The 1820 Census
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Introduction | The Columns of Data | Where to find Census Records
The 1820 census was the 4th Census of the United States. The data collected by the census takers was not comprehensive, but it is of great value to researchers. They obtained the name of each "Head of Household", and then a numerical enumeration of all of the other family members by age and sex. The 1820 census was slightly better than the previous years. They added one additional column to the male categories (males age 16 and over but under 18), and they also added additional categories for "free colored" and for slaves, instead of just lumping them all in one column each.
Only the head of each household was listed by name, everyone else was only included by category. This means that you can't view the 1820 census and immediately know who everyone in each household was. However, you can use the data and compare it to data obtained from other records, and analyze the numbers and make educated assumptions about who was in the family. Of course, this is a hit and miss proposition with varying degrees of success.
For example, consider the household of a fictional "John Roberts". He was listed with one male over age 45, two males under 10, and 1 female over 45, and 1 female under 10. From this we can assume that he was the male over age 45, and that the two males under 10 were his sons, and that the female over 45 was his wife, and the two younger ones were his two daughters. However, while this is often a safe assumption to make, it is quite possible that all four children were grandchildren instead, or orphaned nephews and nieces that they were raising. From this record alone, it can not be positively determined who was who in a 1820 census household. However, if you have a family bible record showing that John Roberts had two sons, one born 1811, and another born 1815, then you can be reasonably sure they were the two boys with him in 1820. If the bible record also shows he had two daughters, one born 1813, and another born 1819, then you can be fairly sure they are two of the females with him in 1820, and the other one is probably his wife. As you can see it takes some analysis to figure out how to interpret this record.
The 1820 census was taken state by state, and county by county, and in some cases the counties were further divided by districts (such as townships, companies, etc.). Some records were left in the original order the census taker visited each household, whereas others were alphabetized before being turned in. The ones in original order are very useful to determine who a persons neighbors were. If you see three Roberts families listed side by side, you can reasonably assume they are somehow related.
Some researchers scoff at census records as not being very useful, but they are missing out on one of the most valuable set of records available. They can be frustrating to use, but also very rewarding. There are certainly various problems with the census. Check out my list of Common Census Errors.
There are a couple of excellent products that can be very helpful with census research. I have most of these and highly recommend them:
A Guide to
Using Federal Census Records (1790-1930) for Genealogy - by Marty Grant.
AniMap
Plus County Boundary Historical Atlas v. 2.5 (Win) - Excellent software
program with maps showing all county line changes, creation dates, etc.
CensusMate - A free worksheet (Excel or PDF) that helps you analyze and compare early census data.
The 1820 Census was very similar to the 1800 and 1810, but added a few more columns. I will explain what each column represents in detail below.
The census was "as of" 7 Aug 1820, meaning all data collected (even if collected months after that date) was supposed to reflect the families condition on 7 Aug 1820, meaning all ages were to be listed how they were back on August 7th, even if it was three months later when the census taker asked. It isn't know if the census taker adhered to this rule or not, but that is what they were supposed to do.
The "page number" that I use on my published census abstracts are normally the stamped page number, but in many cases the page number was hand written on each page, or in some cases each page had two numbers, a stamped one, and a handwritten one. The 1820 census also had some additional columns, not pertaining to age or sex. Transcribers (including myself) generally ignore these columns, but I'll include them below for completeness.
1820 Census Columns:
- Name of Head of Household. This is usually the husband. If a woman is listed as head of household, she was usually a widow, or a single mother, or a single person raising younger siblings.
- Number of Free White Males under 10. (i.e. age 0-9, or born ca 1810/1820)
- Number of Free White Males 10 and up but under 16. (i.e. age 10-15, or born ca 1804/1810)
- Number of Free White Males age 16 and up but under 18. (i.e. age 16-17 or born ca 1802/1804). NOTE: Any person listed in this column should also be listed in the next column. If there is one person listed here, and one listed in 16-26, then that is one and the same person. If one is listed here but two are in 16-26, then one of those two is age 16-17, the other is older, i.e. 18-25.
- Number of Free White Males 16 and up but under 26. (i.e. age 16-25, or born ca 1794/1804). NOTE: See note on column 16-17.
- Number of Free White Males 26 and up but under 45. (i.e. age 26-44, or born ca 1775/1794).
- Number of Free White Males 45 and upwards. (i.e. age 45 and older, or born prior to 1775).
- Number of Free White Females under 10. (i.e. age 0-9, or born ca 1810/1820).
- Number of Free White Females 10 and up but under 16. (i.e. age 10-15, or born ca 1804/10).
- Number of Free White Females 16 and up but under 26. (i.e. age 16-25, or born ca 1794/1804).
- Number of Free White Females 26 and up but under 45. (i.e. age 26-44, or born ca 1775/94).
- Number of Free White Females 45 and upwards. (i.e. age 45 and older, or born prior to 1775).
- Foreigners not Naturalized. Anyone who was not an American Citizen.
- Number of persons engaged in Agriculture.
- Number of persons engaged in Commerce.
- Number of persons engaged in Manufacturing.
- Male Slaves under 14. (i.e. age 0-13, or born ca 1806/1820).
- Male Slaves 14 and up but under 26. (i.e. age 14-25, or born ca 1794/1806).
- Male Slaves 26 and up but under 45. (i.e. age 26-44, or born ca 1775/94).
- Male Slaves 45 and upwards. (i.e. age 45 and older, or born prior to 1775).
- Female Slaves under 14. (i.e. age 0-13, or born ca 1806/1820).
- Female Slaves 14 and up but under 26. (i.e. age 14-25, or born ca 1794/1806).
- Female Slaves 26 and up but under 45. (i.e. age 26-44, or born ca 1775/94).
- Female Slaves 45 and upwards. (i.e. age 45 and older, or born prior to 1775).
- Male Free Colored Persons under 14. (i.e. age 0-13, or born ca 1806/1820).
- Male Free Colored Persons 14 and up but under 26. (i.e. age 14-25, or born ca 1794/1806).
- Male Free Colored Persons 26 and up but under 45. (i.e. age 26-44, or born ca 1775/94).
- Male Free Colored Persons 45 and upwards. (i.e. age 45 and older, or born prior to 1775).
- Female Free Colored Persons under 14. (i.e. age 0-13, or born ca 1806/1820).
- Female Free Colored Persons 14 and up but under 26. (i.e. age 14-25, or born ca 1794/1806).
- Female Free Colored Persons 26 and up but under 45. (i.e. age 26-44, or born ca 1775/94).
- Female Free Colored Persons 45 and upwards. (i.e. age 45 and older, or born prior to 1775).
- Note: Free Persons of Color (a.k.a. "FPC) were not considered "White" (in the census takers opinion, anyway). See my pages on Race Codes for more about these "Free Persons of Color". Normally, these are not Indians (Native Americans), as they were not supposed to be listed at all on the census. However, they could be those of mixed Indian heritage.
Original Census records are available on Microfilm at the National Archives, LDS Family History Centers and numerous Libraries.
Digitized Census images are available online from Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com for a subscription fee. They are also available for purchase on CD from Heritage Quest and other companies. You can also find some census images online for free.
Published, transcribed versions of the census are available for some years and locations in book form, and some are available online.
If you don’t have access to the census records you need, keep in mind that I do Census Research for hire at a reasonable rate. Click for more information.
Helpful Links:
Census Links - Links to Online Census data
Census Online - Links to Online Census data
Heritage Quest - They have all the census records on CD (original census images)
USGenWeb Census Project - also includes Census Images as well as transcriptions
Last Updated January 11, 2008
