United States Census 1850

Additional information may be found on the United States Census Portal page.

Contents
1850 Census was taken beginning 1 June 1850, for five months. The following information was recorded by the census taker:                       Name                        Age                        Sex                        Color                        Occupation males over 15                        Value of real estate                        Birthplace—territory of country of birth                        Attended school or married in the year? If over 20—could read/write? Deaf-mute, blind, insane, or idiotic? Fugitive from state? SLAVE SCHEDULES:                       Name of slave owner                        # of slaves owned                        # of slaves manumitted (released from slavery)                        NO NAME OF SLAVES                        Age, color, sex                        Deaf-mute, blind, insane, idiotic? Fugitive from state?

1790-2000 Info: http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-2.pdf

Value
The 1850 census can be used to:1

Includes free population/slave pop. &amp; mortality, agriculture, industry data                       Families by name                        Birthplaces help w/immigration                        Ages given—go to vital records                        Real estate—land and tax records                        Probable relationships—be careful! Occupations/property value                       Possible remarriages/step relationships 1850-1930 Search Tips:  http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1850-1930.html

Unique Features and Problems
1. Census takers were given more instructions and guidelines in print 2. First census to list names of all in the household 3. First to list ages, sex, color, &amp; place of birth 4. Census taken in order of visitation 5. Listed those married within the year 6. Listed those who died after 1 June 7. Dwelling house number 8. Real estate value 9. Occupation of males over 16 10. Whether a fugitive of the state 11. Though it still did not list slave names, it listed more information about the slaves 12. Listed heath or lifestyle issues: “Deaf, dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict” 13. Omitted children born after 1 June (even if the census taker took it later) 14. Indians that lived on reservations or unsettles tracts of land were not included. 15. Make count by personal inquiry at every dwelling 16. Enumerator to make 2 additional copies:       - Clerk of county court        - Secretary of state/territory        - Census Office 17. No Indians in reservations or unsettled land

States Covered and Missing

 * Alabama
 * Arkansas
 * California
 * Connecticut
 * Delaware
 * District of Columbia
 * Florida
 * Georgia
 * Illinois
 * Indiana
 * Iowa
 * Kentucky
 * Louisiana
 * Maine
 * Maryland
 * Massachusetts
 * Michigan
 * Missouri
 * Mississippi
 * New Hampshire
 * New Jersey
 * New York
 * North Carolina
 * Ohio
 * Pennsylvania
 * Rhode Island
 * South Carolina
 * Tennessee
 * Texas
 * Vermont
 * Virginia (inc. West Virginia)
 * Wisconsin

No states missing.

Territories

 * Minnesota (inc. Dakotas)
 * New Mexico (inc. Arizona)
 * Oregon (inc. Washington &amp; Idaho)
 * Utah

Web Sites
1790-2000 Info: http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-2.pdf

1850-1930 Search Tips: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1850-1930.html

Bibliographic Citations
1. Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guide book to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. (Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006.)