United States Census 1870

United States   U.S. Census    1870 Census

Indexes and Images
For an article about 1870 census population schedules available for free online at FamilySearch Historical Record Collections see the U.S. Census Population Schedules, 1870 Wiki page. Ancestry.com (subscription site) has indexes and images of all 1850 federal censuses. HeritageQuestOnline.com (subscription site) has some indexes and images of all 1850 federal censuses.

For more details, see individual state census Wiki pages. For tips if the first census index search does not work, see the United States Census Searching Wiki page.

Content
1870 Census was taken beginning 1 June 1870, for five months. The following information was recorded by the census taker:

Name                       Age—at last birthday                        Sex                        Color                        Profession, occupation, trade                        Value real estate                        Value personal property                        Birthplace                        Father foreign born                        Mother foreign born                        Month born in census year                        Month married in census year                        School in census year                        Can’t read or write                        Deaf, dumb, blind, insane, idiotic                        Male eligible to vote                       Color - white (W), black (B), Chinese (C), Indian (I), mulatto (M)

1790-2000 Information: http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-2.pdf

Value
The 1870 census can be used to:1

Identify Missing in 1870—may be casualty of Civil War                       Parents of foreign birth indicate naturalization records                        Identify Color (Origins) —white (W), black (B), Chinese (C), Indian (I), mulatto (M) 1850-1930 Search Tips: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1850-1930.html

Unique Features and Problems
1. Asked if the father or mother of the individual were foreign born 2. Asked if born within the year and to give month 3. Asked if a male citizen over 21 years of age 4. Asked if a male citizen over 21 years of age, who has had their rights to vote denied other than because of the grounds of    rebellion or crime 5. If a male individual is missing in this Census, it may serve as a clue that he may have been a casualty of the Civil War 6. The census was to list only those abiding in the house as of June 1 (those who died or children born after June 1 may not    have been accounted for by the enumerator if they counted the household after that date) 7. It has been said that many people were missed in the South 8. Dwelling houses numbered in order of visitation. 9. Families numbered in order of visitation 10. Name every person living in household 11. Children under 1—months as fractions 12. 1st census to ask if parents of foreign birth

States Covered and Missing

 * Alabama
 * Arkansas
 * California
 * Connecticut
 * Delaware
 * District of Columbia
 * Florida
 * Georgia
 * Illinois
 * Indiana
 * Iowa
 * Kansas
 * Kentucky
 * Louisiana
 * Maine
 * Maryland
 * Massachusetts
 * Michigan
 * Minnesota
 * Mississippi
 * Missouri
 * Nebraska
 * Nevada
 * New Hampshire
 * New Jersey
 * New York
 * North Carolina
 * Ohio
 * Oregon
 * Pennsylvania
 * Rhode Island
 * South Carolina
 * Tennessee
 * Texas
 * Vermont
 * Virginia
 * West Virginia
 * Wisconsin

Territories

 * Arizona
 * Colorado
 * Dakota
 * Idaho
 * Montana
 * New Mexico
 * Utah
 * Washington
 * Wyoming

Web Sites
1870 United States Census—A free Internet census index and images to the 1870 census can be viewed on the FamilySearch Record Search. This index shows every name listed on the census and is linked to census images including information about each person’s residence, age, birthplace, occupation, other family members, and neighbors.

1790-2000 Info: http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cff-2.pdf

1850-1930 Search Tips: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/census/1850-1930.html

Sources of This Collection
1. Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guide book to American Genealogy. 3rd ed. (Provo, UT: Ancestry, 2006.)

How to Cite your Sources

An example of citing these records is: United States. Census Office. 9th census, 1870. United States Census, 1870. Census page. From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org), April 23, 2010. Mary J Peterson, birth place Georgia, birth year 1835.

Instructions for citing this source can be found at: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections