Category - Census Research

The 1890 U.S. Census is one of the most heartbreaking gaps in American records. It leaves a missing chapter for family historians—twenty years between 1880 and 1900 when so much changed. Children...

The 1880 census is one of my favorite records—not just because of what it tells us, but because of what it helps us feel. This is the first census where we can see families take shape on paper. For...

When people talk about the U.S. Census, most think of it as just a headcount. But by 1880, the census had become something far more powerful. It wasn’t just about population totals or determining how...

The 1870 U.S. Census is a milestone for many family historians. For those tracing African American ancestry, it often marks the very first time their ancestors appear in a public federal record by...

The 1870 U.S. Census may be one of the most significant records ever created in the country’s history. For the first time, every person—Black, white, free-born, formerly enslaved, immigrant...

The 1860 U.S. Census might be one of the most emotionally charged documents in early American history. On the surface, it looks similar to 1850—names, ages, occupations, birthplaces, property values...

By the time the 1850 U.S. Census was taken, the United States was no longer a slow-growing collection of coastal settlements. It was a booming, restless, coast-to-coast land of contradictions. The...

The 1840 U.S. Census might be early American recordkeeping’s most overlooked turning point. It still looks like the older ones—just one name listed, a page full of tick marks, and plenty of...

By 1830, the United States had reached a new kind of maturity. For some, the Revolution was no longer in living memory, though a surprising number of veterans were still alive and tucked into...

The 1820 U.S. Census rolled out during what historians often call the “Era of Good Feelings”—a peaceful name for a time that was anything but simple. The War of 1812 had ended just a few...

In 1810, the United States was only 34 years into its existence and was still figuring things out—including how to count its people. That year marked just the third official census, and while the...