Massachusetts State Census, 1865 - FamilySearch Historical Records

This wiki article describes a collection that is available for free online at FamilySearch Record Search – Pilot Site. To access the collection, see Massachusetts State Census, 1865



Collection Time Period
This information pertains to records created in 1865.

Collection History
In 1855 the legislature directed that a census be taken on June 1 of that year and every 10 years thereafter. The 1865 census was conducted on May 1. The census schedules were delivered to the State Secretary and eventually sent to the State Archives for safe keeping. These records cover more than 95% of the Massachusetts population.

Why This Collection was Created
The state census of Massachusetts was taken in order to enumerate the population for representation purposes.

Collection Reliability
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.

Collection Description
The census schedules consisted of large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules were arranged by street in order of visitation.

Collection Content
Genealogical information in the census:


 * Name
 * Age
 * Birthplace
 * Sex
 * Color
 * Condition (Marital status, 1865 only)
 * Occupation

How To Use This Collection
Census records are the best source to quickly identify a family group and residence. Use the place of residence and the birthplace for each person along with his or her age to search for other record types. The census identifies other persons in the household. The census may identify persons for whom other records do not exist.

Related Article
Massachusetts Census