Andover, ME US Census Reports, 1790 – 1820
What¹s in them and how do you use them?
General
Information
The US Census was taken
because it was mandated by our Constitution. George Washington signed the papers making this act a law in 1790. The
Constitution directs that there will be "an enumeration of
inhabitants", and nothing more. However, the Census has evolved and now we
can learn much more than just the number of people who live in our country.
In 1790, the U.S. population
was 3,231,533. This did not include slaves or the untaxed Indians. One of the
main goals of the census was to provide information about men eligible for the
military. The United States had only recently gained our independence from
England and the men of the day knew it was important to assemble a viable
military, if the need arose.
The first six censuses – from 1790 through 1840
–listed only the head of household by name. The rest of the household was
indicated by the number of nameless males and females in broad age categories
that changed with most every census.
Starting with the 1850 census, each
person who was a member of the household was listed by name and their
relationship to the head of the household. Also, the age of each person was
indicated, sometimes by the year and month in which they were born, and
sometimes by their age at a certain date shortly before the census was taken.
The method of reporting the ages, as well as the information asked for by the
census enumerator, changed with succeeding censuses.
We have transcribed these census
reports from microfilm copies of the handwritten originals. Some of the census
enumerators had excellent handwriting which made their work fairly easy to
read. Others were less skilled at handwriting which made their work difficult
to transcribe. Likewise, most of the microfilms were fairly easy to read, but
some were either too dark or too light, thus making it more difficult to read.
The reason I transcribed these
census reports was to help historians and genealogical researchers quickly and easily
research those who lived in Andover, ME in each of the years the US Census was
taken. Although I have checked the information as closely as possible, because
of the handwritten nature of the original material and the occasionally hard-to-read
microfilm, it is quite possible that there are some errors. In those cases
where I could only read part of a name because the rest of it was illegible, I
entered the part that I could read and entered one or more question marks for
the illegible portion.
You should also know
that there was a certain amount of inconsistency with what was told to the
census enumerator from one census to the next. A woman may have been named
Adelaide on one census and Addie on the next one. Or Susan on one census may
have become Susie on the next. Also, there was an occasional switching of first
and middle names. Annie Grace on one census may have become Grace A. on another
census. Additionally, some names became initials and vice versa. So, keep a
flexible attitude as you are searching these records.
The censuses were originally
recorded on large sheets of paper which contained more information than an
8-1/2 x 11 sheet of common computer paper could hold. SoŠ in most years we had
to omit a few columns of data. Because we created this work mainly for
historical and genealogical research, we left out the columns that we thought
would be least valuable to historical and genealogical researchers. Therefore,
most of the records here are missing some data that was on the original
records, but we think it is the data which would be least valuable to you.
Also, sometimes the original
records had the surname followed by the given name, and sometimes the given
name followed by the surname. In the interest of consistency we used a format
that has the given name first and the surname last, regardless of how it was on
the original census.
Although the data recorded on the
census forms changed from year to year, some of the information included in the
US Censuses between 1850 and 1920 include:
·
names
of family members
· their ages at a certain point in
time
· number of children born to each
mother and number of children still living
·
their
state or country of birth
€ their
parent's birthplaces
€ year
of immigration
€ street
address
€ marriage
status and years of marriage
·
occupation(s)
·
value
of their home and personal belongings
If you have any questions or
corrections, please direct them to bobspidell@aol.com,
or regular mail to:
Robert A. Spidell
815 Calle Dulcinea
San Clemente, CA 92672
949-492-5533
Where can you find the US census on microfilms or
online?
There
are several ways you can access the US Census microfilms or online if you want
to do additional research.
All National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) offices have copies of the US Census on microfilm. The
NARA office closest to Andover is at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston.
You can find the location of all NARA offices at: http://www.archives.gov/locations/states.html
1.
The
LDS (Mormon) Church has access to microfilms of US Censuses in its Family
History Centers. The Family History Centers closest to Andover are at Oxford,
207-743-8125, and Farmington, 207-778-4038.
2.
Some
libraries and historical societies have access to Heritage Quest, which has the
US Censuses online.
3.
The
LDS Church website at http://www.familysearch.org/
has FREE access to the 1880 US Census online.
Andover,
Maine US Census Microfilm Indexes
Year NARA Microfilm Number
1790 T498,
Roll 1, p. 64 (Included in New Pennacook, [now Rumford] ME)
1800 M32,
Roll 8, p. 106
1810 M252,
Roll12, p. 383
1820 M37,
Roll 33, p. 146-149
1830 M19,
Roll 50, pp. 84-86
1840 M704,
Roll147, pp. 240-243
1850 M432,
Roll 262, pp. 383-397
1860 M653,
Roll 444, pp.393-411
1870 M593,
Roll 550, pp.
1880 T9,
Roll 484, ED 116, p. 13
1890 M123,
Roll 6, ED 132, p. 1-3
1900 T623,
Roll 596, pp. 10- 17
1910 T624,
Roll 543, p. 15
1920 T625,
Roll 647, p. 7
What information will you find on the US Censuses?
1790-1840
For the years 1790 through 1840, you find only
the name of the head of the household. These censuses do not give the names of
other people living in the house. The number of other people living in the
household, grouped by age and sex, is listed.
1850
Beginning in 1850, the name of every household member was recorded. The 1850 census lists the name, age, sex, color, occupation (of those over 15), birthplace (country or state), married within the year, attended school this year, cannot read or write, and whether deaf, blind, insane. Additional questions were added to later schedules.
1860
The 1860 census asks the value of each head of household's personal estate.
1870
The 1870 census indicates if the parents of
the individual were born in a foreign country and asked about the U.S.
citizenship of every male aged 21 years or older.
1880
The birthplace (country or state) of the
parents of each individual was added this year. Relationship between the head
of household and other members of the household is identified. This is the
first census to be indexed by Soundex, but only for those households in which a
child under ten was living.
1890
On January 10, 1921, a fire in the Commerce
Department building, Washington, DC, resulted in the destruction of most of the
1890 census, to the woe of researchers ever since. However, a separate census of Union veterans who were
pensioners and widows of Union veterans was not destroyed in the fire.
1900
The 1900 census requested the number of years the individual had been married, the year of immigration, citizenship status, the month and year of birth, number of months not employed, number of months attended school, can't speak English, home owned or rented, mortgage status, farm or house, and for married women, the number of children born and the number of children then living.
1910
The 1910 census is similar to 1900. Survivors
of the Civil War are indicated. However, the enumerator who took the Andover
census did not answer this question. However, because we have done extensive
research on Andover Civil War veterans, we believe the following men served in
the Union forces during the Civil War: George H. Hutchins, Harvey L. Newton,
Peter W. Learned, James W. Hall, Elijah Bedell, John D. Newton, Samuel W.
Marston, Simon G. Learned, John F. Hewey, Greenleaf Averill, Henry W. Dunn.
1920
The year of naturalization is added to this census. Also included is the 'mother tongue' of the individual. Deleted items are: number of years of present marriage, number of children, survivor of Civil War, weeks out of work, and if blind, deaf, or dumb.
1930
The 1930 is currently being transcribed by the government. Several states have already been transcribed, but Maine is not one of them. We will add the 1930 US Census when it becomes available to us.