Heads of Families at the First Census 1790 *
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HEADS OF FAMILIES AT THE FIRST CENSUS 1790 * INTRODUCTION. in other cases the returns were given by counties The First Census of the United States (1790) com- only. Thus the complete transcript of the names of prised an enumeration of the inhabitants of the present heads of families, with accompanying information, states of Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, IKentucky, wouId present for the first time detailed information as Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, to the number of inhabitants-males, females, etc.-for New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, each minor civil division in all those states for which Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, such information was not originally published. and Virginia. The law which authorized this enumer- In response to repeated requests from patriotic so- ation appears on page 6. cieties and persons interested in genealogy, or desir- A complete set of the schedules for each state, with a ous of studying the early history of the United States, summary for the counties, and in many cases for towns, Congress added to the sundry civil appropriation bill was filed in the State Department, but unfortunately for the fiscal year 1907 the following paragraph: they are not now complete, the returns for the states The Director of the Census is hereby authorized and directed to of Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennes- publish, in a permanent form, by counties and minor civil divi- see, and Virginia having been destroyed when the gions, the names of the heads of families returned at the First Cen- 311s of the United States in seventeen hundred and ninety; and British burned the Capitol at Washington during the Lhe. Director of the Census is authorized, in his discretion, to sell War of 1812. z&4 publications, the proceeds thereof to be covered into the These schedules form a umquo inheritance for the I’rewury of the United States, to be deposited to the credit of mis- Nation, since they represent for each of the states con- :ellaneous receipts on account of “Proceeds of sales of Government property:” cerned a complete list of the heads of families in the Provided, That no expense shall be incurred hereunder additional United States at the time of the adoption of the Con- ;o appropri&ms for the Census Office for printing thcrefor made stitution. The framers were the statesmen and leaders ior the Escal year nineteen hundred ancl seven; and the Director of thought, but those whose names appear upon the ,f the Census is hereby directed to report to Congress at its next schedules of the First Census were in general the plain session the cost incurred hereunder and the price tied for said citizens who by their conduct in war and peace made publications and the total received therefor. the Constitution possible and by their intelligence and The amount of money appropriated by Congress for self-restraint put it into successful operation, 1the Census printing for the fiscal year mentioned was The total population of the United States in 1790, 1unfortunately not sufficient to meet the current re- ’ exclusive of slaves, as derived from the schedules, was tluirement of the Office and to publish the transcrip- 3,231,533. The only names appearing upon the sched- I?ion of the First Census, and no provision was made ules, however, were those of heads of families, and as at i.n the sundry civil appropriation bill for 1908 for the that period the families averaged 6 persons, the total (::ontinuance of authority to publish these important number was approximately 540,000, or slightly more records beyond the present fiscal year. Resources, than half a million. The number of names which is now lacking because of the destruction of the schedules ; lowever, are available for publishing a small section is approximately 140,000, thus leaving schedules con- t3f the work, and the schedules of New Hampshire, Ver- taining about 400,000 names. mont, andMarylandhave been selected. Iuthese states The information contained in the published report 3;he names of heads of families in 1790 were limited in of the First Census of the United States, a small vol- 1lumber, and the records are in a condition which ume of 56 pages, was not uniform for the several states uakes transcription comparatively easy. In the fol- and territories. For New England and one or two of ; .owing pages all the information is presented which the other states the population was presented by coun- fappears upon these schedules, and the sequence of the ties and towns, that of New Jersey appeared partly 1lames is that followed by the enumerator in making by counties and towns and partly by counties only; 1ais report. 1 INTRODUCTION. 5 ules vary in size from about 7 inches long, 3 inches seems very small when compared with the present wide, and 4 inch thick to 21 inches long, 14 inches area of the United States, the difficulties which con- wide, and 6 inches thick. Some of the sheets in these fronted the census taker were vastly greater than in volumes are only 4 inches long, but a few are 3 feet in 1900. In many localities there were no roads, and length, necessitating several folds. In some cases where these did exist they were poor and frequently leaves burned at the edges have been covered with impassable; bridges were almost unknown, T1’ans- r transparent silk to preserve them. portation was entirely by horseback, stage, or private coach. A journey as long as that from New York to TEE UNITED STATES IN 1790. Washington was a serious undertaking, requiring In March, 1790, the Union consisted of twelve eight days under the most favorable conditions. states-Rhode Island, the last of the original thirteen W&tern New York was a wilderness, Elmira and to enter the Union, being admitted Mcty 29. Ver- Binghamton being but detached hamlets. The terri- mont, the first addition, was admitted in the following tory west of the Allegheny mountains, with the excep- year, before the results of the First Census were tion of a portion of Kentucky, was unsettled and’ announced. Maine was a part of Massachusetts, scarcely penetrated. Detroit and Vincennes were Kentucky was a part of Virginia, and the present too small and isolated to merit consideration. Phila- states of Alabama and Mississippi were parts of delphia was the capital of the United States. Wash- Georgia. The present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illi- ington was a mere Government project, not even nois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, with part of Minnesota, named, but known as the Federal City. Indeed, by were known as the Northwest Territory, and the the spring of 1793, only one wall of the White House present state of Tennessee, then a part of North Caro- had been constructed, and the site for the Capitol had lina, was soon to be organized as the Southwest been merely surveyed. New York city in 1790 pos- Territory. sessed a population of only 33,131, although it was the The United States was bounded on the west by the largest city in the United States; Philadelphia was Mississippi river, beyond which stretched that vast second, with 28,522; and Boston third, with 18,320, and unexplored wilderness belonging to the Spanish Mails were transported in -very irregular fashion, and King, which was afterwards ceded to the United correspondence was eipensive and uncertain. States by France as the Louisiana Purchase, and now There were, moreover, other difficulties which were comprises the great and populous states of Louisiana, of serious moment in 1790, but which long ago ceased Arkansas, Indian Territory, Oklahoma, Missouri, to be problems in census taking. The inhabitants, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North having no experience with census taking, imagined Dakota, and Montana, and most of Colorado, Wyo- that some scheme for increasing taxation was involved, ming, and Minnesota. The Louisiana Purchase was and were inclined to be cautious lest they should reveal not completed for more than a decade after the First too much of their own aeairs. There was also oppo- Census was taken. On the st)uth was another Spanish sition to enumeratiofi on religious grounds, a count of colony known as the Floridas. Texas, then a part inhabitants being regarded by many as a cause for of the colony of Mexico, belonged to Spain’; and divine displeasure. The boundaries of towns and California, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, also the other minor divisions, and even those of counties, were property 0% Spain, although penetrated here and there in many cases unknown or not defined at all. The by venturesome explorers and missionaries, were, hitherto semi-independent states had been under the for the most part, an undiscovered wilderness. control of the Federal Government for so short a time The gross area of the United States was 827,844 that the diBerent sections had not yet been welded square miles, but the settled area was only 239,935 into an harmonious nationality in which the Federal square miles, or about 29 per cent of the total. authority should be unquestioned and instructions Though the area covered by the enumeration in 1’790 promptly and fully obeyed. FIRST CENSUS ACT. 7 obviate all doubts which may arise respecting the persons to be beat of his or her knowledge, of aJ.l and every person belonging to returned, and the manner of making the returns. such family, respectively, according to the several descriptions SECTION 5. Be it enacted, That every person whose usual place of aforesaid, on pain of forfeiting twenty dollars, to be sued for and abode shall be in any family on the aforesaid first Monday in August recovered by such assistant, the one-half for his own use, and tho next, shall be returned as of such family; the name of every person, other half for the use of the United States.