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Anatomy of the 1870 federal census
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This article is part of a continuing series looking at each federal census individually. Please read the others in the archives of this column.
The 1870 U. S. Census was the Ninth Decennial Census. This census is probably the single most important census for genealogists conducting research on African-American families.“Census Day”—the day that the census is supposed to reflect—fell on 1 June 1870, but, once again, some census enumerators did not accurately reflect this date. Be sure to also note the actual date of enumeration, which should appear at the top of the page.
The enumeration for 1870, unlike later enumerations, was not organized by enumeration districts and supervisor’s districts. Instead, it was enumerated along local civil divisions, like election districts or townships. Within these divisions, the nearest post office is named. At times, this may be a central post office within the town or county; at other times, especially in rural areas, this may be a post office lying on someone’s plantation. Either way, the identification of the post office will provide more specific information about the neighborhood in which your ancestors lived.
Here is the information you can expect to find in this census:
Name: In the years following emancipation, African-Americans were allowed to create identities for themselves as newly-freed citizens. In most cases, their given names remained the same, but in some cases freedmen changed their surnames a few times in those first years of freedom. The 1870 census may reflect the name that was finally settled upon, or it may reflect a transitional name. One should use ‘cluster’ techniques to identify their ancestors correctly. Similar techniques may be used to identify slaveowners.
Personal Description (Age, Sex, Color): For children under one year old, the age was supposed to be reported in fractions of twelve, for the number of months, e.g. “2/12” for an infant two months old. African-Americans were designated “B.” for “Black” or “M.” for “Mulatto.”
Occupation: Profession, occupation, or trade of each person. An occupation as a “farm laborer” or similar trade may serve as a clue to the identification of a man as a freed slave. It is, of course, the most common occupation provided for African-Americans in this census.
Value of real estate owned: If a figure is provided in this column, check the land record books for deeds involving your ancestor. Deeds can often provide invaluable information about your ancestor—more than just from whom and for how much, but also why, land was granted.
Value of personal estate owned: An accumulation of personal property, especially in an urban environment where real estate ownership might be relatively lower than outside of the city, might indicate either freedom prior to 1870, though not in all cases.
Place of Birth: If born in a state other than that in which they now reside, you must determine whether their migration was since emancipation, as a runaway during the war, or the migration of a former slave owner prior to the war. In these cases, the place of birth will provide clues to further research. Check the neighborhood, and adjacent neighborhoods, for others born in the same state -- there may be a deeper connection.
Parentage: Whether father or mother were of foreign birth. There will only be a checkmark in this column if the answer is affirmative. It is rare but not impossible that this would apply to African-Americans at this late date. Second-generation slaves from either Africa or the Caribbean during the last days of the slave trade, or imported illegally after 1808, may have this box checked.
If born within the year, state the month: This information can be invaluable for evaluation and comparison to the dates of birth specifically reported in later records.
If married within the year, state the month: You can use the response to this question to locate a marriage record for those couples to whom it applies. The marriage record itself may be among the county records, or the records of the Freedmen's Bureau.
Education: Whether each individual attended school within the Census year, whether they cannot read, and cannot write. At this time, newly-created public schools, many built or sponsored by the Freedmen’s Bureau, helped to educate the former slaves. Some slaves, though only in rare instances, were educated by their owners prior to freedom.
Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic: This question (or a similar question) was first asked in the 1830 federal census, registered only by tickmarks, and remained a permanent part of the census questionnaire for decades, including this one.
Constitutional Relations: This contains two columns—one for male citizens of the U. S. aged 21 years and up, and the other for male citizens of the U. S. aged 21 years and up, whose right to vote was “denied or abridged on other grounds than rebellion or other crime.” This second column is telling of the times, as there were still some former Confederates who had not yet regained their right to vote by taking an oath of allegiance to the United States, or receiving a pardon from the President, as former Confederate officials and officers were required to do.
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