1800 QUESTIONNAIRE

From 1800 to 1820, the states provided schedules of varying size and typeface. The 1800 schedule of inquiries called for the name of the county, parish, township, town, or city where the family resides; the name of the head of the family; a statement for each family of the number of free White males and females under 10 years of age, of 10 and under 16, of 16 and under 26, of 26 and under 45, and 45 years and upward; the number of all other free persons (except Indians not taxed); and the number of slaves.

1810 QUESTIONNAIRE

The 1810 schedule of inquiries was identical to that of 1800, collecting the name of the county, parish, township, town, or city where the family resides; the name of the head of the family; a statement for each family of the number of free White males and females under 10 years of age, of 10 and under 16, of 16 and under 26, of 26 and under 45, and 45 years and upward; the number of all other free persons (except Indians not taxed); and the number of slaves.

1820 QUESTIONNAIRE

The schedule of inquiries for 1820 called for the same age distribution of the free White population, as in 1800 and

- 1810, with the addition in 1820 of the number of free White males between 16 and 18 years. It also provided for a separation of the number of free colored persons and of slaves, respectively, by sex, according to the number under 14 years of age, of 14 and under 26, of 26 and under 45, and of 45 years and upward, with a statement of the number of "all other persons, except Indians not taxed." Additionally, inquiries were made to ascertain the number of foreigners not naturalized, and the number of persons (including slaves) engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufactures.

Instructions to Marshals

The interrogatories to be put at each dwelling house, or to the head of every family are definitely marked in relation to the various classes of inhabitants discriminated in the several columns of the schedule, by the titles at the head of each column. That of the name of the head of each family, must indeed be varied according to its circumstances, as it may be that of a master, mistress, steward, overseer, or other principal person therein. The subsequent inquiries, How many free white males under 10 years there are in the family? How many of 10 and under 16? etc., will follow in the order of the columns. But, to facilitate the labor of your assistants, a printed list of all the interrogatories for enumeration, believed to be necessary, is enclosed; (No. 5) in which all the questions refer to the day when the enumeration is to commence; the first Monday in August next. Your assistants will thereby understand that

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they are to insert in their returns all the persons belonging to the family on the first Monday in August, even those who may be deceased at the time when they take the account; and, on the other hand, that they will not include in it, infants born after that day. This, though not prescribed in express terms by the act, is the undoubted intention of the legislature, as manifested by the clause, providing that every person shall be recorded as of the family in which he or she shall reside on the first Monday in August.

It will be necessary to remember, that the numbers in the columns of free white males between 16 and 18-foreigners not naturalized-persons engaged in agriculture persons engaged in commerce persons engaged in manufactures must not be added to the general aggregates, of which the sum total is to be opposed. All the persons included within these columns must necessarily be included also in one of the other columns. Those, for instance, between 16 and 18, will all be repeated in the column of those between 16 and 26. The foreigners not naturalized, and those engaged in the three principal walks of life, will also be included in the columns embracing their respective ages. In the printed form of a schedule herewith enclosed, the description at the top of these columns is printed, in italics, and the division lines between the columns themselves are double ruled, with a view to distinguish them from the other columns, the sums of which are to go to the general aggregate. In preparing their schedules from this form, your assistants will find it useful, for convenience and accuracy, to distinguish thosecolumns, by ruling them with red ink, or in some other manner, which may keep them separate from the others, by a sensible impression constantly operating upon the mind.

The discrimination between persons engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, will not be without its difficulties. No inconsiderable portion of the population will probably be found, the individuals of which being asked, to which of those classes they belong, will answer, to all three. Yet, it is obviously not the intention of the legislature that any one individual should be included in more than one of them-of those whose occupations are exclusively agricultural or commercial, there can seldom arise a question, and in the column of manufactures will be included not only all the persons employed in what the act more specifically dominates manufacturing establishments, but all those artificers, handcraftsmen, and mechanics whose labor is preeminently of the hand, and not upon the field.

By persons engaged in agriculture, commerce, or manufactures, your assistants will understand that they are to insert in those columns, not whole families, including infants and superannuated persons, but only those thus engaged by actual occupation. This construction is given

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to the act, because it is believed to be best adapted to fulfill the intentions of the legislature, and because, being susceptible of the other, it might be differently construed by different persons employed in the enumeration and thus destroy the uniformity of returns, essential to a satisfactory result.

Besides this enumeration of manufactures, the marshals and their assistants are required, by the tenth section of the act to take an account of the several manufacturing establishments and their manufactures, within their several districts, territories, and divisions; and the meaning of the legislature, by this provision, is illustrated by the clause in the oaths of the marshals and assistants, that they will take an account of the manufactures, except household manufactures, from which it seems fairly deducible, that, in the intention of the legislature, persons employed only upon household manufactures are not to be included in the column of persons bearing that denomination, the occupation of manufacturing being, in such cases, only incidental, and not the profession properly marking the class of society to which such individual belongs.

This then, offers a criterion by which your assistants may select the column of occupation to which each individual may be set down; namely, to that which is the principal and not the occasional, or incidental, occupation of his life.

The more particular the account of manufactures can be made, the more satisfactory will the returns prove. Among the papers enclosed is an alphabetical list of manufactures (No. 6), which may facilitate the labor of your assistants, but which they will not consider as complete. It is intended merely to give a direction to their inquiries, and each of them will add to it every manufacture not included in it and of which he takes an account within his division. A printed form (No. 7) is likewise enclosed, of inquiries to be made in relation to manufacturing establishments, on a sheet of paper, upon which the information requested may be written and returned. In every case when it can be conveniently done, your assistant will do well to give this form to some person principally concerned in the manufacturing establishment, requesting him to give the information desired himself.

The execution of the fifth section of the act requires the further interrogatories, whether any person, whose usual abode was in the family on the first Monday of August, 1820, be absent therefrom at the time of the inquiry made: and, if so, the sex, age, color, and condition, of such person are to be asked, and marked in the proper column, in the return of the family. It follows, of course, that any person who, at the time of taking the number of any family, has his usual abode in it, is, nevertheless, not to be included in the return of that family, if his usual place of abode was, on the first Monday of August, in

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another family. The name of every person having no settled place of residence, is to be inserted in the columns of the schedule allotted for the heads of families in the division where such person shall be on the first Monday of August.

1830 QUESTIONNAIRE

The 1830 Census was the first enumeration in which a uniform schedule was used to enumerate the inhabitants of the United States (previously, individual marshals or the states supplied the schedules). The questionnaire used measured 18 1/2" X 16"", and was printed on both sides of the form. The enumeration consisted of inquiries dividing the free White population of each sex according to the number under 5 years of age, 5 to 10, 10 to 15, 15 to 20, 20 to 30, 30 to 40, 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70, 70 to 80, 80 to 90, 90 to 100, and 100 years and upward; a classification of slaves and free colored persons, respectively, according to the number of each sex under 10 years of age, 10 to 24, 24 to 36, 36 to 55, 55 to 100, and 100 years and upward; the number of White persons and of "slaves and colored persons," aged under 14 years, 14 and under 25, and 25 years and upward, who were deaf and dumb, but without distinction of sex in either case, and also the number of each of these two classes named who were blind, but without distinction of sex or age; and a statement, of White persons only, who were aliens, i.e., foreigners not naturalized.

Instructions to Marshals

The execution of the fifth section of the act requires the further interrogatories, whether any person, whose usual abode was in the family on the 1st day of June, 1830, be absent therefrom at the time of making the inquiry, and if so, the sex, age, color, and condition, are to be asked and marked in the proper column, in the return of the family. It follows, of course, that any person, who, at the time of taking the enumeration of any family, has his abode in it, is, nevertheless, not to be included in the return of that family, if his usual place of abode, was, on the 1st day of June, in another Family. The name of every person, having no settled place of residence, is to be inserted in the column of the schedule, allotted for the heads of families, in the division where such person shall be on the 1st day of June, and of course, also in one of the other columns, according to the age and condition of such person.

To facilitate the labor of your assistants, a printed list of all the interrogatories for enumeration is enclosed (No. 3), in which all the questions refer to the day when the enumeration is to commence-the 1st day of next June. Your assistants will also bear in mind to include all persons of a family (except Indians not taxed) who were members thereof on the 1st day of June, 1830, whether present or not, and not to include any person whose usual abode was not in the family they are enumerating on the said 1st

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Instructions to Marshals and Assistants

(Explanation of Schedule NO. 1.-Free Inhabitants) This schedule is to be filled up in the following manner: Insert in the heading the name or number of the district, town, or city of the county or parish, and of the state, and the day of the month upon which the enumeration was taken. This is to be attested on each page of each set, by the signature of the assistant.

The several columns are to be filled as follows:

1. Under heading 1, entitled "Dwelling houses numbered in the order of visitation," insert the number of dwelling houses occupied by free inhabitants, as they are visited. The first house visited to be numbered 1; the second one visited, 2; the third one visited, 3; and so on to the last house visited in the subdivision. By a dwelling house is meant a separate inhabited tenement, containing one or more families under one roof. Where several tenements are in one block, with walls either of brick or wood to divide them, having separate entrances, they are each to be numbered as separate houses; but where not so divided, they are to be numbered as one house.

If a house is used partly for a store, shop, or for other purposes, and partly for a dwelling house, it is to be numbered as a dwelling house. Hotels, poorhouses,

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garrisons, hospitals, asylums, jails, penitentiaries, and other similar institutions, are each to be numbered as a dwelling house; where the house is of a public nature, as above, write perpendicularly under the number, in said column, the name or description, as "hotel," "poorhouse," etc.

2. Under heading 2, entitled "Family numbered in the order of visitation," insert the number of the families. of free persons, as they are visited. The first family visited by the assistant marshal is to be numbered 1; the second one visited, 2; and so on to the last one visited in his district.

By the term family is meant, either one person living separately in a house, or a part of a house, and providing for him or herself, or several persons living together in a house, or in part of a house, upon one common means of support, and separately from others in similar circumstances. A widow living alone and separately providing for herself, or 200 individuals living together and provided for by a common head, should each be numbered as one family.

The resident inmates of a hotel, jail, garrison, hospital, an asylum, or other similar institution, should be reckoned as one family.

3. Under heading 3, entitled "The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the 1st day of June,

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1850, was in this family," insert the name of every free person in each family, of every age, including the names of those temporarily absent, as well as those that were at home on that day. The name of any member of a family who may have died since the 1st day of June is to be entered and described as if living, but the name of any person born since the 1st day of June is to be omitted. The names are to be written, beginning with the father and mother; or if either, or both, be dead, begin with some other ostensible head of the family; to be followed, as far as practicable, with the name of the oldest child residing at home, then the next oldest, and so on to the youngest, then the other inmates, lodgers and borders, laborers, domestics, and servants.

All landlords, jailors, superintendents of poorhouses, garrisons, hospitals, asylums, and other similar institutions, are to be considered as heads of their respective families, and the inmates under their care to be registered as members thereof, and the details concerning each designated in their proper columns. Indians not taxed are not to be enumerated in this or any other schedule.

By place of abode is meant the house or usual lodging place of a person. Anyone who is temporarily absent on a journey, or for other purposes, without taking up his place of residence elsewhere, and with the intention of returning again, is to be considered a member of the family which the assistant marshal is enumerating.

Students in colleges, academies, or schools, when absent from the families to which they belong, are to be enumerated only as members of the family in which they usually boarded and lodged on the 1st day of June.

Assistant marshals are directed to make inquiry at all stores, shops, eating houses, and other similar places, and take the name and description of every person who usually slept there, provided such person is not otherwise enumerated.

Inquiries are to be made at every dwelling house, or of the head of every family. Those only who belong to such family, and consider it their home or usual place of abode, whether present or temporarily absent on a visit, journey, or a voyage, are to be enumerated. Persons on board of vessels accidentally or temporarily in port, those whose only habitation was the vessel to which they belong, those who are temporarily boarding for a few days as a sailors' boarding or lodging house, if they belong to other places are not to be enumerated as the population of a place.

The sailors and hands of a revenue cutter which belongs to a particular port should be enumerated as of such port. A similar rule will apply to those

employed in the navigation of the lakes, rivers, and canals. All are to be taken at their homes or usual places of abode, whether present or absent; and if any live on board of vessels or boats who are not so enumerated, they are to be taken as of the place where the vessel or boat is owned, licensed, or registered. And the assistant marshals are to make inquiry at every vessel and boat employed in the internal navigation of the United States, and enumerate those who are not taken as belonging to a family on shore; and all persons of such description in any one vessel are to be considered as belonging to one family and the vessel their place of abode. The assistants in all seaports will apply at the proper office for lists of all persons on a voyage at sea and register all citizens of the United States who have not been registered as belonging to some family.

Errors necessarily occurred in the last census in enumerating those employed in navigation, because no uniform rule was adopted for the whole United States. Assistant marshals are required to be particular in following the above directions, that similar errors may now be avoided.

4. Under heading 4, entitled "Age," insert in figures what was the specific age of each person at his or her last birthday previous to the 1st of June, opposite the name of such person. If the exact age in years can not be ascertained, insert a number which shall be the nearest approximation to it.

The age, either exact or estimated, of everyone, is to be inserted.

If the person be a child under 1 year old, the entry is to be made by the fractional parts of a year, thus: One month, one-twelfth; two months, two-twelfths; three months, threetwelfths, and so on to eleven months, eleven-twelfths.

5. Under heading 5, entitled "Sex," insert the letter M for male, and F for female, opposite the name, in all cases, as the fact may be.

6. Under heading 6, entitled "Color," in all cases where the person is white, leave the space blank; in all cases where the person is black, insert the letter B; if mulatto, insert M. It is very desirable that these particulars be carefully regarded.

7. Under head 7, entitled "Profession, occupation, or trade of each person over 15 years of age," insert opposite the name of each male the specific profession, occupation, or trade which the said person is known and reputed to follow in the place where he resides as clergyman, physician, lawyer, shoemaker, student, farmer, carpenter, laborer, tailor, boatman, sailor, or otherwise, as the fact may be. When more convenient, the name of the article he produces may be substituted.

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