The February 2016 meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on Thursday, February 11, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the meeting to order.
The following is the Treasurer's report for the month of January:
Do you have a family member that
is interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership
in the Madison County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful
gift. A gift card will be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at [email protected],
about a gift membership.
On February 11, 2016, Tom
Pearson presented a program titled Shadow Schedules: An
Introduction to Special & Non-Population Census Schedules.
Tom is a Subject Specialist in the Genealogy Room of the St. Louis
Public Library.
His presentation covered several types of special and non-population
census schedules: Agricultural, Industrial, Statistical, Veterans,
and Mortality.
Most genealogists are familiar with the federal population schedules,
which have been enumerated by the U.S. Census Bureau every ten
years starting in 1790. The population schedules for 1790-1940
are currently available to researchers on websites like Ancestry.com
and HeritageQuestOnline.com. Many genealogists also realize that
there are some special census schedules that enumerate persons
who fall into specific subject categories. Such categories include:
American Indians, Slaveholders, Occupants of U.S. Territories,
Soldiers and Sailors, Veterans, Widows of Veterans, Merchant Seamen,
and Disabled Persons
Most of these special schedules are also available via Ancestry.com.
Many genealogists, however, are not aware that the Census Bureau
was charged with collecting information on agriculture, industry,
and social conditions, as well as counting people. Be aware that
non-population schedules typically name only the farm or business
owner, and, in a few cases, provide statistical information only
(no names at all). Also, some non-population schedules were either
incomplete or were destroyed prior to being microfilmed or otherwise
preserved. So, a non-population schedule may not be available
for a state and census year of interest.
The NARA website (http://www.archives.gov/research/census/nonpopulation)
has a helpful guide to non-population census records. On Ancestry,
you can search by name of farm or business owner...or you can
browse by state, locality, and schedule type.
Agricultural schedules are little
known and rarely used by genealogists. They were scattered among
various archives in which they were deposited by the National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Most were not indexed,
and only a few had been microfilmed until NARA asked that copies
be returned for historical research. The schedules for 1890 were
destroyed by fire, and those for 1900 and 1910 were destroyed
by Congressional order.
Agricultural schedules recorded statistics on farms, plantations,
and market gardens, listing the names of owners, agents, and managers.
The type of statistics recorded included: the total acreage of
land; the value of the farm; machinery and livestock; amount of
staples (wool, cotton, grain, etc.) produced; and the value of
animals slaughtered, etc.
Agricultural schedules can be useful in a variety of situations:
to fill gaps when land and tax records are missing or incomplete;
to distinguish between people with the same names; to document
land holdings of ancestors with suitable follow-up in deeds, mortgages,
tax rolls, and probate inventories; to verify and document black
sharecroppers and white overseers who may not appear in other
records; to identify free black men and their property holdings;
and to trace migration and economic growth.
Manufacturing/Industry Schedules
Summary
1790-1800....None taken
1810...............Incomplete, most lost
1820..............Taken, some lost
1830..............None taken
1840..............Only stats, no names
1850-1870....Taken, but called "Industry Schedule"
1880...............Taken; survive for some industries in some
states
1890...............Destroyed by fire in 1921
1900-1910....Destroyed by order of Congress
These schedules are of limited
interest to many genealogists because they do not provide any
names of persons. They provide strictly statistical information
on a particular county. They provide information on schools, libraries,
and periodicals published in a county, as well as some economic/financial
information. These schedules could, in fact, prove very useful
for someone writing a county or town history.
The Social Statistics schedules can prove useful for genealogists
in three important ways:
This 1880 supplemental schedule listed by name the insane, idiots, deaf mutes, blind, paupers, indigent persons, homeless children, and prisoners. In addition to the individual's name, their race, gender, age, residence, and medical information may have been recorded.
The 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and
1885 censuses included inquiries about persons who had died in
the twelve months immediately preceding the enumeration. This
means in the case of the 1850 mortality schedule (for example)
that the period covered is not January 1, 1850-December 31, 1850.
The period covered is in fact June 1, 1849-May 31, 1850. Mortality
schedules provide nationwide, state-by-state death registers that
predate the recording of vital statistics in most states.
Mortality schedules asked for: deceased's name, sex; age; color
(white, black, mulatto); whether widowed; his or her place of
birth (state, territory, or country); the month in which the death
occurred; his or her profession/occupation/trade; disease or cause
of death; and the number of days ill. In 1870, a place for parents'
birthplaces was added. In 1880, the place where a disease was
contracted and how long the deceased person was a citizen or resident
of the area were included (fractions indicate a period of time
less than a year).
Mortality schedules can be useful for tracing and documenting
genetic symptoms and diseases. They can also be useful for verifying
and documenting African American, Chinese, and Native American
ancestry.
The federal censuses of 1840,
1890, and 1910 specifically identify veterans and/or pensioners.
Some state censuses also have information about soldiers and veterans.
The federal censuses of 1900, 1910, and 1920 include special enumerations
of personnel serving at military and naval installations, ships,
and hospitals at home and overseas.
The military and naval schedules include: name of military or
naval station or vessel, company or troop and regiment, arm of
service, rank, residence in the United States (state, city or
town, street and number), in addition to the information provided
on the population schedules.
You can search for service persons in the 1900, 1910, and 1920
census in the usual way just add keyword MILITARY to your search.
The 1890 veterans schedules provide
the following information: names of surviving soldiers, sailors,
marines, and widows; rank; name of regiment or vessel; date of
enlistment; date of discharge; length of service; post office
address; disability incurred; and remarks.
Veterans schedules are often used as a partial substitute for
the 1890 federal census, which was almost completely destroyed
by fire in 1921. Although the veterans schedules do not list every
member of a household, they do in fact serve as a partial heads
of households lists for those states for which the veterans schedules
exist (33 states, the District of Columbia, and Indian Territory).
The 1930 census was the first to include seamen on U.S.-flag merchant vessels. The merchant seamen schedules include: name of vessel, owner and address, home port, name of seaman, state or country of birth, occupation, whether a veteran and of what war, and address of next of kin.
Tom also had a handout which covered this material in more detail and gave details on where these census schedules can be accessed. It also included the addresses of the relevant websites. If you would like to receive an electronic copy of this handout (with links to these websites), send an email requesting an electronic copy of the Shadow Schedules handout to [email protected].
This presentation was very well received and provoked many questions and comments.