1830 Federal
Census for Clay County, Missouri
Description:
This database details those persons enumerated in the
1830 United States Federal Census, the Fifth Census
of the United States. In addition, the names of those
listed on the population schedule are linked to the
actual images of the 1830 Federal Census, copied from
the National Archives and Records Administration
microfilm, M19, 201 rolls. (If you do not initially
find the name on the page that you are linked to, try
a few pages forward or backward, as sometimes
different pages had the same page number.)
Enumerators of the 1830 census were asked to include
the following categories in the census: name of head
of household, number of free white males and females
in age categories: 0 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 15, 15 to
20, 20 to 30, 30 to 40, 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70,
70 to 80, 80 to 90, 90 to 100, over 100; the name of
a slave owner and the number of slaves owned by that
person; the number of male and female slaves by age
categories; the number of foreigners (not
naturalized) in a household; and the number of deaf,
dumb and blind persons within a household. The
categories allowed Congress to determine persons
residing in the United States for collection of taxes
and the appropriation of seats in the House of
Representatives.
The following rolls of film have not yet been linked
to federal census images by Ancestry.com, and thus
can not be searched in this linked index, M19: 3, 8,
,24, 27, 70-71, 137, 140, 168, 174-182, 194, 201.
They have however been indexed and can be searched in
the separate, unlinked, U.S. Federal Census indexes
at U.S. Federal Census index. For details on the
contents of the film numbers that have not been
linked yet, visit the following N.A.R.A. web page:
N.A.R.A.. The linked images for these rolls of film
will be made available on Ancestry.com in the near
future. This database is certain to prove useful for
those seeking early American ancestors.
[NOTE: Subscription to Ancestry's Census
Records is required to view the federal census
images. A searchable index to those census images are
provided here on the Clay County MOGenWeb Project
Page. ]
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Additional Information
The United States was the first country to call for a
regularly held census. The Constitution required that
a census of all "Persons...excluding Indians not
taxed" be performed to determine the collection
of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House
of Representatives. The first nine censuses from
1790-1870 were organized under the United States
Federal Court system. Each district was assigned a
U.S. marshal who hired other marshals to administer
the census. Governors were responsible for
enumeration in territories.
The official enumeration day of the 1830 census was 1
June 1830. All questions asked were supposed to refer
to that date. The count was due within six months,
but the due date was extended by law to allow
completion within twelve months. By 1830, there were
a total of twenty-four states in the Union, with
Missouri being the latest edition. The new territory
of Florida also had its first census in 1830. There
are no state or district wide losses, however, there
were some countywide losses in Massachusetts,
Maryland and Mississippi.
Taken from Chapter 5: Research in Census Records, The
Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto
Dennis Szucs; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and
Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT:
Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).
William Dollarhide, The Census Book: A Genealogist's
Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes,
Heritage Quest: Bountiful, UT, 2000.
