1. Location
 
2. Name of head of family
 
3. Free white males over 16 including heads of families
 
4. Free white males under 16
 
5. Free white females including heads of families
 
6. All other free persons
 
7. Slaves
 
8. Total
 

1790 Federal Population Schedule
1790 Federal Census

 
The first census of the United States was taken in 1790, but almost half of that census has been lost.
The census schedules for these states have survived:
  • Connecticut
  • Maine (part of Massachusetts)
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Vermont
When part or all of a census enumeration has been lost or destroyed or a family of interest to you doesn't appear in an early census, use town or county tax lists as a substitute.
Census substitutes exist for the following states:
  • Delaware
  • Georgia
  • Kentucky
  • New Jersey
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
The 1790 census schedules that have survived were published originally by the Bureau of the Census, Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States Taken in the Year 1790, 12 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1908). Many of those volumes have been reprinted by private publishers.
All of the surviving schedules have been microfilmed and can be used at the National Archives and its Regional Centers, the LDS Family History Library and it centers, and many state, local, and institutional libraries throughout the nation.
When using a census that names only the head of a household, search other records to corroborate what appears to be a family in the census. Households could include grandparents, uncles, aunts, more distant relatives, boarders, hired hands, friends, or any combination of people.

© Palladium Interactive, Inc. 1997.
Go back to main menu Go to the index Go to the glossary Go to the top of the section Go to the top of the section