| Beginning in 1790, the United States of America | | | | a "dill," the citizen may have said, "oh, you could |
| became the first country in the world to call for | | | | spell it either way."The first nine censuses |
| regularly held censuses. However, the Constitution | | | | (1790-1870) were conducted by assistant federal |
| didn't treat everyone as equal. "Free persons" | | | | marshals of the U.S. Federal Court system. One |
| excluded American Indians living on treaty land | | | | U.S. marshal was assigned to each federal court |
| and who were exempt from paying taxes (or | | | | district, and he was tasked with hiring and |
| voting). However, any male Indian who had joined | | | | assigning the assistant marshals to take the |
| the voting and taxpaying (read: white) population | | | | census in his district. In each territory, the |
| became considered a "free person" and had the | | | | territorial governor was responsible for the census |
| right to vote. "All other persons" meant slaves, | | | | enumeration. Unfortunately, state boundaries didn't |
| who were counted as 3/5 of a person for | | | | always line up with court boundaries, a potential |
| determining representation in Congress. The 3/5 | | | | additional cause of confusion for genealogy |
| rule was to compensate for the large slave | | | | research. Congress didn't get around to creating |
| populations of southern states such as Virginia and | | | | an actual "census office" until right before the |
| South Carolina, where slaves represented 39 and | | | | 1850 census.The 1790 census law required the |
| 43 percent of the populations, respectively. For | | | | U.S. marshals to deposit the original returns from |
| comparison, Connecticut and New Jersey had | | | | their assistants with the clerks of the U.S. District |
| slave populations of 1.1 and 6.2 percent, | | | | Courts. These name lists remained in the clerks' |
| respectively.In Article I, Section 2, the Constitution | | | | offices, while the marshals' summaries from the |
| of the United States says:Representatives and | | | | various districts were sent to the office of the |
| direct taxes shall be apportioned among the | | | | U.S. president. The law required that the president |
| several states which may be included within this | | | | receive "the aggregate amount of each |
| Union according to their respective numbers, | | | | description of persons within their respective |
| which shall be determined by adding to the whole | | | | district." The marshals were to "file the original |
| number of free persons, including those bound to | | | | returns of their assistants with the clerks of their |
| service for a term of years, and excluding Indians | | | | respective district courts, who are hereby |
| not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The | | | | directed to receive and carefully preserve the |
| actual enumeration shall be made within three | | | | same."This requirement was repeated in the |
| years after the first meeting of the Congress of | | | | census laws for 1800, 1810, and 1820. The |
| the United States, and within every subsequent | | | | president was to receive not the name lists, but |
| ten years, in such manner as they shall by law | | | | summaries of the census tallies. This fact |
| direct.You'll notice that the constitution states | | | | contradicts what several well-known publications |
| simply that a census be taken every 10 years, | | | | use as the reason for many early census losses. |
| and leaves the details up to Congress. Therefore, | | | | For example, several genealogical reference books |
| for every census, Congress passes a special law | | | | indicate that when the British burned Washington |
| authorizing the census to take place and | | | | in 1814, the earliest census returns were |
| hammering out the details. Each one is unique, and | | | | destroyed. This incorrect statement can be found |
| requests more and different information than the | | | | in the National Archives guides and Family History |
| last. Ever since the first census of 1790, more | | | | Library guides, for example.However, the only |
| than just an "actual enumeration" or count has | | | | census schedules that could have been in |
| been made. The government uses census data | | | | Washington, D.C., in 1814 were the 1810 schedules |
| for many purposes, including taxation, number of | | | | for the District of Columbia, which had its own |
| Congressional representatives, and federal block | | | | U.S. District Courthouse. Since the 1810 D.C. |
| grants.Genealogists need to keep in mind that | | | | schedules are lost, they may have been the only |
| census data isn't always completely correct. | | | | censuses destroyed when the British burned |
| During the time periods covered by the census | | | | ashington in 1814.Please visit the Blog for more |
| data currently available to family historians (1790 | | | | articles in this series, including specific information |
| to 1930), a most people didn't graduate from high | | | | on which U.S. Census records are available today |
| school, including the census takers who went door | | | | to genealogy researchers, and where to find |
| to door, collecting the information. Mistakes and | | | | them.Beth McIntire has researched her family's |
| misspellings happen among even the most | | | | history as a hobby for more than 10 years and |
| educated.Plus, as difficult as it may be for us to | | | | wants to help you do the same. She offers |
| imagine, some people didn't care how their names | | | | genealogy forums at and free genealogy research |
| were spelled. If the person taking the census said | | | | advice at the Blog. |
| is that "Stockdale" with a "dale" or "Stockdill" with | | | | |