Pursuing Primary Sources

The 1860 Census: Schedule 1

The 1860 census was conducted in the year before the American Civil War began while slavery was still legal in parts of the United States. Let's compare schedules 1 & 2 to explore how purpose, viewpoint, and bias can be preserved in our historical and legal documents. The images below are digital facsimiles and may be difficult to read.

See full example schedule 1 This link opens in a new window.

The information recorded about free inhabitants is robust. Columns in schedule 1 include:

• The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1860, was in this family. Each person is recorded on a new line.
• Age
• Sex
• Color (White, black, or mulatto)
• Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age
• Value of Real Estate
• Value of Personal Estate
• Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country
• Married within the year
• Attended School within the year
• Persons over 20 years of age who cannot read & write
• Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict.

What do you notice about the information recorded in schedule 1? Here are some things I notice:

• This document uses language that is accurate to the time period but that is now considered inappropriate. This includes but is not limited to recording color (instead of race), and individual's status as dumb, insane or idiotic.
• When the options for race are listed, white is capitalized but black and mulatto are not.
• Information is fairly detailed and includes details that tell us a bit about individual's lives.