US Federal Census 101

Not all documents are created equal. Not all documents of the same type are created equal.

Yesterday I spent a large portion of the day reviewing the instructions the US Government gave to the enumerators. It's about 150 pages, but if you are using the US Federal Census to learn about your ancestors, you really do need to download a copy of the instructions over the various years and learn what the information really means. You can get your own copy here.

Another thing to remember when using the census information is that the enumeration dates have changed throughout the history of the US Federal Census. That information can be obtained here.

The important thing to remember, the questions asked pertain to these specific dates. It does not matter if the actual census taker didn't knock on our ancestors door until late December. They were counting the people in the household on that specific date. All those born after that date were not to be counted. All those that died after that date were to be counted.

Year                            Enumeration Date
1790                           2 Aug 1790
1800                           4 Aug 1800
1810                           6 Aug 1810
1820                           7 Aug 1820
1830                           1 Jun 1830
1840                           1 Jun 1840
1850                           1 Jun 1850
1860                           1 Jun 1860
1870                           1 Jun 1870
1880                           1 Jun 1880
1890                           2 Jun 1890
1900                           1 Jun 1900
1910                           15 Apr 1910
1920                           5 Jan 1920
1930                           1 Apr 1930
1940                           1 Apr 1940

Since these are the only ones available for review, I'll stop at 1940. The 1950 Census will not be available until 1 Apr 2022. There is a 72 year waiting period from the enumeration date until the documents become public. The enumeration date for the US Federal Census from 1950-2010 is 1 Apr of the year for each census.

What do these dates really mean? Technically, it means that even though the enumerator did not reach the home of Abram Birdsell until 1 Aug 1860, just because Martin is listed in the household it doesn't mean he was still living on 1 Aug 1860. It is only supposed to mean that he was still living on 1 Jun 1860. We can't assume that he was still living on 2 Jun 1860 or any date after that date.

With that said, we also have to take into account that our ancestors might not have been telling the truth all the time.

An example of an ancestor that might have stretched the truth. In the 1830 Federal Census in the home of Abraham Birdsel is a female less than 5. If that child was still living during the 1840 census she should be in the spot for white female 10 and under 15. There isn't a female listed in that age group.

My question was: did this child die? Or is the female child listed in the 1830 census in the 5 and under 10 age group? There are two females listed there. One was Letitia. The other was unknown to me. Was being the important word here. Since then, I've learned who the unknown daughter was. And it appears that she was listed in both the 1830 and 1840 Federal Census.

My best guess is that she was born within a week or two of 1 Jun 1830. For example if she were born on 2 Jun 1830, technically she should not be listed in the 1830 census according to the instructions the enumerators received. However, if the enumerator didn't arrive until 7 Jul 1830, how would he know if that little infant was born on 31 May 1830 or 7 Jun 1830? He wouldn't.

Then comes the next possible problem. Just because an enumerator was given instructions, how closely did he adhere to them? Did he stress the information he requested only pertained to those living in the household on 1 Jun 1830? Or did he come in, ask questions and specify that he wasn't asking about the actual date he was there, but a date weeks or even months earlier?

In later census records, this same person age 20, 30, 40 and 50 before she disappears. So was she born on 1 Jun 1830 or before? There is no way to know for sure. Starting in 1850, when everyone is listed, under age the question asked is, age, or later age at last birthday, and by 1880, age at last birthday prior to 1 Jun 1880. That's how it's listed on the forms. Did the enumerator state prior to 1 Jun 1880? Or just ask the respondents their age? Remember, several of our ancestors could not read or write. Even those who could weren't filling out the forms themselves. The enumerator asked the questions and filled in the answers himself.

To get the most information from the old census records, we have to consider what it's supposed to mean (using the enumeration date the government told the enumerators to use) and what it might mean (realizing that either the enumerators and/or our ancestors didn't pay attention to that date a few weeks to several months in the past). As the family historian when we use this information we have to assume our ancestors were honest and the enumerators were doing their job as instructed. When we get conflicting information, then we have to figure out why the information is conflicting. We may never know for sure, but we have to come up with sound reasoning to explain the conflicting data.

If we don't know what instructions the enumerators were given we can't know if there is conflicting information.