Presentation by Jessica Hilburn, Historian at the Benson Memorial Library, Titusville, PA. benson.ccfls.org nwpastories.com

1. United States Census
What can we learn about our ancestors?
Jessica Hilburn, Historian, Benson Memorial Library, February 2018

2. Background
● First census 1790
● 1790 - 1840 - ONLY heads of household named
○ All other household members counted by number, but not named
● Minorities are highest undercounted group
● 1850 - ALL people in household named
● 1850, 1860 Slave Schedules
● 1850 - 1880: Mortality Schedules
● 1880 - people are allowed to self-report race
○ Why is this important?

3. Bloomfield Township,
Oil Creek Township
1810 Census
Heads of Household Only

4. 1850 - List of Names
Titusville,
Crawford County
1850 Census

5. Mortality Schedules
Crawford County
1850 Mortality Schedule
Gives name, age, sex, MOD,
COD, etc.

6. Reporting Race
● Self-reporting race is important because before 1880, the
census-taker simply wrote down which color they believed
you were
● This can mean that race is misreported sometimes,
especially if you have family from Southern states

7. Slave Schedules
What are slave schedules?
● These were addendums to the census that counted the
number of slaves that each person owned
● Available in both the North and South
● Slaves are not named, but numbered
● Slaves are listed by sex, color, and age under the name
of the owner

8. Slave Schedules
Baltimore, Maryland
1850 Slave Schedule

9. What can I learn from the Census?
● Families
● Age (approximate) - beware!
● Work/occupation
● Wealth
● Street/exact residence
● Ethnicity - beware!
● Birthplace

10. Example

11. Problems with the Census
● Misspellings
● Inaccurate information
● 1890 Data unavailable
● Fire in 1921 destroys almost everything
● There are pieces from the following states: Alabama,
Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Washington D.C.

12. 72-Year-Rule
Census data is not available to the public (or even
government employees) until 72 years after it is taken!
● The most recent census we can view is 1940
● 1950 will be released April 1, 2022 (1960 in 2032, 1970
in 2042, etc.)
● Only exception to this rule was 1941-47 when information
was released during Japanese-American Internment

13. Any Questions?
Are you ready to try out the census to find
your ancestors?! Hop on any computer upstairs
(or use your own on our wifi) to search
Ancestry.com!
If you ever need any help or run
into a “wall”, just let me know!