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UNDERSTANDING
THE CENSUS
The index books made to help the research of Federal Census records
easier have eleven pages devoted to explaining why there are so
many mistakes found on Census sheets. The following are listed
as possible causes.
1- How well educated was the Enumerator?. Penmanship etc.
2- Spelling by sound,
3- Multiple lettering.
4- Reduction of letters,
5- Vowel interchanging.
6- Misformed letters or look alike letters.
7- Listing of ethnic names.
8- Nicknames and abbreviated names variations.
9- Voluntary and involuntary information from the resident
10- Americanizing & Aliasing of names.
11- The small 'IF" and 'IS" bloopers. ( Jesse-Jefse etc)
12- Missing a letter or letters.
13- Resident not home. Neighbors answered questions.
The
Census of Cheshire has many of the above errors and probably others
that are not listed above. If the name was legible it was copied
as it was written on the Census sheet. I did not correct the Enumerator's
mistakes even though I knew many of the correct spellings. I will
leave this to the reader's interpretation.
Census lists of the years 1790 thru 1840 only give the name of
the head of each family listed by the Census Enumerator. The above
years also lists by number the males and females who reside with
the above in that house. Census years 1850 thru 1870 list all
individuals in each home by name, age and sex but not their relationship
to each other. Years 1880 thru 1920 adds relationship and other
things which could be useful to the researcher. There is a sheet
with each census year showing what information was asked by the
Census Enumerator. This can be found by checking the Census itself
at any Federal Archives. Space did not allow it to be done here.
Names in each ten year Census 1790 thru 1920 are listed alphabetically
by last name, first name, line number and page number. Also for
the years 1850 thru 1920 the residents of each household are listed
in the same order as shown on the Census taken by the Census Enumerator,
page, line, first name, last name age, and place of birth. Each
house listed will begin with [I]first name last name. From that
name to the next [1] are the only residents of that house. The
first name which has the [1] in front of it is listed as the head
of that house.
The years 1870 and 1910 were the most difficult to interpret.
When the name could not be read on any of the census sheets the
line number will still appear on the index sheets with a question
mark and possibly the first or last name and gender of the individual.
Every possible Town record was used to check names that were difficult
to read, Assessor's, Birth, Death, Cemetery and Vital records.
Please note that as was written in the first part of this introductory
that the spelling was copied as written unless it was so far out
that it seemed best to help the poor dead and departed Enumerator
write what he should have in the first place.
Some of the files are lengthy, for your convenience, the size
is in parentheses next to the census year in the table below.
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