United States Census, 1800 - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of an index to the population schedules listing the inhabitants of the United States taken August 4,1800 and is from NARA microfilm publication M32 Second Census of the United States,1800. The schedules are from Record Group 29 Records of the Bureau of the Census. Index provided by Ancestry.com.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
The 1800 census includes the following information:


 * City, county and state in which census was taken
 * Name of head of household
 * Number of free white males in household under 10 years
 * Number of free white males in household between ages 10-16
 * Number of free white males in household between ages 16-26
 * Number of free white males in household between ages 26-45
 * Number of free white males in household 45 years and older
 * Number of free white females in household under 10 years
 * Number of free white females in household between ages 10-16
 * Number of free white females in household between ages 16-26
 * Number of free white females in household between ages 26-45
 * Number of free white females in household ages 45 and older
 * Number of all other persons in household
 * Number of slaves in each household

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search it would be helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The state where your ancestor lived.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the 
 * 1) Select State
 * 2) Select County
 * 3) Select Township to view the images.

Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age categories to determine an approximate birth date range.
 * Use the residence to locate other records such as land, probate, tax, and church records.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census.
 * A boundary change could have occurred and the record of your ancestor is now in a neighboring locality.

General Information About These Records
Federal census takers were asked to record information about every person who was in each household on the census day, which was the first Monday in August for 1800. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information he collected was supposed to be about the people who were in the house on the census day. The basic census enumeration unit was the county. Each county was divided into enumeration districts, one for each enumerator. The completed forms were sent to the Commerce Department’s Census Office in Washington, D.C.

Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

Population schedules consisted of large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules were arranged by place, such as township or post office. The places were not filed in any particular order. The arrangement of families on a schedule is normally in the order in which the enumerator visited the households. The original schedules are well preserved at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. They were microfilmed in the 1950s and 1960s. The schedules for some counties in varying censuses are missing.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation:

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