A significant part of appreciating this resource is understanding the ground-rules and guidelines that the enumerators were instructed to follow when carrying out their duties. To illustrate I’ll use one example: As a beginning researcher I quickly noticed how the spelling of names was frequently incorrect (often "mangled" actually!) and inconsistent. I caught on to the idea that I needed to reach back to early school days and draw on those phonics skills. A very experienced genealogy friend then explained to me one day that in the 1800s the census enumerators were of the minority of the population who were literate. They were instructed that they were NOT to ask the people they interviewed how to spell their names, as this might prove embarrassing to many, who were not able to read or write, thus they were to do the best they could and record what they thought they heard said. So, the next time you feel mildly frustrated while reading a census schedule, pause for a minute to remember that you are really looking through a window to the past, where everything about that long ago time is radically different from what we are used to today. (And all those phonics lessons really were more valuable than you ever imagined!)

To the extent possible, explanatory information on census ground-rules and instructions to enumerators will be added for the specific censuses in future updates of this section.

US Census Historical Overview

Article I, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution requires that a decennial population census, a nationwide enumeration or count of the population, be taken every 10 years. Congress uses the census figures to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. The census also determines each state's number of votes in the electoral college, which selects the President and Vice President; and affects apportionment in state and local legislatures. ¹

The first census of the United States, taken in 1790, was unique among early modern censuses: it was the first to be conceived as an integral part of the machinery of government. ⁷

Section 9 provides that "no capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken."¹

The population schedules, first prepared in 1790, contain a wealth of information for historians, economists, and other researchers interested in topics such as Revolutionary War pensioners, Civil War veterans, western expansion, regional and local history, immigration, and naturalization.¹

To ensure the privacy of individuals, Congress has provided for a 72-year restriction to access of Federal census schedules. The1920 census was released in 1992; the 1930 census will be opened in 2002.¹

The first 12 censuses of the United States, 1790-1900, were conducted without a permanent census office, although a group of professionals had developed. The field supervisors for the first nine censuses, 1790-1870, were the marshals of the US judicial districts, and the enumerators and counters were the deputy marshals. In the census of 1880, however, the enumeration responsibility was transferred to census supervisors appointed for each census district, the temporary field organizations established on the old judicial district lines was discontinued, and a census office was established.⁷ Therefore, the 1880 is generally considered to be the first modern census of the US.

In 1902, Congress enacted the Permanent Census Act, creating the Bureau of the Census. ⁷

Iowa Overview

The land we know today as "IOWA" was not open for settlement until 1 Jun 1833. In 1830 the Federal Census was not taken west of the Mississippi. However, in 1830, there probably were any number of pioneers, miners, farmers, gamblers, fancies and chicken thieves residing in northwest Illinois and in the southwest corner of the, then, Michigan Territory (later becoming southwest Wisconsin) just waiting for the opportunity to move across the river.²

Should you believe that one of your ancestors, an early arrival to "The Beautiful Land", was in either of those areas in 1830, then the following references might be helpful:

1830 Illinois ~ JoDaviess County (formed in 1827) ~ National Archives Microfilm M-19, Roll 24, last county on that roll.²
1830 Michigan Territory ~ Crawford County (formed 1818 from unorganized territory ~ would become part of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836) ~ National Archives Microfilm M-19, Roll 69. Also on the same roll: Michigan Territory, Iowa County, created 1830 from Crawford County. Included the present counties of Dane, Grant and Lafayette.²

In 1836 the first Territorial Census of Wisconsin was taken, and that territory included two counties on the west bank of the Mississippi River, namely Dubuque and Demoine [sic]. The census enumerated the name of the head of household. The residents in each household were reported: number of males over 21; number of males under 21; number of females over 21; and number of females under 21.²

On July 4^th, 1836 the Wisconsin Territory was created which consisted of the present states of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. By act of Congress, approved June 12, 1838, the Territory of Iowa was created and included most of Minnesota and the Dakotas. The capital of the Iowa Territory was located at Burlington. In 1839, Iowa City was founded as the territorial capital. In 1846 Iowa entered the Union as the 29^th state. ³

Chickasaw County was ordered organized in 1853 by Thomas Woodle, County Judge of Fayette County, from which Chickasaw County was formed. At this time the whole county was treated as one precinct known as Bradford.⁴

The Soundex

The Soundex is a coded name index based on the way a name sounds, rather than how it is spelled. The Soundex filing system is alphabetic for the first letter of a surname, followed by 3 numeric digits.

The entire 1880 Federal Census was the first to be indexed using the Soundex system.

How it Works:

Every Soundex code consists of a letter and three numbers, such as S-650.
The letter is always the first letter of the surname, whether it is a vowel or a consonant.
Disregard the remaining vowels and W, Y, and H and assign numbers to the next three consonants of the surname according to the Soundex coding guide.
If there are not three consonants following the initial letter, use zeros to fill out the three-digit code.
Most surnames can be coded using the Soundex coding guide.

Names with prefixes, double letters, or letters side by side that have the same number of the Soundex coding system are described below.⁵

SOUNDEX CODING GUIDE

Code Key    Letters and Equivalents

            b, p, f, v
            c, s, k, g, j, q, x, z
            d, t
            l
            m, n
            r

The letters a, e, i, o, u, y, w, and h are not coded.⁶

The first letter of a surname is not coded.⁶

Every Soundex number must be a 3-digit number. A name yielding no code numbers, as "Lee", would thus be L000; one yielding only one code number would have two zeros added, as in "Kuhne", coded as K500; and one yielding two code numbers would have one zero added, as in "Ebell", coded as E140. Not more than three digits are used, so "Ebelson" would be coded as E142, not E1425.⁶

When two key letters or equivalents appear together, or one key letter immediately follows or precedes an equivalent, the two are coded as one letter, by a single number, as follows: "Kelly" is coded as K400; "Buerck" is coded as B620; "Lloyd" is coded as L300; and "Schaefer" is coded as S160. ⁶

In the Soundex index, if several surnames have the same code, the cards for them are arranged alphabetically by given name. There are divider cards showing most code numbers, but not all.⁶

NAMES WITH PREFIXES

If the surname has a prefix, such as "van", "Von", "D", "De", "Di", "dela", "du" or "le", code it both with and without the prefix because it might be listed under either code. ⁵

The surname vanDevanter, for example, could be V-531 or D-153. ⁵

Mc and Mac are not considered prefixes.⁵

NAMES WITH DOUBLE LETTERS

If the surname has any double letters, they should be treated as one letter. Thus, in the surname "Lloyd", the second L should be crossed out, in the surname "Gutierrez", the second R should be crossed out.⁵

NAMES WITH LETTERS SIDE BY SIDE THAT HAVE THE SAME NUMBER ON THE SOUNDEX CODING GUIDE

A surname may have different letters that are side by side and have the same number on the Soundex coding guide; for example, PF in Pfister (1 is the number for both P and F); CKS in Jackson (2 is the number for C, K, and S). These letters should be treated as one letter. Thus in the name Pfister, F should be crossed out; in the name Jackson, K and S should be crossed out.⁵

Research Hints

The Soundex card is not always accurate. If you initially cannot find a person listed, the card may be out of order. If the person is not where he or she is listed to be, it may be necessary to read the entire page of the schedule, the entire enumeration district, or the entire county.
Not everyone enumerated on the schedule is on the Soundex, as some names were missed by the indexer. In that case, it may be necessary to read the entire county.⁵
For more on the Soundex go to the National Archives Soundex Page
Use the National Archives on-line " Soundex Machine" to code your surnames.