How-to Links for Census Research
USGenWeb Census Project

STATE CENSUS

State Census for North Carolina, 1784–1787. North Carolina. State Department of Archives and History.Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971. 2d ed. Norfolk, Va.: n.p., 1971. F258 .N92.

In 1784 the North Carolina General Assembly requested that a list of inhabitants be taken. Age and sex categories for whites and blacks are included. Compliance was slow and apparently incomplete, with some counties not responding until 1786. There is some evidence that another census was conducted in 1787; the so-called 1784–87 state census may be two censuses intermingled.

Extant portions of the 1784–87 state censuses are in Alvaretta K. Register, State Census of North Carolina, 1784–1787, 2d ed., rev. (1971; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1978).

Additional portions of the 1784–87 censuses have been located since the Register's publication. See Helen F. M. Leary, comp., "Bertie Co., N.C., 1787 State Census," The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal 9, no. 1 (February 1983): 32–34.

FEDERAL CENSUS

NC-CENSUS-LOOKUP-L@rootsweb.com

Population Schedules

Population Schedules. • Indexed—1790 (incomplete), 1800, 1810 (incomplete), 1820 (incomplete), 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1890 (fragments) • Soundex—1880, 1900, 1910 (Miracode), 1920

1790

All of the 1790 censuses have been alphabetized (and typed). This is what is available on microfilm and in books at most genealogical libraries. The original 1790 censuses are available at the National Archives.

1790 Census - Bertie Co, Edenton District. (1960) B.G. Sanderlin, pub.
	Almasy, Sandra L. Lists Head of families only

In 1780 , the NC General Assembly decided to divide the state up into "Fiscal Districts" that more or less
corresponded to the judicial districts then in existence.

If you look in the published transcripts of the 1790, the counties aren't alphabetical independently....but they are within their districts.


EDENTON District (Bertie, Camdem, Chowan, Currituck, Gates, Hertford,
Pasquotank, Perquimans and Tyrrell counties)

HALIFAX District: (Edgecombe, Franklin, Halfisac, Martin, Nash, Northampton
and Warren counties)

HILLSBOROUGH District: (Caswelll, Chatham, Granville, Orange, Randolph and
Wake)

MORGAN District: (Burke, Lincoln, Rutherford, Sullivan, Washington and Wilkes);

NEW BERN District: (Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dobbs, Hyde, johnbston,
Jones, Pitt and Wayne)

SALISBURY District (Created in 1782 and then after 1782.: Anson, Guilford,
Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Richmond, Rowan and Surry)

Helpful Chart handy for calculating birth dates from ages listed on Census

1800

1800 Census Census Day was 1st Mon in Aug, 1810
Typed Copy is in the Library in Windsor.


1800  Census
1810
1810 Census 

Typed Copy is in the Library in Windsor.


1810 Census ON LINE  Census Day was 1st Mon in Aug, 1810
1810  Census



The following is from NORTH CAROLINA RESEARCH-GENEALOGY AND LOCAL
HISTORY by Helen F. M. Leary (well known N.C. Scholar) page 10.

"During the early nineteenth century,  Native Americans were described
by federal census takers as free persons of color, mulattos,
or whites simply because no correct racial category was included in
the government's instructions. Consequently, genealogist
searching for their minority or mixed-blood ancestors and local
historians interested in ethnic representation within the community
often must depend on present-day descendants' oral traditions, which
are not primary sources but are nevertheless essential to these
kinds of investigations".

As noted earlier by "The Miller Book" this also was the case in the
eighteenth century.

1984 Webster's definition Mulatto: 1: the-first generation offspring
of a Negro and a White  2: a person of mixed Caucasian and
Negro ancestry.Shared by Neil Baker 


1820
 Census Day was 1st Mon in Aug, 1820


1820

1820 Federal Census of NC  Potter, Dorothy Williams.  (56 
volumes bound in 22 books) Bk 1 	contains Bertie County.

Note: Some Printed Indexes list this 1820 Bertie Census as being in Beaufort 
County - Bertie Township. This is incorrect. On the actual census you'll see it is in Bertie 
County.
1820 Partial Census

The males 16-18 were enumerated separately, but ALSO INCLUDED in the next column 16-26.

The categories allowed Congress to determine persons residing in the United States for collection of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House of Representatives. For the first time, the numbers of inhabitants engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing were tabulated.



For  military purposes,  males in the 16-18 year-old
category in 1820, it would probably be hard to claim
that they had none if they were needed for service in
1822. Perhaps the category 16-26 in the previous 1810
census included too many who were over 26 by the time
of the War of 1812.  The new category may have been
created to make having the "numbers" of males eligible
for service more exact.


Breaking the numbers down into smaller categories by
the 1830 census appears to have been a wise move - and
a vast improvement over the categories for 1790!




1820 FEDERAL CENSUS: Column headings

Name of county, parish, township, town or city, where the family resides.
Names of heads of families.

Free white males:
  Under 10 years of age
  Of 10 and under 16
  Between 16 and 18
  Of 16 and under 26, including heads of families
  Of 26 and under 45, including heads of families
  Of 45 and upwards, including heads of families

Free white females:
  Under 10 years of age
  Of 10 and under 16
  Of 16 and under 26, including heads of families
  Of 26 and under 45, including heads of families
  Of 45 and upwards, including heads of families  

Foreigners not naturalized

Number of persons engaged in:
  Agriculture
  Commerce
  Manufacture

Slaves:
  Males:
    Under 14 years
    Of 14 and under 26
    Of 26 and under 45
    Of 45 and upwards
  Females:
    Of 14 and under 26
    Of 26 and under 45
    Of 45 and upwards

Free colored persons:
  Males:
    Under 14 years
    Of 14 and under 26
    Of 26 and under 45
    Of 45 and upwards
  Females:
    Of 14 and under 26
    Of 26 and under 45
    Of 45 and upwards

All other persons, except Indians not taxed




1830
 Census Day June 1, 1830



1830 census 




1840
 Census Day June 1, 1840

1840  Census 

1850
 Census Day June 1, 1850

 Census   by Suzan Speropolous


 Census 1850 

Almasy, Sandra L.  Bertie County, NC.  free population and slave 
population 	(1991)(Sandra.Almasy@njackn.com)


The 1850 federal census, Bertie County. Bradley, Stephen E.   
(1991) (114 6th Ave             Lawrenceville, VA 23868   ( 
http://jenent.com/bradleyp)

1850 Census  Lookup: Joella Jones  jdjon@centuryinter.net



1860
 Census Day June 1, 1860

1860 Census On-Line Complete by Suzan Speropolous


 Census 1860

Almasy, Sandra L.  Bertie County, NC.  free population and slave 
population. 273 pg.	(1996)published: Kensington Glen2105 Gateway St. 
N,Middleton,WI 53562-3405, $27(Sandra.Almasy@njackn.com)


1862 Confederate Census

1870
 Census Day June 1, 1870

1870 Census Work   by Suzan Speropolous


 Census 1870

Almasy, Sandra L.  Bertie County, NC.  free population and slave 
population. 353pg. $30.50 	(1996)published: Kensington Glen2105 
Gateway St. N,Middleton,WI 53562-3405, 
$27(Sandra.Almasy@njackn.com)

1880
Census Day, June 1, 1880


1880 Partial Census

1880 Census by Suzan Speropolous


1880 Mitchell Township - African-American


Census 1880 

Almasy, Sandra L. Bertie County, N.C.  440pg 2 vols. $34.25 (pub 
Kensington Glen, 2105 Gateway St. N,Middleton,WI 53562-3405, 1996) 
2 vols.indexed. (Sandra.Almasy@njackn.com)


1890
 Census Day, June 1, 1890
Almost all records for this census were burned.
Union Vets 1890 Census  Available on Microfilm 

1900
  Census Day - June 1, 1900

Marianne is transcribing the 1900 census. Check back as more will be added.

1900




1910
 Census Day - April 15, 1910

1910  



 1920
  Census Day - January 1, 1920


 1920 ON-LINE 

1930 Census 

 1930 ON-LINE 


1940 Census 
This 1940 census is available through several sites.

Family Search 

Microfilm
1800  M32-30
1810 M252-39
1820 1820-82
1830 M19-118
1840 M704-354
1850 M432-621
Non-Population Census
Industry and Agriculture Schedules.
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880


Mortality Schedules.
• 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
Union Veterans Schedules.
• 1890
Slave Schedules.
1850
Microfilm: M432-650

1860
Microfilm: M653-920



CONFEDERATE TAX CENSUS FOR BERTIE CO., NC, 1862  compiled by U.S.
History Class 1975-76, Roanoke Chowan Academy, Windsor, N.C.
(Windsor Library and NC Archives-Raleigh) (Available $6 +$2 postage) porto@williamstonnc.com
Harry Thompson
PO Box 296
Plymouth, NC  27962 




1880 Census


Additional census provided with this year.

1880 Defective, Dependent, Delinquent Schedules
                In 1880, the census schedules included a special enumeration of people
who were residents of various asylums, such as prisons or poorhouses,
or who had various afflictions that made them dependent on others for
support, such as deaf-mutes, homeless children, the indegent, the
insane, or the blind. 

 The purpose of this special schedule was to
identify people in these categories and to learn more specifically
about their situation. 
Samples of what you might find.  In Whiteville, Hardeman
County, Tennessee, the names of Rufus Green and Clavin Hall were
recorded on the schedule of "insane" persons.  Before the schedules
were sent off, Dr. A.P. Waddell M.D., scratched off the names and
wrote, "I have known Rufus Green and Cal HAll for many years- they are
both colored and are both of sound mind." 
 In the same county, Ben
Oppenheimer of Bolivar had been deaf since the age of three, due to
scarlet fever.  He had lived for three years at the Kentucky State
Mute Asylum, from which he was discharged in 1855. 
 About William
Burnette, listed as insane, the enumerator J.R. Jones of Hardeman
County wrote,  
        " I cannot learn anything in reference to the above named
person only that he was of sound mind up to the Shiloh Battle in April
1862 but soon after said battle he became insane and been so ever
since.  He is in good health and lives with his brother Geroge L.
Burnette.  He is a married man but his wife left him after he became
insane.  No physician has ever examined him; it is believed that he
was so frightened that he became insane"
These DDD schedules were made in most states.  Even in the states
where they were not made or no longer exist, some of the information
is available in the regular population schedules, from which the DDD
schedules were taken.  Microfilm copies are available from many of the
same places as the mortality and supplemental schedules.  

1900-1920 (with SOUNDEX)

Soundex Rule
Soundex Rule you may need: "that if two or more
equivalent key letters appear separated by an   h  or  w, the two or
more letters are encoded as one letter, i.e., by a single number."
Example: Ashcroft correctly encoded is A261,  NOT  A226 produced
"by Soundex rules which omit the unknown rule."

Another example given was for the surname SCHKLAR...Correct Soundex
code is S460, not S246....last example: ACHZEHNER is A256   not  A225.

According to the article, even the NARA Soundex machine does not use
this
rule.

Tip on 1920-1930 Census Search
Marianne Ordway (mordway@adelphia.net)

Some of these census are now indexed with  the Search Engines (Ancestry.com - Genealogy.com).  After trying all the "creative spellings" finally, I decided to search for just the
first name of Doug's grandmother and looked for every "Eunice in Mandan,
Morton Co., ND" [using no surname at all, and "poof" there was Doug's
grandmother listed as Eunice L. "ANDWAY" - even with creative spelling that
variation escaped me totally.  Tried it with the 1920 which wasn't as easy,
so searched for every "William" who was "32 years old" in the state of
"North Dakota" no last name  - "poof" there he was and the whole family
listed as "DIDWAY"  


1930 Census
- Release of the 1930 U.S. Census

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
will release the 1930 Federal population census for the
first time on April 1, 2002. At that time, the
microfilmed copies will be available for research at the
National Archives Building in Washington, DC, at 13 of
the National Archives regional facilities across the
nation, and through the National Archives rental program.

The 1930 census is the 15th Federal census mandated by
the U.S. Constitution, which states, "The actual
Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the
first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and
within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner
as they shall by Law direct...".

The 1930 census consists of 2,667 rolls of population
schedules and 1,587 rolls of Soundex indexes for 12
southern states, totaling 4,254 rolls. Even though the
statistical summaries collected by enumerators are made
public shortly after the census is taken, information on
individuals and families is restricted by law for privacy
reasons for 72 years. [92 Stat. 915; Public Law 95-416;
October 5, 1978].

For a complete listing of National Archives locations and
opening times, check the web site at
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/genindex.html#regional/


COPYRIGHTS: The contents of this newsletter are copyright
by Richard W. Eastman. Also, please include the following
statement with any articles you re-distribute: The
following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy
Newsletter and is copyright 2001 by Richard W. Eastman.
It is re-published here with the permission of the
author. Thank you for your cooperation.




1940 Census and beyond


To make application (named person, family or legal representatives only) for 
this restricted information, visit the United States Census Bureau 
"age search" 
service where they will "search the confidential records from the Federal 
population censuses of 1940 to 1990 and issue an official transcript of the 
results (for a congressionally mandated fee)."



Original vs Copied Census
"Although original schedules were ultimately intended for federal
authorities, enuerators in some census years prepared duplicate copies for
state and county use. Especially for the four censuses of 1850, 1860, 1870
and 1880, the researcher may find federal, state and county copies of the
schedules, each of the three copies being official and in some sense an
original. Further, these copies frequently differ from each other in small
particulars."
---SOURCE: -From: NC Genealogical Research, ed. by Helen F.M. Leary and
Maurice R. Stirewalt, 1980, NC Genealogical Society 
Soundex 1880 
"The index, however, is not to every name in the census schedules, but only
to those entries for households in which there was a child, or children,
aged 10 or under. The cards give the names, ages, and birth places of all
members of such households; and there is a separate cross-reference card
for each child aged 10 or under whose surname is different from that of the
head of the household in which he is listed. The letter at thebeginning of
the Soundex code is the first initial of the last name of the head of the
household, the number a phonetic code for hte name, and the letter in ( )
is the first initial of of the first name of the head of the household."


---SOURCE: -From: NC Genealogical Research, ed. by Helen F.M. Leary and
Maurice R. Stirewalt, 1980, NC Genealogical Society  



 


How to Links for Census Research
Clue in Census Records, 1850-1920
Clues you might miss!





 USGenWeb Census Projects 
Join one of the Census Projects. 
 
http://www.us-census.org 



These page lists ALL the Census that are ON-Line, and all those in progress.  You can sign up to do a Bertie County Census from these pages.




 


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