820 manufacturing schedules in M279. For example, M279
contains information about 13 manufacturing establishments in Batavia (now
Middlefield), Burton, Chardon, and Parkman Twps., Geauga Co., OH, but the
population census lists 60 households in the same townships in which one or
more persons were engaged in manufacturing!
Second, a household may include only persons "engaged in agriculture"
according to the population census, yet have a manufacturing schedule in
M279. For example, M279 includes a manufacturing schedule for a pot and
pearl ashery owned by "Ives & Doty" of Parkman Twp., Geauga Co., OH, yet
the
population census reported Jesse Ives and Asa Doty's households only
included persons "engaged in agriculture."
Third, persons who are not listed as head of household in the population
census may have a manufacturing schedule in M279. For example, Daniel Earle,
Oliver Gavitt, and R.W. Scott are all listedin M279 as manufacturers in
Parkman Township, Geauga Co., OH, but are not named as heads of household in
the population census anywhere in the county.
1840 Census
The 1840 census reported the number of persons in each household who engaged
in mining; agriculture; commerce; manufactures and trades; navigation of the
ocean; navigation of canals, lakes, and rivers; and learned professions and
engineers. Again, researchers should check land and tax records kept by
county officials, especially when the household was engaged in agricultural
pursuits.
Conclusion
Experienced genealogical researchers use clues found in one record to locate
other records about the same individual. However, it is always best to
thoroughly exhaust all extant records for the place where the person is
known to have lived, as shown by the above analysis of the surprises found
in the 1820 manufacturing schedules for Geauga Co., OH.
This essay is adapted from Claire Prechtel-Kluskens, "Clues in Census
Records, 1790-1840," The Record, Vol. 4, No. 5 (May 1998).