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MAP GUIDE TO THE U.S. FEDERAL CENSUSES 1790-1920
By William Thorndale and William Dollarhide
Here is a book which should be familiar to every genealogist. If you are going to be successful in proving your ancestry, the knowledge of what this book holds and where to locate that information when you need it is imperative!
Any time you are doing any genealogical lineage you must be able to work out the location of your ancestor at the time of the census year in which you seek information about him. This book is what you will use to get the actual county locations you need to find your ancestor. To locate things you use a map! This book is full of maps!
These maps cover the country, usually one state at a time, with, when needed, one map for each census year from 1790 to 1920. For every state there is a gray map for each year of the census taken in that state with today’s counties’ names and today’s outlines showing clearly. Superimposed on each map are the black outlines of the shapes and names of the counties in that state for that year of the census. If no county changes were made, the same map was simply dated for two or more census years.
Take Kentucky as an example. The counties in Kentucky, and other states, too, were GROWING in number and SHRINKING in size as the state’s population grew. Almost all of Kentucky was once, back in 1776, Kentucky County, Virginia! Then four years later, in 1780, before it even became a state, it became three counties – Lincoln, Jefferson and Fayette Counties, Virginia. These three counties, within a decade, were divided into nine Virginia counties, all before statehood came in 1792! Kentucky finally carved out well over one hundred counties, but it took many years to reach their final number. Kentucky spent most of the early 1800s creating new counties as the need arose. But these counties had to be created out of land that was already a part of an older county.
So your ancestor could live on the same land for sixty years, yet the land itself, could have been a part of one, two, three or even four or more counties during that time. In order to find your ancestor’s complete records, you need to know where IN EVERY COUNTY that particular plot of land (which your ancestor was living on all of that time) WAS LOCATED at each taking of the census. He may appear on the census in four or more counties while living in the same place the entire time.You must know the county in order to get the birth, marriage, death, will, probate, land and court records. The courthouse is the major depository of the smallest governmental division closest to your ancestor. It is also the one depository that is most likely to hold the most information about him and the members of his family. Therefore, establishing a courthouse in which to look is of primary importance. This is especially important in the censuses taken before 1850 when you do not have the names of wives and children to help you establish family relationships.
New counties were formed whenever the population within an area grew to the point where the population deemed it necessary to petition the state to create a new county. But the new counties were made out of the counties that were there before its creation. Sometimes a single county was made out of smaller parts of several adjacent counties. Sometimes certain segments of the old county grew in size to the point where the people wanted to split from their old county and form a new county. Reasons for changing county boundaries were numerous and varied.Now, starting with the latest census that is open to the public, the 1930, we have to make our way back to where our ancestors were living in previous censuses. This means we have a real problem figuring out which part of the land was in which county at a certain time. I was always good at geography, but this was a nightmare, and so were almost all the other states.
Then along came the authors of this book! Which one first came up with this idea, I don’t know, but it is surely a winner!On these maps is a total layout of today’s counties with names in white. This map stays the same for the state for each census year. These are decennial maps: 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910 and 1920. Some territorial and state maps are included in certain instances.
Next, superimposed on this first map is a black outline drawing of that particular state’s map that was in use at the time that particular census was taken. Current counties are seen in white and the old counties of that census year are seen in a black outline, so you know what new counties used to be a part of what old counties in that year of the census. You know what current counties were covered by which of the bigger counties of old! You can also work from the present to the past by seeing what current counties were covered in any year by looking for that current county and seeing what county outline it appears under in any previous census.It is easy to say, “No, that is not my guy. He is living in the wrong county.” But there are reasons why it MAY be your guy. First, he may have moved; but second, the county may have changed names under him. He now lives on the same ground, but the county name has changed, and he is part of a new county now.
This guide also states whether any parts of the schedules for that state for that year are missing. A genealogist might miss his Hoosier ancestor, if they did not find him on the Indiana 1820, but a quick check of the note on that page reminds him that the 1820 census for that county has been lost, so he may have been there after all. They can find out by checking Daviess County Records in Washington, Indiana. That kind of information is listed on each map.A thorough study of the introduction is recommended for a better understanding of the census taking process.
Don’t miss the maps of the entire United States given near the front of the book. Also a handy extra to have is the alphabetical index of all counties within each state at the back of the book. This is a lot of book for $50. When you have a jurisdictional problem, or you “lose” an ancestor because he wasn’t in the county in which you expected to find him, this is your book to check! We fully realize this was a difficult, time-consuming and technically difficult job requiring much research. We want you to know we are grateful for your hard work. Well done, authors!
Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe, 9605 Vandergriff Rd., PO Box 39128,
Indianapolis, IN 46239
Phone toll-free 1-800-419-0200
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Last updated April 2005 sh
