By Nina Brawn
As my regular readers know, I think the U.S. census is a great resource for genealogists. My family and I have found many clues; and family members we never knew existed, because of the U. S. decennial census. That is why I was especially pleased to learn that I was going to be an enumerator for last year’s census.
Every 10 years, the federal government organizes the census to “count” the people living in America. The censuses were started in 1790 to determine how many legislators were needed to fairly represent the population. That is why the earliest censuses were so “unhelpful” to genealogists, as they listed only heads of households. As each census was planned, however, more and more questions were added as our legislators began to realize how valuable this resource could be. Finally in 1850 they asked for the names of all the people living in a household.
In addition to the regular census, some years, particular categories or “schedules” were added, and questions were asked separate from the regular census. Some examples of these would be the “Slave”, “Veteran” and “Mortality” schedules. The census asked about people who were living in a household on a given day of the year. “Mortality Schedules” asked about former members of that household who had died during the previous year.
There are two main reasons I wanted to be an enumerator for the census. The first reason is that I feel an obligation to return a little something for all the benefits I have derived from past censuses. The second is because I have so often wished that past enumerators had written more neatly, spelled more carefully; or simply found my relatives at home. I know that I am going to encounter many of the same obstacles faced by past enumerators, which I hope will make me a little more tolerant when I can’t get what I want from the old censuses. But I am also hoping that my own experience using censuses will make me better at my job when it is my turn to do it.
None of us like to answer questions about ourselves and our families, but this information is very valuable. It determines, in part, how much of our tax dollars will be coming home to us for the next 10 years. It also will help future generations piece together some details which they might not otherwise find.
There are few documents about my great-grandparents’ lives. They were born in towns about 50 miles apart, and we always wondered how they came to be married. Using the 1880 Census, we found their families living on the same street in Hartford while both were still teenagers. We may never know for sure, but now we can make a good guess about how they met and married. When it is your turn to answer the questions in the Decennial Census, please remember the benefits to future genealogists and answer fully and frankly. Your great-grandchildren will be grateful.
Editor’s note: This regular column is sponsored by the Aroostook County Genealogical Society. The group meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at the Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center, 163 Van Buren Road, Caribou, at 6:30 p.m. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501. Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft has been doing genealogy for over 30 years, is a freelance genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com.
