State Censuses

Ann Lainhart reports on an alternative to federal censuses.

Harry W. Smalley, son of Leonard Daggitt and Ellen Maria (Tufts) Smalley, was born “In Gulf of Siam in a Peruvian Ship under a Spanish Captain, three hours after the loss of the vessel in which the Mother sailed from the U.S.” How do I know this? From Federal censuses? No, the 1880 census for Westborough, Massachusetts, and the 1900 census for Framingham, Massachusetts, say he was born “at sea.” From his marriage record? No, when he married in 1883 in Westborough his birthplace is listed as “At Sea (Gulf of Siam)” From a published genealogy? No, Tufts Kinsman (Herbert Freeman Adams, 1975) says he was born “in the Bay of Siam”. This incredible full description of where he was born was supplied by the enumerator of the 1865 Massachusetts state census for South Reading (now Wakefield).

Not content with the information supplied by the decennial federal census, most states in the US conducted some censuses of their own.

This example shows that the possibility of extra information being supplied in a state census is a very good reason to search out state censuses. In 1986, I began transcribing, indexing and publishing the Massachusetts state censuses of 1855 and 1865. Then in 1988 I was asked to speak at a conference on state censuses in general and found that what was in print on state censuses was often misleading or wrong. This led me to contact archives, state libraries, historical societies and fellow researchers in other states to help me compile State Census Records (Baltimore, 1992). Not all states took their own censuses and the number and frequency of the enumerations in those states that did take censuses vary greatly state to state (see chart or State Census Records for more details).

Information given in censuses is often suspect: just who gave the information? So the more times you can find your ancestors in any census records, the better picture you can draw of their lives as seen in the following example.

Several years ago a client asked me to find the death record of her ancestor Peter Lynch. She had found Peter and his wife Ann in the 1865 Rhode Island state census, where he was listed as age 45 and Ann as age 39. The client had found three death records of Peter Lynches in Rhode Island, but for none of them did the age at death work back to a birth year of 1820, so she dismissed them. I decided to search for this family in other censuses. In the 1850 federal census they were living in Blackstone, Massachusetts; they had just married and Peter was age 30 and Ann was age 30. They were still in Blackstone for the 1855 Massachusetts state census when Peter was 30 and Ann was 27, and for the 1860 federal census when Peter was still 30 and Ann was now 34. So in 10 years Peter had not aged at all and Ann had gone from being the same age as him to being three years younger and then to being four years older than him. As I said above, in 1865 Peter jumps to age 45 and Ann to age 39. By the 1880 federal census, Peter and Ann were living in Smithfield, Rhode Island; he was age 50 and she was age 55. Peter and Ann were the only Lynch family living in Smithfield and one of the death records the client had already found was for a Peter Lynch who died in Smithfield in 1881 age 52. So all along she had what she asked me to find!

Many of the state censuses ask different questions than the federal censuses and this can provide additional information about your families. It is not until the 1880 federal census when it asks for “relationship” to head of household that one can be sure how all members of a household relate to each other. New York begins to ask for “relation to family head” in 1855. Censuses in Michigan in 1854, Massachusetts in 1865, and Rhode Island in 1875 ask for marital status (whether single, married, or widowed). This can help prevent a wrong assumption with cases such as those of Joseph P. Stickney (age 55) followed by Maria Stickney (age 30) and Charles E. Chaplin (age 50) followed by Charlotte Chaplin (age 30) found in 1865 Georgetown, Massachusetts. In the first case Joseph is listed as widowed and Maria as single; in the second case Charles and Charlotte are listed as married.

Iowa has taken more state censuses than many of the other states and has asked some very helpful questions. In 1856 they ask how many years a person has been living in Iowa. In 1885 the county of birth for those born in Iowa is given. In 1895 they ask for the company, regiment and state for those with Civil War service. In 1915 they ask for church affiliation. And the best of all is 1925 (when I wish one of my great-grandparents had been enumerated!) when they ask for names of parents, including the mother’s maiden name and where their parents were married. For example in Tama County, one finds the family of August H. Peters, his wife Emma H., daughter Elda E., and father-in-law Mark Hoeck. August is 59 years old, has been in the US for 43 years, and was born in Germany to John and Anna (Schroeder) Peters both born in Germany. Emma is 55 years old, has also been in the US for 43 years, and was born in Germany to Mark and Lena (Wiear?) Hoeck both born in Germany. And Mark is 84 years old, has also been in the US for 43 years, and was born in Germany to Claus and Anna Hoeck both born in Germany. On the same page is Addie V. Burke the wife of Perry D. Burke; she is 52 years old, born in Iowa to Barzilla and Jennie (Dickson) Burke both born in Illinois.

The federal censuses give only state or country of birth, whereas some of the state censuses will give county of birth for those born in that state. Iowa does this in 1885 and 1895 and New York in 1855, 1865, and 1875. In the 1865 Rhode Island state census the town of birth is given for those born in Rhode Island.

In the above examples, the census form asks for this additional birth information, but in the 1855 and 1865 Massachusetts state censuses, the forms simply ask for state or country of birth. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to find several towns (22 in 1855 and 96 in 1865) in which the enumerator gives the specific town of birth. In some cases this is just for those born in Massachusetts, but in other cases it is for everyone. Specific birthplaces are given in both 1855 and 1865 Ipswich where many English weavers lived and for them it gives the county or parish of birth in England.

Some may not think specific town of birth is all that helpful in Massachusetts where state-wide civil registration of vital records began in 1841. But take the family of Benjamin and Sarah Bartlett who appear in 1865 in Watertown. Bartlett is a fairly common name in Massachusetts and trying to track the birth records of their six children, who were born in six different towns in two different counties, might prove difficult without the help of this census: Charles born in Boston, Hattie born in Natick, Frank born in Lowell, Lizzie born in Groton, Arthur born in Pepperell, and Minnie born in Dracut.

State	Census
Alabama	1855 (not complete); 1866 (not complete); 1907 census of Confederate veterans
Alaska	Various censuses from 1879 to 1917 for various areas; nothing complete for the whole state
Arizona	Various censuses and great registers from 1866 to 1942; completeness varies by county
Arkansas	Sheriff's censuses 1823 (Arkansas Co.) and 1829 (for 11 counties); 1865 (Washington Co.); 1911 census of Confederate veterans (44 counties)
California	Some pre-statehood padrons and mission censuses; 1852; many city censuses 1897 to 1938
Colorado	1861 Poll Book, 1866 (northeastern Colorado); 1885
Connecticut	None
Delaware	1782 (not complete)
Florida	Incomplete for 1825, 1845, 1855, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1875; mostly complete for 1885, 1895, 1935, 1945
Georgia	Incomplete for 1798, 1800, 1810, 1824, 1827, 1831, 1834, 1838, 1845, 1852, 1853, 1859, 1865, 1879
Hawaii	Incomplete for 1878, 1890, 1896
Idaho	None
Illinois	Incomplete for 1820, 1825, 1830, 1835, 1840, 1845, 1855, 1865
Indiana	Incomplete for 1853, 1857, 1871, 1877, 1883, 1889, 1901, 1913, 1919, 1931
Iowa	Incomplete for 1836, 1838, 1844, 1846, 1847, 1849, 1851, 1852, 1854; complete for 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925
Kansas	1855, 1860, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925
Kentucky	No state censuses; some school censuses beginning in 1888
Louisiana	A few early French and Spanish censuses; 1791 and 1804 for New Orleans; 1849-1864 for free persons of color in New Orleans; 1856-7 Carrollton; 1870 Assumption Parish
Maine	1837
Maryland	1776; no censuses after statehood
Massachusetts	1855 and 1865; population schedules do not exist for censuses from 1875 to 1945
Michigan	Incomplete for 1837, 1845, 1854, 1864, 1874, 1884, 1888 (Civil War veterans), 1894, 1904
Minnesota	Incomplete for 1849, 1853, 1855, 1857, 1865; complete for 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905
Mississippi	Various territorial and state censuses taken from 1792 to 1866; existing returns vary county to county
Missouri	Very incomplete for 1797, 1803, 1817, 1819, 1840, 1844, 1852, 1856, 1868, 1876, 1880
Montana	None
Nebraska	Incomplete for 1854, 1855, 1856, 1865, 1867, 1869, 1874; complete for 1885
Nevada	1862-3 (incomplete), 1872, 1875
New Hampshire	None
New Jersey	Incomplete for 1855, 1865, 1875; complete for 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915
New Mexico	Early Spanish and Mexican censuses for 1790, 1823, 1845; territorial census for 1885
New York	1790 (Albany Co.), 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925
North Carolina	1784-1787
North Dakota	1885, 1915, 1925
Ohio	No state censuses; starting in 1803 census of eligible voters taken every 4 years; completeness varies county to county
Oklahoma	1890 territorial census
Oregon	Incomplete for 1842, 1843, 1845, 1849, 1850, 1853-1859, 1865, 1870, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905
Pennsylvania	None
Rhode Island	1865, 1875, 1885, 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935
South Carolina	Incomplete for 1829, 1839, 1868, 1869, 1875
South Dakota	Incomplete for 1885, 1895; complete for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1945
Tennessee	1891 enumeration of male inhabitants of 21 years and upwards
Texas	No state censuses; some mission or rancho censuses under Spanish and Mexican governments
Utah	1856 (use with caution)
Vermont	None
Virginia	1782 to 1785
Washington	Territorial censuses from 1857 to 1892, completeness varies county to county
Wisconsin	1836, 1838 (incomplete), 1842, 1846, 1847, 1855, 1865 (incomplete), 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905
Wyoming	State censuses are just statistical; 1875 and 1878 for city of Cheyenne

State censuses can also fill in gaps in missing federal censuses especially the missing 1890 census. Many states have censuses within a few years of 1890: Colorado 1885, Florida 1885, Indiana 1889, Iowa 1885 and 1895, Kansas 1885 and 1895, Michigan 1894, Minnesota 1885 and 1895, New Jersey 1885 and 1895, New York 1892, Oregon 1885 and 1895, Rhode Island 1885, South Dakota 1885 and 1895, Washington 1889 and 1892, and Wisconsin 1885 and 1895.

Let me now share with you some of the strange and wonderful things I have found in the Massachusetts state censuses. First of all some strange names: Phantom Thompson, Amazon A. Dunbar, Cinderilla Wheeler, Admiral Bailey (Admiral was not a title), Millerson Miller, Ivory Snow, Ivory Keyes, Zebra Brownell, Confusius Hayden, Yale College, and Rejoice Emily Bennett. The enumerator in 1855 for the town of Acton made sure he got everyone’s full name, so we find Napoleon Bonaparte Puffer, Thomas Green Fessenden Jones, Jonathan Kimball Wood Witherbee, Sarah Eunice Appleton Brabrock, Charles Augustus Bailey Carter Brown, Forestus Darwin Kitredge Hoar, and Charlotte Elizabeth French Eaton. Then there are the families who liked alliteration: the children of Mary Hildreth were Albert, Alden, Adaline, Abby, Adeliza, Almeda, and Amanda, and Joseph and Jane Danforth named children Jane, Joseph, James, Justina, and Josephine.

And oh what people did to their twins! I have found Lottie P. and Lizzie P., J. Arthur and Josephine A., Willard and Millard, Lucinda and Selinda, Georgiana F. and Georietta F., Clarence and Clara, Ophiz and Oreb, Henry and Henrietta, Adaline and Adalaide, Ella and Ellis, Alva G. and Alma G., Ida Fayette and Ida Janette, Laurette and Lunette, Rozilla and Priscilla, Oscar and Osman, Eli and Eri, and Elbridge and Eldridge.

Many of the 19th-century occupations can sound very strange to our ears. All of these are actually found in these censuses: clairvoyant physician, spiritual physician, botanic physician, doctoress, fancy woman (she probably did fancy handwork), balladist, nail slitter, loafer, jack at all trades, teacher of wax work, bone manure manufacturer, night soil teamsters (these men collected the contents of the privies), hermit, do nothing, bird stuffer, orchardist, flower preserver, billiard player, anthropologist, and a 13-year-old black boy born in North Carolina listed as “contraband.” In 1865 Chatham all the unmarried women between 16 and 26 still living with their parents were listed as “unsettled.” In 1865 Littleton the age of Reuben Hoar’s wife is “a secret” and for the age of Mary Young the enumerator wrote in “she says 41.” In 1865 Dorchester George Holmes has been “missing since the Wilderness Battle VA,” Mary Drake’s husband has been “10 years in California,” and Sarah Barry and Mary A. Sprague “don’t know where husband is.”

One final observation, which I would not have had if I had not transcribed 72 whole towns. I had always assumed that if families were enumerated next to each other or near each other in the census, that they were probably close neighbors and I still think that is the case in most censuses. It is thought that enumerators did not take the big census forms with them each day as they collected information, but took smaller pieces of paper and then at night entered the information they had collected on the forms. I have found a few towns, such as 1855 Winchester, Massachusetts, where each page begins with the first person of a household and ends exactly on the last line with the last person in a household. Therefore, in the evening as the enumerator entered information on the census form and as he got near to the bottom of the page, he would find that he needed a family of four to complete the page and would search his notes for a family of four. So again before making an assumption about nearby neighbors, do a quick check to make sure the pages are not all filled exactly.

State census records are still a largely unused source especially by those new to genealogical searching. They are not all as readily available as the federal censuses, but because of the additional information they may contain, they are well worth the extra time and trouble it may take to find them. They can help fill in gaps for missing federal censuses and fill out the information you have on your families. And you may even find some enumerator who supplied the extra details such as the information on the birth of Harry W. Smalley!

Ann S. Lainhart is the author of State Census Records available from Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc by visiting www.GenealogyBookShop.com or calling 1-800-296-6687.

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2000 issue of Family Chronicle.