Contents
1. The 1840 Census
2. The population of Essex in 1840
1. Total Population
2. Population by age, gender, race
3. Population by surname and family size
• Surnames
4. Occupation
5. Revolutionary War Pensioners
6. Disabled
7. Schools
3. References
4. Index

• Index 1. Gilman P. Allen to Charles Dexter

• Index 2. Nehemiah Dodge to Michael Whitehouse

5. Transcription

Description

1. The 1840 Census

The 1840 census of Essex is found on pages 315 through 324 of the Census {1}. The census lists heads of families, and enumerates family members by age, sex, and race. Also enumerated are the number of family members engaged in commerce, agriculture, navigation of the seas, manufacturing, mining, and learned professions. Any Revolutionary War pensioners are named with their age. Finally there are columns indicating the number of family members who are blind , deaf and dumb, or insane.

Columns:
• Names of Heads of Families
• Free white persons, including heads of families: Males and Females in age groups under 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, and 100 or over.
• Free colored persons: Males and Females in age groups under 10, 10 to 24, 24 to 36, 36 to 55, 55 to 100, 100 or over.
• Number of persons in each family engaged in Mining, Agriculture, Commerce, Manufacturing and trades, Navigation of the seas, Learned professions.
• Pensioners: name and age
• Deaf and dumb - white by age group: under 14, 14 to 25, 25 or over
• Blind and Insane - blind, blind at private charge, blind at public charge
Deaf and dumb - colored with columns for deaf and dumb, blind, insane and idiots at private charge, insane and idiots at public charge. Schools with columns for number of schools, number of scholars at public charge

2. The population of Essex in 1840
1. Total Population



The total population of Essex in 1840 was 1,450.

The total non-white population was 8, or 0.6% of the total population. There were two households which included only those described as colored. They were the households of Parker Lemon (pg. 316) and Olive Richardson (pg. 319). Also the household of George Story (pg. 322) included a colored male.


2. Population by age, gender, race

Table 1. Age - Sex structure of the white population of Essex

AGE	MALES	FEMALES	TOTAL
UNDER 5	101	78	179
5 TO 10	84	99	183
10 TO 15	112	78	190
15 TO 20	61	66	127
20 TO 30	127	106	233
30 TO 40	99	99	198
40 TO 50	65	68	133
50 TO 60	44	42	86
60 TO 70	31	32	63
70 TO 80	15	23	38
80 TO 90	5	7	12
90 TO 100	0	0	0
TOTALS	744	698	1,442




Table 2. The non-white population of Essex by age group and sex

AGE	MALES	FEMALES	TOTAL
UNDER 10	1	0	1
10 - 24	2	2	4
24 - 36	0	1	1
36 - 55	1	1	2
55 - 100	0	0	0
TOTALS	4	4	8



3. Population by surname and family size



There are 73 different surnames found in Essex in 1840. Twenty of those appear for the first time. They are noted in Table 3. Surnames which were found in the 1830 census, but in 1840 are: Boardman, Caswell, Craft, Dennison, Emerson, Jarrett, Larabee, Masuary, Roberts, and Whittemore.

The average family size, found by dividing the total population by the total number of families, is 5.0 people per family, which is slightly lower than the 5.3 people per family in 1830. The most commonly found family size is 3, with 46 families. Four family had 12 or more members. There were two with 12 members (Moses Knowlton, Tyler Andrews), one with 13 members (Robert Crowell), and one with 19 members (James Andrews). James Andrews was the manager of the poor farm, and this family size represents the residents there. In 18 instances the head of family lived alone. A family size of 5 had the greatest total number of people with 195.

Females headed 28 (10%) of the families. This is a decrease from 1830, when females were listed as head of families for 42 (17%) of the families.

Table 3. Surnames in the 1840 census of Essex, Mass., number of households for each, and number of people listed under that surname. Those marked with an asterisk (*) were not listed in the 1830 census of Essex.

4. Occupation

The 1840 census enumerated 180 people engaged in agriculture, 3 engaged in commerce, 174 in manufacturing, 30 mariners, and 2 learned professionals. Of the three people engaged in commerce, two are from the household of Charles Dexter, and one from the household of George Burnham. Most of those engaged in manufacturing worked in the shipyards. The two "learned professionals" in Essex in 1840 were Rev. Robert Crowell, minister at the Congregational Church, and Dr. Josiah Lamson, the town physician.

There is one instance where the transcription page totals do not match the census page totals. On page 316, the total number of individuals engaged in agriculture in transcription is two greater than the page total given in the census report. On page 316 the household of Winthrop Burnham only includes himself, however both agriculture and manufacturing are marked with one person each.

5. Revolutionary War Pensioners

Seven revolutionary War pensioners are listed. They are:

Page	Name	Age
315	Miriam Choate	68
316	William Andrews	81
316	Abigail Butler	79
317	Aaron Low	85
318	Susan Foster	74
319	Benjamin Burnham	85
322	Sarah Burnham	77

6. Disabled

One person in the household of Robert Crowell was listed as a colored person, insane or idiotic, maintained at public charge. The household of Daniel Mears has one blind white person , and one insane or idiotic colored person maintained at private charge.

7. Schools

In 1840 there were 7 schools in Essex, with a student population of 473. Schooling for all students was publically supported.

3. References

1. NARA, 1840 Federal Census, Microfilm roll 704-180, p. 315-324

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