United States Census, 1870

Federal Census

Record Description

Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor.

For a list of records by localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse.

The U.S. federal census was conducted each decade from 1790-present. This information pertains to censuses conducted in 1850, 1860, and 1870.

Federal census takers were asked to record information about all those who were in each household on the census day, which was 1 June. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information he collected was supposed to be about the people who were in the house on the census day. The basic census enumeration unit was the county. Each county was divided into enumeration districts, one for each enumerator. The completed forms were sent to the Census Office in the Commerce Department in Washington D.C. The 1870 census covers 80-90% of the population.

The U.S. federal census was taken at the beginning of every decade to apportion the number of representatives that a state could send to the House of Representatives in Congress. In the absence of a national system of vital registration, many vital statistics and personal questions were asked to provide a statistical profile of the nation and its states.

Federal censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

Links

Family Search

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  1870 Federal Census - Illinois, Ford County, Lyman

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  1870 Federal Census - Illinois, La Salle County, Manlius

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  1870 Federal Census - Ohio, Butler County, Hamilton

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  1870 Federal Census - Ohio, Medina County, Lafayette

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  1870 United States Federal Census - Georgia, Pierce, Subdivision 100

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  Elizabeth Mathews in household of John H Mathews, (United States Census, 1870)

Templates

Document Templates

Citation Section

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Transcription Templates

Header

This should be called in the following way:

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|po               ={{{po}}}
|enumeration_date ={{{enumeration_date}}}
}}

(Edit Template)
Usage is transcluded from Template:1870 Census/Header/Doc

Entry

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|source_id            = 
|line_number          = 
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|family_number        = 
|name                 =  
|age                  =  
|sex                  = 
|color                = 
|profession           = 
|real_estate_value    = 
|estate_value         = 
|birth_place          = 
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|married_last_year    =  
|attended_school      =  
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|deaf                 =  
|over_21              = 
|cannot_vote          = 
}}

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Federal Census