During March 2010, every U. S. household will receive a ten-question form that needs to be filled out and returned to the U.S. Census Bureau. This will be the twenty-third federal census; the first one was taken in 1790.

This article is the third in a series of "commonly-used sources" that genealogists use.  Censuses are hands-down, one of our most important genealogical resources. They are easy to locate, and they provide a wealth of information on our ancestors. We need to send silent thanks to the framers of the U.S. Constitution. The very first article in that document provides for a census of the population that would do two things (1) apportion the number of legislators for each state and (2) provide a way of collecting funds to support the government.

I like censuses. Whenever I begin a new project, one of the first things that I do is to locate people in the censuses. Depending upon the census year, I can see the composition of the family, where they were living and where they were living before, when and where they were born, when they married, how many children a mother bore and how many were still alive, the year that a person arrived in this country and the year they were naturalized, how much their property was worth, and whether or not a person was a veteran.

Other parts of the census

I like something else about this resource, and that is the other parts of the census, the special schedules and the census reports. Both provide background material that can be used to enrich the family stories and to put "flesh on the bones" of our ancestors. In addition, they often provide needed information that can be used to solve "brick-wall" problems.

I enjoyed researching the material for this column. In the process, I found some data that I'll use for client work and my own family stories. Some of the interesting facts are cited in this column; others are waiting for your visit.

Special schedules

In addition to the better-known population schedules taken every ten years by the federal government, there exist auxiliary schedules—primarily for 1850–1880. They include mortality, agriculture, industry, and something known as "social and special statistics." Researchers often neglect these schedules for two reasons.

The first reason is their title. They are called "non-population schedules," a phrase that turns off all except the most determined genealogist. Almost without exception, the schedules do cite individuals by name—those who fall within the relevant category—and are therefore of considerable value to genealogists.

The second reason is that they were dispersed by the federal government early in the twentieth century, before the creation of the National Archives, and the present whereabouts of many of the schedules are not widely known. At the end of this column, information is given about schedules that have been microfilmed or placed online.

Mortality schedule example: The 1850 Oregon Mortality Schedule includes the names of forty-seven people, thirty-four males and thirteen females. The causes of death with the highest numbers were consumption (5), fever (6), Typhus Fever (4), and Dysentery (4).

Childhood mortality was high. Sixteen children (34% of the total) were aged six or under. They died of Bowel Inflammation, Brain disease, Cholera, Croup, Diarrhea, Flux, Scarlet Fever, Typhus Fever, "Unknown," White Swelling, and Worms.

Only four of the forty-seven named individuals were aged fifty or more. They died of Apoplexy, Gastritis, Consumption, and Diarrhea. One person, twenty-one-year-old Emmer Stephens of Washington County, was murdered.

Agricultural schedule example: John Niesz is enumerated in the 1850 Canton, Ohio, population census. His real property was valued at $16,000, but no information was given about what was included in that figure.[1]  John Niesz is also enumerated in the 1850 special agricultural census.[2] He owned 610 acres that was broken down to 260 acres that were improved and 350 that were unimproved.

In addition, his livestock was valued at $1,045. He had 200 head of sheep that produced 580 pounds of wool. There were thirty-one "other cattle" on the farm; probably beef cattle. The average for the other farms in the area was ten cattle. The animals slaughtered during the year were valued at  $90—about average for the neighborhood.  The family had nine milch cows while the average number of milch cows for the neighborhood was four. [Milch cows are cows that are raised for milk.] The family harvested 300 bushels of wheat, 80 bushels of rye, 350 bushels of Indian corn, 300 bushels of oats, 15 bushels of potatoes, and 300 pounds of butter.

These bits of what a non-genealogist might consider trivia shed light onto the daily lives of the Niesz family. The family was well-off in comparison to their neighbors, and there was not much time for playing around.

Social statistics examples: The 1870 Social Statistics for Oregon includes such information as how much a worker earned and what churches, newspapers, and libraries were in a county. As an example of information that can be found, a few statistics from Washington and Multnomah counties are listed below.

In the year preceding June 1870, Washington County residents paid $5,565 in state taxes and $9,871 in county taxes. They supported three paupers during the year. One college library had 5,000 volumes of books, nine Sabbath school libraries had 2,200 volumes, and sixteen private libraries had 7,400 volumes.

The average monthly wage for a farmhand who was hired by the year and boarded was $25.00. The average daily wages for a laborer who was not boarded was $2.00. If board was provided, the wage went down to $1.50 per day. The daily wage for a carpenter (without board) was $3.50. A female domestic (without board) earned $4.22 per week. 

There were twenty-one schools in Washington County. The twenty-two teachers dealt with 450 male students and 570 female students. [Average pupil to teacher ratio: 46 to 1.]

There were 400 Washington County inhabitants who attended Congregational churches, 700 who attended Methodist churches, 500 who attended Baptist churches; 500 who attended Christian churches, and 250 who attended Union churches.

One newspaper was listed as being published in Washington County while Multnomah County had eleven newspapers. These were the  [Daily] Oregonian (Republican), 2,000 circulation; [Weekly] Oregonian (Republican), 5,000 circulation; [Daily Bulletin] (Independent), 2,500 circulation; [Weekly] Bulletin (Independent), 2000 circulation; [Daily] Herald (Democratic), 1,500 circulation; [Weekly] Herald (Democratic), 4,300 circulation;  [Weekly] Pacific Christian Advocate (Religious), 2,000 circulation; [Weekly] Catholic Sentinel (Religious), 2,000 circulation; [Weekly] Deutsche Zeitung, (German) weekly, 1,500 circulation; [Weekly] Good Templar (Temperance), 1,300 circulation; and [Monthly] Student's Repository (Educational), 1,000 circulation.

Eleven different denominations had churches in Multnomah County: three Episcopal churches with 800 members; two Roman Catholic churches with 600 members; four Methodist churches with 1,400 members; one Methodist South church, no report on members; one Presbyterian church with  500 members; two Congregational churches with 800 members; two Unitarian churches with 350 members; one Universalist church, no report on members; one Lutheran church with 300 members; one Baptist church with  200 members; and one Spiritualist church with 400 members.

Researchers always need to do some fact-checking. The 1881 Portland city directory includes a list of religious denominations. The two Jewish congregations, Ahavai Sholom and Beth Israel, were not included in the census enumeration. The Colored M. E. Zion church also was not listed.

Civil War Veterans and Widows. Some fragments of the 1890 census did survive, and they are very useful to researchers. The surviving parts include most of the Schedules of Union Civil War Veterans or their Widows.

The Civil War Veterans schedules are arranged by state, then by county, and then by locality. Those surviving are: Kentucky (part), Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Indian Territories, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The Civil War Veterans schedules include the following information: name of the veteran (or if he did not survive, the name of his widow); the veteran's rank, company, regiment or vessel, date of enlistment, date of discharge, and length of service in years, months, and days; post office address of each person listed; disability incurred by the veteran; and any additional remarks about the veteran's service. The Genealogical Forum of Oregon has a microfilm copy of the Oregon schedule.

Where do you find special schedules?

Libraries and archives. Some Oregon schedules were microfilmed for the University of Oregon in 1963. Copies of these films are at the Oregon State Archives, at the GFO Library, and several other Oregon libraries.

Oregon Schedules that were microfilmed:

1850-1870 Mortality Schedules.

1850-1870 Social and Special Statistics.

1850, 1870, and 1880 Agricultural Schedules.        

1850–1870 Industrial Schedules.

1880 Social Schedules, Dependent, Defective, Delinquent Classes.

The National Archives microfilmed some schedules for other states, and they can be obtained through the Family History Library. The National Archives in Seattle, Washington, has a collection of these microfilmed schedules.

Spring is coming, and a road trip is something that perks up most genealogists. Perhaps it is time to go to Seattle or to Salt Lake City to look at special schedules. The NGS Conference is in Salt Lake City from 28 April through 1 May 2010.

Non-population schedules on microfilm that are at the Family History Library include Baltimore City and County, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah Territory, and Vermont.

Non-population schedules on microfilm that are at the Pacific Alaska Region, National Archives include Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington Territory.

Online

1850 Mortality schedules. FamilySearch Labs have digitized mortality schedules for the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. URL: http://labs.familysearch.org.

Census reports

Census enumerators collected information about people, and that data was tabulated and published into reports.  I feel geeky when I get into those reports because the numbers speak to me and tell me all sorts of stories. A number of the reports are on IPUMS – USA, http://usa.ipums.org/usa/.When you go there, click on the "Published Census Volumes" link. There are online volumes for the 1790 through 1890 censuses and then for 1980, 1990, and 2000.

I spent a bit of time playing with the 1890 volume, Compendium of the Eleventh Census: 1890 Part III: Population State or Territory of birth, country of birth and citizenship (analyses only, foreign parentage, conjugal condition, ages, school attendance, illiteracy, can not speak English, occupations, soldiers and widows; agriculture; manufactures; fisheries; transportation; wealth, debt, and taxation; real estate mortgages; farms and homes; Indians (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897).

With such a long title, it's a certainty that people can find something of interest. If nothing else, there are some wonderful trivia. For instance, did you know that 593 Confederate soldiers and sailors and twenty-nine widows of Confederate soldiers were living in Oregon in 1890? There were 56,687 United States (Union) soldiers, sailors, and marines and widows of United States soldiers, sailors, and marines living in Oregon. Nine of these were Colored. There were 319 Union widows; one was Colored.

More trivia: The population of the United States on census day, 1 June 1 1890, was 62,622,250.  The population had increased 24 percent between 1880 and 1890. The center of the population was southern Indiana near Greensburg. In 1790, the urban population was 3.35 percent of the population. In 1890, it was 29.20 per cent. There were more males than females in the population.

Native Americans. A report was created for Indians in the United States in 1822, and it was included in the 1890 census report book. [3] The theme of this month's Bulletin is Native American research. Perhaps these statistics will help people who are researching their Oregon ancestry.

Indian tribes west of the Rocky Mountains; 171,200.

Chinook Indians; 1,700. 12 miles from the mouth of Columbia River, north side.

Clatsop; 1,300. 2 miles from the mouth of Columbia River, south side.

Chiheeleesh; 1,400. 40 miles north of Columbia River.

Callimix; 1,200. 40 miles south of Columbia River, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Cathlamat; 600. 30 mile from the mouth of Columbia River.

Waakicems; 400. Opposite the Cathlamats.

Hellwits (part of the tribe); 1,200. 30 miles from the mouth of Columbia River, south side.

Cowlitsick (in 3 villages); 2,400. On Columbia River, 62 miles from its mouth; they dwell in 3 villages on a north creek of it, called the Cowlitsick, 260 yards wide, rapid, boatable 190 miles.

Cathlakamaps; 700. 80 miles from the mouth of Columbia River, at the mouth of the Wallamut, (called, incorrectly, Multnomah), south branch of Columbia River.

Cathapootle; 1,100. Opposite the Cathalakamaps, on Columbia River.

Cathlanamenemens; 400. On the island in the mouth of the Wallamut, once very powerful under the famous chief Tuteleham.

Mathlanohs (erroneously called Multnomahs); 500. At the upper end of the island named, in the mouth of the Wallaumut. The main channel of the Wallaumut is here 500 yards wife.

Cathlapooyas; 1,800. 50 miles from the mouth of the Wallaumut, west side.

Cathlathlas; 500. 60 miles from the mouth of the Wallaumut, on the east side.

Shoshones; 20,000. All above No. 14 on the Wallaumut are of this name. They inhabit the banks of this the crooked river, boatable above 500 miles.

Cathlakahikits; 900. At the rapids of Columbia river, the former on the north, the latter on the south side, 160 miles from its mouth.

Chippanchickchicks; 600. North side of Columbia River, in the Long Narrows, a little below the falls, 220 miles from its mouth.

Cathlathlas; 900. On Columbia River, opposite the above.

Ithkyemamits; 600. On Columbia River, north side, near the above.

Hellwits (part of the tribe); 1,200. At the falls of Columbia River.

Immigration. The 1890 report included statistics on the number of alien passengers to the United States from 1821 to 1867 and the number of immigrants from 1868 to 1890.

1821 to 1830; 143,439

1831 to 1840; 599, 125

1841 to 1850; 1,713,251

1851 to 1860; 2,598,214

1861 to 1870; 2,314,824

1871 to 1880; 2,812,191

1881 to 1890; 4,246,613

The insane. The 1890 report included a careful analysis of the condition of the "insane, feeble-minded, deaf and dumb, and blind" population.[4] Dr. John S. Billings, U.S. Deputy Surgeon-General, U.S. Army, wrote:

 "Among the insane the proportion of females was greater than that of males. In all the other classes the proportion of males was the greatest. The proportion of the insane, feeble-minded, and the deaf and dumb was greater among the white than among the colored. The proportion of the blind was greater among the colored than among the white. The proportion of the insane was greater among the foreign born than among the natives, mainly because the foreign born included a much greater proportion of persons 35 years of age and upward, being the ages most liable to insanity. The proportion of the blind was greater among the foreign born than among the native for the same reason, the proportion of blindness to population increasing rapidly with advancing age. The proportion of the feeble-minded and of the deaf and dumb was greater among the natives than among the foreign born, mainly because the natives included a much greater proportion of persons under 35 years of age than did the foreign born, and feeble-mindedness and deaf-mutism are found in the greatest proportion in this age group, as will be seen."

Earnings. It is fun to save the best for last. For me, that is the annual earnings statistics. My great-grandfather was a master cabinet-maker in Portland. In 1915 he earned 50 cents per hour. There are inflation calculators that translate what 50 cents is equal to in current money, but that does not tell how a wage compared to other wages. Portland State University has several rows of census reports and census statistics in their library. A book entitled Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States Colonial Times to 1957 answers that question.[5]  In 1915 a worker in a Union manufacturing industry worked 48.6 hours per week for 44 cents per hour. A worker in a non-union manufacturing industry worked 58.2 hours per week for 21 cents per hour. Bituminous coal miners worked 51.6 hours per week for 34 cents per hour. Building trades employees worked 44.8 hours per week for .57 cents per hour. Great-grandpa was getting a little less than the national average wage for building trades.

For people interested in additional statistics, the GFO Library has a summary of the 1910 census with a supplement for Oregon. (Call number: 973/A000/Census/1910). There is some really good information in the book, and I'll let you discover it by yourself.

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) offers an online course that teaches you how to access and use these special schedules. You can enroll online at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org. Click on the "Learning Center" tab and then "Online Courses."

© 2000–2010

Connie Lenzen, CG^SM

CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certified genealogists after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.