Nice to Know about the Census

Federal censuses for Baltimore County exist for 1790, 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920. There is very little census data available for 1800, and some of the stories I have heard indicate that it was never performed. Note: there is a 1800 census for Baltimore Town, but not the county. As a poor substitute for the census, the 1798 federal tax assessment lists can be used. When reading the census information keep in mind that the census takers made "field notes" and then transcribed the data into the census pages so some errors crept in in this process. Also the spellings of names was dependent on the clerks interpretation of what he heard and what the person providing the information knew. It is not uncommon for ages to be off a few years. In 1860 one of my relatives in the 5th district appears twice in the census (entries taken a month apart in time) and the ages are different by a couple of years and one child, under one year in age, was included in one listing and not the other.

The 1790 census for Baltimore County for the most part does not list persons in order of the canvass, rather an attempt was made to group names alphabetically by the first letter of the last name. However, this was not followed in all cases. It appears in some cases that the attempt to group names became confused and some persons appear twice in the census. The only Hundred broken out separate is the Delaware Hundred, All other areas were partially lumped together. The Delaware Hundred (which is today mostly in Carroll County) is on pages 51-63 of the census. Pages 123-232 Include lumping together of the Patapsco Lower Hundred, Patapsco Upper Hundred, Soldiers Delight Hundred, Back River Upper Hundred, Back River Lower Hundred, North Hundred, Gunpowder Upper Hundred, Middlesex Hundred and Mine Run Hundreds and Precincts of Baltimore Town It seems though that within some of the alphabetized listings within the entries may be within hundreds, for example pages 194-201 seem to be people who were in the North Hundred.

In the 1810 census of Baltimore County, the divisions were still given by the centuries old "Hundreds". However, in the case of the North Hundred and Pipe Creek Hundred, the entries were lumped together. Starting in 1820 the county was divided into "election districts" by which the census were enumerated.

The 1850 Census did not list the entries by Election Districts for the most part. All of microfilm M432-280 is listed as being the first district on each page, even though some of the entries are in the Cockeysville and Northern Baltimore Co area, clearly way beyond the bounds of the 1st election district, and seems to have included about on-half of the county. The other census microfilm lists most entries as the Eastern or 2nd district and then a few entries for the fifth district, which does seem to be the fifth election district.

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