Make the most of the ag census on methodology monday

Ever since I discovered the existence of agriculture schedules for the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses, I've been so amazed that I can know how many pigs my ancestors slopped and how much maple syrup they spent endless spring hours cooking down.

So I've promoted these schedules as a way to add flesh to a skeletal family tree. What was grown, or not grown on the farm; how it compared to its neighbors at the time; how it developed (or failed to develop) over time -- all can tell a lot about what it was like to grow up and live there. Now I have even more reasons and fewer excuses to use these scandalously under-used records.

The "fewer excuses" part is that Ancestry now has agriculture schedules on line for fourteen states including Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan. They're under the obtuse heading of "Selected US Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880," which is not included in the drop-down menu of other US censuses.

One caution if you haven't dealt with these in microfilm or hard copy before: In 1850 the entries for each farm are so numerous they stretch across two pages. On the left side of one page are the names and the first set of entries, and then on the back side of that page (the following image in Ancestry) are the remaining numbers. So to get all the good stuff you need to click forward and match up line numbers. (This also means that every knowledgeable citation to these records will refer to two page numbers, not just one!)

The "more reasons" part is that the agriculture schedule is not a perfect mirror of the population schedule. This means at least two things. One, some people show up there who own no property according to the population schedule (either a mistake was made or they are "managers"). Two, some people have their names grossly mangled in one schedule and not in another. A man who is probably not a relative of my wife (another story!) is indexed in Genesee County, New York, as "Rosabel" in the population schedule, but more accurately as "Roswell" in the agriculture schedule. I'm sure there's more, but the point remains the same: this data set is a must-do for any serious researcher.

Methodology Monday with nonpopulation census schedules

Ancestry has started putting up the nonpopulation US census schedules, including my favorites, the agriculture schedules for 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. If the link doesn't work, look for them in the census list, but not under U, C, or A -- they're under S for Selected, because not all states are up yet.

These records have been notoriously hard to find, and notoriously ignored by many genealogists, so this is great news. But don't forget to mess around with them and get acquainted before searching. When I did that, I discovered that at least two Michigan counties were improperly filmed for 1850 and 1860. Berrien and Hillsdale include only the left side of the mammoth double-page spread. Half the questions is still better than nothing, but not quite as advertised. I saw no similar problem in Fulton County, Illinois, for 1870, or Allegany County, New York, for 1880.

Always look that gift horse in the mouth.

Also: don't assume that everyone listed as "farmer" in the population schedule will get an entry in the ag schedule. There were much more precise thresholds for the ag schedule. And some folks who appear only once in the population schedule may appear twice in the ag schedule, I suspect because of their involvement in different farms.

The real fun with these is comparing one individual against his (occasionally her) neighbors, and against him/herself in later and earlier years. Also you can get an idea of the county average from published federal and state agriculture statistical summaries.

Even if you have zero interest in your ancestor's agricultural proclivities, these nonpopulation schedules may give you a second chance at deciphering his/her name, in a different handwriting. Enjoy!