Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting - February 14, 2016
The February 2016 meeting of the
Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library
on Thursday, February 11, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at petie8135@att.net,
about a gift membership.
February
Meeting
On February 11, 2016, Tom Pearson
presented a program titled Shadow
Schedules: An Introduction to Special & Non-Population Census Schedules.
Tom is a Subject Specialist in the Genealogy Room of the St. Louis Public
Library.
His presentation covered several types of special and non-population census
schedules: Agricultural, Industrial, Statistical, Veterans, and Mortality.
Most genealogists are familiar with the federal population schedules, which
have been enumerated by the U.S. Census Bureau every ten years starting in
1790. The population schedules for 1790-1940 are currently available to
researchers on websites like Ancestry.com and HeritageQuestOnline.com. Many
genealogists also realize that there are some special census schedules that
enumerate persons who fall into specific subject categories. Such categories
include: American Indians, Slaveholders, Occupants of U.S. Territories,
Soldiers and Sailors, Veterans, Widows of Veterans, Merchant Seamen, and
Disabled Persons
Most of these special schedules are also available via Ancestry.com.
Many genealogists, however, are not aware that the Census Bureau was charged
with collecting information on agriculture, industry, and social conditions, as
well as counting people. Be aware that non-population schedules typically name
only the farm or business owner, and, in a few cases, provide statistical
information only (no names at all). Also, some non-population schedules were
either incomplete or were destroyed prior to being microfilmed or otherwise
preserved. So, a non-population schedule may not be available for a state and
census year of interest.
The NARA website (http://www.archives.gov/research/census/nonpopulation) has a
helpful guide to non-population census records. On Ancestry, you can search by
name of farm or business owner...or you can browse by state, locality, and
schedule type.
Agricultural
Schedules
Agricultural schedules are little known and
rarely used by genealogists. They were scattered among various archives in
which they were deposited by the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA). Most were not indexed, and only a few had been microfilmed until NARA
asked that copies be returned for historical research. The schedules for 1890
were destroyed by fire, and those for 1900 and 1910 were destroyed by
Congressional order.
Agricultural schedules recorded statistics on farms, plantations, and market
gardens, listing the names of owners, agents, and managers. The type of
statistics recorded included: the total acreage of land; the value of the farm;
machinery and livestock; amount of staples (wool, cotton, grain, etc.)
produced; and the value of animals slaughtered, etc.
Agricultural schedules can be useful in a variety of situations: to fill gaps
when land and tax records are missing or incomplete; to distinguish between
people with the same names; to document land holdings of ancestors with
suitable follow-up in deeds, mortgages, tax rolls, and probate inventories; to
verify and document black sharecroppers and white overseers who may not appear
in other records; to identify free black men and their property holdings; and
to trace migration and economic growth.
Manufacturers/Industry
Schedules 1810-1910
Manufacturing/Industry Schedules Summary
1790-1800....None taken
1810...............Incomplete, most lost
1820..............Taken, some lost
1830..............None taken
1840..............Only stats, no names
1850-1870....Taken, but called "Industry Schedule"
1880...............Taken; survive for some industries in some states
1890...............Destroyed by fire in 1921
1900-1910....Destroyed by order of Congress
Social
Statistics 1850-1880
These schedules are of limited interest to
many genealogists because they do not provide any names of persons. They provide
strictly statistical information on a particular county. They provide
information on schools, libraries, and periodicals published in a county, as
well as some economic/financial information. These schedules could, in fact,
prove very useful for someone writing a county or town history.
The Social Statistics schedules can prove useful for genealogists in three
important ways:
Defective/Dependent/Delinquent
Schedules
This 1880 supplemental schedule listed by
name the insane, idiots, deaf mutes, blind, paupers, indigent persons, homeless
children, and prisoners. In addition to the individual's name, their race,
gender, age, residence, and medical information may have been recorded.
Mortality
Schedules: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1885
The 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1885 censuses
included inquiries about persons who had died in the twelve months immediately
preceding the enumeration. This means in the case of the 1850 mortality
schedule (for example) that the period covered is not January 1, 1850-December
31, 1850. The period covered is in fact June 1, 1849-May 31, 1850. Mortality
schedules provide nationwide, state-by-state death registers that predate the
recording of vital statistics in most states.
Mortality schedules asked for: deceased's name, sex; age; color (white, black,
mulatto); whether widowed; his or her place of birth (state, territory, or
country); the month in which the death occurred; his or her
profession/occupation/trade; disease or cause of death; and the number of days
ill. In 1870, a place for parents' birthplaces was added. In 1880, the place
where a disease was contracted and how long the deceased person was a citizen
or resident of the area were included (fractions indicate a period of time less
than a year).
Mortality schedules can be useful for tracing and documenting genetic symptoms
and diseases. They can also be useful for verifying and documenting African
American, Chinese, and Native American ancestry.
Soldier and
Veteran Information in the Federal Census
The federal censuses of 1840, 1890, and 1910
specifically identify veterans and/or pensioners. Some state censuses also have
information about soldiers and veterans. The federal censuses of 1900, 1910,
and 1920 include special enumerations of personnel serving at military and
naval installations, ships, and hospitals at home and overseas.
The military and naval schedules include: name of military or naval station or
vessel, company or troop and regiment, arm of service, rank, residence in the
United States (state, city or town, street and number), in addition to the
information provided on the population schedules.
You can search for service persons in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census in the
usual way just add keyword MILITARY to your search.
1890
Veterans Schedules
The 1890 veterans schedules provide the
following information: names of surviving soldiers, sailors, marines, and widows;
rank; name of regiment or vessel; date of enlistment; date of discharge; length
of service; post office address; disability incurred; and remarks.
Veterans schedules are often used as a partial substitute for the 1890 federal
census, which was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1921. Although the
veterans schedules do not list every member of a household, they do in fact
serve as a partial heads of households lists for those states for which the
veterans schedules exist (33 states, the District of Columbia, and Indian
Territory).
Merchant
Seamen
The 1930 census was the first to include
seamen on U.S.-flag merchant vessels. The merchant seamen schedules include:
name of vessel, owner and address, home port, name of seaman, state or country
of birth, occupation, whether a veteran and of what war, and address of next of
kin.
Tom also had a handout which covered this
material in more detail and gave details on where these census schedules can be
accessed. It also included the addresses of the relevant websites. If you would
like to receive an electronic copy of this handout (with links to these
websites), send an email requesting an electronic copy of the Shadow Schedules
handout to tpearson@slpl.org.
This presentation was very well received and
provoked many questions and comments.