THE CENSUS
Anyone that has had to do historical or genealogical research at
one time or another has had to utilize records known as a census.
This type of information is a valuable tool in determining many
unknown factors which will aid a person in their search, not only for
a particular individual, family or location, but will often times
reveal the missing piece of a puzzle.
A census is an official count at a particular time of people,
houses, business firms, or other items of interest. Censuses of some
sort have been made throughout human history, beginning in ancient
Babylonia, Persia, China, and Egypt. The Romans carried out periodic
censuses of the whole empire for purposes of recruiting and taxation;
according to the biblical account, one was taking place at the time
of Christ's birth. The U.S. Constitution requires that a census be
made every 10 years for the purpose of apportioning representatives
in Congress according to population, and the first census in the
United States was conducted in 1790.
In 1902 the U.S. Bureau of the Census was established. A census
of the U.S. population attempts to count everyone in the country at a
specific time. A questionnaire is sent to every household inquiring
how many persons were living there at the designated time and asking
for information about sex, age, race, education, previous residences,
and number of children living or dead. Some households are asked for
additional information as a sample of the total population. To
supplement the questionnaire, trained census workers are sent out to
interview people directly.
Modern-day census information is obtained by sampling. Computer-
assisted statistical procedures make it possible to obtain useful
information about many characteristics of the population in general
by questioning a selected sample of persons--at a fraction of what it
could cost to interrogate everyone. The census bureau's data-
collection activities also include many other kinds of programs such
as annual surveys of housing and censuses every 5 years of such areas
as agriculture, manufacturing, business, and service industries.
Census data are used principally by government agencies and
business firms (especially for market research). Changes in the data
are indispensable in forecasting trends in employment, labor
resources, educational requirements, and demand for public services.
Nearly every country now conducts a census of some kind, usually at
intervals of 5 or 10 years. The information obtained ranges from
basic data on the size, ages, and locations of a country's population
to information on migration, family composition, income, and standard
of living.
The vast majority of Americans are descended from Europeans who
were attracted to the United States by religious and political
freedom and economic opportunities. During the colonial period most
settlers came from the British Isles and settled along the eastern
seaboard with the French settling in the St. Lawrence River valley.
The first great immigration wave--from 1820 to 1860--saw the arrival
of more than 5 million new Americans. Of these, 90% were from
England, Ireland, and Germany. By the middle of the 19th century the
culture and customs of western Europe dominated the United States
from coast to coast.
After the Civil War, immigration increased dramatically; between
1860 and 1920, about 29 million persons arrived. The composition of
the immigrant population had shifted, and most came from eastern and
southern Europe--Russia, Poland, the Balkans, and Italy. Unlike many
earlier immigrants, they remained in the eastern states and
industrial midwestern states such as Michigan and Illinois, usually
settling in the cities, rather than continuing west.
The census that was taken in 1840 for Lee County reveals
surprising figures and statistics for an area still in its infancy.
They can be viewed as both curious and interesting to a researcher.
From documents which were taken it appears that there were in Lee
County in 1840, 1,127 white males, of which 312 were under ten years
of age; 211 were over ten and under twenty; 342 were over twenty and
under thirty; 155 were over thirty and under forty.
There were 785 females, of whom 285 were under ten years of age;
100 were over ten and under twenty; 172 were over twenty and under
thirty; 84 were over thirty and under forty. The total population of
the county in that year as reported in the census which included all
classes and ages, was 1,980.
The manufactories within the county at the time consisted of two
cabinet shops doing a business of $1,800 per annum; one wagon shop at
$500 per annum; one harness and saddle shop, $2,000 per annum; four
boot and shoe shops, $2,600 per annum; five blacksmith shops, $8,000
per annum; three tailor shops, $2,700 per annum; one bakery, $1,000
per annum; five single sawmills cutting about one million feet per
annum, two shingle machines (operated by manual labor) and one
turning lathe. Looking at these figures reveal that though the area
was just beginning to develop, the basic needs and services were
already established for residents and those passing through to other
settlements.
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