When I first got this book I wondered what more Mr. Dollarhide could tell me about the Federal Censuses that I didn't already know. I was pleasantly surprised as I began reading.

Section 1 - "Historical U.S. Censuses." This section gave some very helpful and little known Historical facts about the U.S. Federal Censuses. For instance one of the interesting facts pointed out that "Census Takers were not paid well, $1.00 for every 300 persons. They were expected to pay for all his own copies of the census form, pens, ink and other expenses from this small compensation. One enterprising Census Taker in 1790, Clement Biddle, used the census information he gathered to create a city di rectory for Philadelphia which apparently was a profitable success." If you have an ancestor in Philadelphia during that time period you might want to reference this city directory.

One of the tables in Section 1 contained information I have not seen published previously. Table 1 lists the Census Day dates and the Time allowed for the Census to be taken for each Census Year. With this table I can determine more closely the ages of my ancestors at the time the Census was taken, even if I have forgotten to record both the census day date and the enumeration date.

Table 2 of this Chapter lists a "Summary of Statewide Census Losses 1790-1820" which is very helpful in determining my success in finding out about the availability of a particular Census.

On Page 17, Table 3 lists the Number of States the Census included with the total US population for each Census Year. It also lists the Territories that were included in the Census for each year, 1790-1990. Section 1 alone taught me more helpful historical facts about the Censuses than all of the pages I have read at the "National Archives and Records Administration" internet site.

Section 2 - "Published Statewide Census and Indexes 1790-1930" has its greatest strengths in the maps that he provides for each Census Year. These maps give a visual reference to the US states and territories that were enumerated for each year of the Census. Each map is for a different Census year and shows the boundaries of the states and territories. Once again, I was educated when I looked at the 1850 Census map and realized that making up almost 50% of the US were the Territories of Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, New Mexico, or areas that were unorganized. I am sure I have probably read this list of territories somewhere but the map helped me see that these territories covered far more land area than I had envisioned. Viewing the maps helped me to know that many states in the continental US were still territories up to the 1890 Census, and even then there were still 3 states that were listed as territories.

Also in section 2, Dollarhide does a reasonable job of pointing to some of the published Census indexes. At the very end of section 2 there is an excellent explanation of the Soundex and Miracode Coding systems that the United States used to Index Censuses beginning with the 1880 Census.

Section 3 - "Countywide Census Indexes." This section is primarily a list of the call numbers for the books or films available for loan through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Family History Library. This list is organized according to State and then county.

Section 4 - "Non-Population Census Schedules" provides valuable insight about the information available in each of the 7 different types of Non-Population Censuses. I had always thought that the only other kind of Censuses besides the Population Census and the Mortality Schedules were statistical, but I was wrong. For instance, according to Dollarhide, the Agricultural Schedules list the Name of the owner, the number of improved acres, the cash value of the farm, and many other details about the holdings of the individual. Comparing this information from year to year can help you to know whether to search for a tax, a will, or a deed record which might contain other valuable information.

Section 5 - "Census Forms 1790-1930" contains sample forms that have the same fields that you will find on the Federal Census forms for each year including the Mortality Schedules and Soundex cards. One of the great challenges I have faced in viewing Census films has always been reading the microfine print which appears as a header on each column of the Census pages. Using Dollarhide's sample forms I am able to read the column heading without going blind in the process.

Overall I found this book to be a valuable genealogy resource that should be a part of every researcher's library. Dollarhide has taken great care to bring together the facts and foibles of the Federal Censuses. This book has been well researched and well written. The price of $24.95 US is very reasonable when you consider the amount of knowledge you will gain from reading the book and the time you will save using this knowledge to search the Federal Census for your ancestors. This book is available on Amazon.com, click the link below if you would like to order this valuable Census resource.
"The Census Book" written by William Dollarhide.

Article written by Cindy Carman