My previous post introduced a new page, “Mapping the Census—1840–1911,” in the “Documents & Data” menu of this blog. Now I’ve added a companion page, “Charting the Census—1840–1911.” Like the mapping project, the data is broken down by census years and family branches. It gives a graphical representation of how the number of households and individuals with Casbon and related surnames have changed over a 71-year span of time. It also shows how the relative populations in the U.S. and England have changed over this time frame.
Graphs aren’t for everybody, but if you’re a data nerd like me, you might enjoy it!
Since I’m on the topic of censuses, I thought I would show some examples of census images that are part of my data set. These will illustrate how the format and content of censuses have changed over the years.
This sample from the 1840 U.S. census shows the entry for J.B. Casebon.[1] Only the head of household’s name is listed. The vertical columns are labeled “Free White Persons (Including Heads of Families)” and “Free Colored Persons.” These are further broken down into “Males” and “Females,” and then into age groupings. Although difficult to read in this image, J.B. Casebon’s household includes one white male, age 20 to 29, and one white male, age 40 to 49. There are no white females. There are three colored males, age 10 to 23, three colored females under age 10, and one colored female, age 24 to 34. There are a total of nine individuals in the household.
Since names are not given, we cannot say with certainty that they are all the same family. However, based on other sources, this probably represents the household of Jean (or Juan or John) Baptiste Casebon, born about 1794, and his wife Josephine St. Ann, born about 1808.[2]
The second page of the census form (not shown) includes columns for numbers of slaves (none in this household), number of persons employed in various occupations (three, “Agriculture”), pensioners for Revolutionary or military services (none), number of “Deaf and Dumb, Blind, and Insane” persons, and “Schools & c.” (left blank).
In contrast, the 1841 Census of England shows the names and ages of each family member. It also shows “Place” (“High Street,” previous page, not shown), occupation (“Ag Lab”), and whether or not individuals were born “in same County.” This sample shows my third great grandfather, Thomas Casbon (born about 1803), his wife Emma (Scruby, born about 1811), and children Mary (born 1833), Sell (Sylvester, born 1837), and Charles (born 1840).[3] In the 1841 census, the ages of those over the age of 15 were rounded down to the nearest five
years.[4]
Each subsequent census added more information. Jumping ahead to 1910/11 …
In the 1910 U.S. census, many details have been added. This is the entry for George W Casbon (born 1874), half-brother of my great-grandfather, Lawrence.[5] It also lists his wife Bertha, sons Sylvester and Ira, and daughter Emma. “Location” includes street and house number (when applicable – blank here). The “Relation” column shows the head of household and every other member’s relationship to him. “Personal Description” includes sex, color or race, age at last birthday, marital status, and number of years married. Mother’s were asked how many children they have had and how many were living. “Nativity” shows the birthplace of every individual, and of their fathers & mothers. “Citizenship” shows year of immigration and “whether naturalized or alien.” Individuals were asked whether or not they spoke English. “Occupation” has several categories, including specific occupation, general category, whether an employer or employee, and other questions regarding employment status. “Education” asks whether they can read and write. There are several questions about home ownership. Finally, there are columns to indicate whether an individual is “a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy” and whether they are blind, deaf or dumb.
The 1911 Census of England and Wales shows a separate sheet, or schedule, for each household. These were usually completed by the head of household and returned to the census enumerator. This example shows the schedule for the household of Reuben Glasgow Kestin.[6] On line 10 you can see the entry for Olive Louise Casbon, Servant, age 27, Single, employed as a housemaid, and born in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire.
As an aside, quite a few Casbon ancestors were domestic servants in England. Olive (1884–1916) was a granddaughter of my fourth great uncle, James Casbon (~1813–1884) by his first wife, Elizabeth (Waller, 1815–1852). James later emigrated to Indiana, USA, where he joined his brother Thomas. Though not quite as detailed as the 1910 U.S. census form, the 1911 England form is similar, and contains a wealth of detailed information compared to the 1841 form.
I hope you can see that censuses are a gold mine of data for genealogical study. The fact that they have been digitized and made available online by providers such as FamilySearch, Ancestry, and findmypast have made family research much more accessible.
[1] 1840 U.S. Census, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, p. 214 (stamped), line 22, J.B. Casebon; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYBS-9DJ8?i=9&cc=1786457 : accessed 26 March 2018) >Louisiana > Plaquemines > image 10 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 135.
[2] Anisa Faciane Watts, MLS, Casborn Creoles of Louisiana: Legally Divided in Black and White, 2d edition (n.p.: ZAP Publishing [Lulu.com], 2018), pp. 41, 51.
[3] 1841 Census of England and Wales, Cambridgeshire, Meldreth, p. 5 (stamped), line 21, Thomas Casbon; image, findmypast (https://search.findmypast.com/record/browse?id=gbc%2f1841%2f0063%2f0285 : accessed 26 March 2018); citing The National Archives, HO 107/63/18.
[4] “United Kingdom Census 1841,” Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_1841 : accessed 26 March 2018), rev. 7 Mar 18, 20:42.
[5] 1910 U.S. Census, Tama County, Iowa, population schedule, Geneseo Township, enumeration district 175, sheet 2B, dwelling 35, household 35, George Casbon; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRN2-6QR?i=3&cc=1727033 : accessed 26 March 2018)>Iowa >Tama >Geneseo ED 175, image 4 of 11; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 424.
[6] 1911 Census of England, population schedule, Surrey, Croydon, 18 Avenue Road, South Norwood, schedule 63, Olive Louise Casbon in household of Reuben Glasgow Kestin; image, Ancestry (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1911England&indiv=try&h=41957312 : accessed 20 March 2018); citing The National Archives, RG 14/3385.