Friday, April 23, 2010

Devier J. Smith in 1880 Agricultural Census

...
Ancestry.com recently added more of the Non-Population U.S. Census Returns for the years 1850 to 1880 (see Ancestral Entrepreneurs: Details of 19th-Century Businesses Now on Ancestry.com on the Ancestry.com Blog for more details). The states covered include California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington Territory. The schedules covered include Agricultural, Industry/Manufacturers, and Social Statistics and Supplemental Schedules.

Are my ancestors in these non-population schedules? You bet! I decided to use the Ancestry.com New Search (with Default Settings, not Exact Match) to try out the new schedules. I put First Name = "Devier" and Last Name = Smith" into the search box for the Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, as shown below:




I had to scroll down to find the orange "Search" button (this still bothers me - it would be so much more efficient to put it at the top of the Search Box!). Here are the results from my "Ranked Search" with "Default Settings:"




Hey, Devier J. Smith is right at the top! And the only "Devier Smith" in this database. I need to search for "D.J. Smith" too - it may be further down this list of 54,060 matches that Ancestry.com found in less than ten seconds for my search criteria (isn't that amazing? Your speed may vary!).

I know that he was enumerated in 1880 in Shannon township, Pottawatomie County, Kansas in 1880, so that's my great-great-grandfather. Here's the record summary:



It doesn't tell me much, does it? I clicked on the "View original image" link and found:



Devier J. Smith is on line 6 on this 1880 Agricultural Census record. For this particular census, they stacked four pages of information on one page, so all of the information for this group of people is together:



What are the column headings and the information for Devier J. Smith?

1. The Name of the Person who Conducts this Farm: Smith, Devier J.
2. Tenure: Owner: checked
3. Tenure: Rents for fixed money rental: Unchecked
4. Tenure: Rents for shares of products: Unchecked

5. Acres of land: Improved: Tilled (including fallow and grass in rotation): 40
6. Acres of land: Improved: Permanent meadows, orchards, pastures, vineyards: 0
7. Acres of land: Unimproved: Woodland and forest: 0
8. Acres of land: Unimproved: Other unimproved, including "old fields" not growing wood: 120

9. Farm Values: Of farm, including land, fences and buildings: $1600
10. Farm Values: Of farming implements and machinery: $200
11. Farm Values: Of livestock: $4000

12. Fences: Cost of building and repairing in 1879: $0
13. Cost of fertilizers purchased in 1879: $9

14. Labor: Amount paid for wages for farm labor in 1879, including value of board: $250
15. Labor: Weeks hired labor in 1879 upon farm (and dairy) excluding housework: $0
16. Estimated value of all farm productions (sold, consumed or on hand) for 1879: $1000

17. Grasslands: Average 1879: Mown: 150 acres
18. Grasslands: Average 1879: Not mown: 0 Acres
19. Grasslands: Products harvested in 1879: Hay: 1200 Tons
20. Grasslands: Products harvested in 1879: Clover seed: 0 Bushels
21. Grasslands: Products harvested in 1879: Grass seed0 Bushels

22. Horses of all ages on hand June 1, 1880: 15
23. Mules and Asses, all ages, on hand June 1, 1880: 0

24. Neat cattle and their products: On hand June 1, 1880: Working Oxen: 0
25. Neat cattle and their products: On hand June 1, 1880: Milch Cows: 20
26. Neat cattle and their products: On hand June 1, 1880: Other: 180
27. Neat cattle and their products: Movement 1879: Calves dropped:
28. Neat cattle and their products: Movement 1879: Cattle of all ages: Purchased: 0
29 Neat cattle and their products: Movement 1879: Cattle of all ages: Sold living: 0
30 Neat cattle and their products: Movement 1879: Cattle of all ages: Slaughtered: 0
31 Neat cattle and their products: Movement 1879: Cattle of all ages: Died, Strayed and stolen and not recovered: 0

32. Neat cattle and their products: Milk sold or sent to butter or cheese factories in 1879: 0 Gallons
33. Neat cattle and their products: Butter made on the farm in 1879: 0 Pounds
34. Neat cattle and their products:Cheese made on the farm in 1879: 0 Pounds

35. Sheep: On hand June 1, 1880: 0
36. Sheep: Movement 1879: Lambs dropped: 0
37. Sheep: Movement 1879: Sheep and lambs: Purchased: 0
38. Sheep: Movement 1879: Sheep and lambs: Sold living: 0
39. Sheep: Movement 1879: Sheep and lambs: Slaughtered: 0
40. Sheep: Movement 1879: Sheep and lambs: Killed by dogs: 0
41. Sheep: Movement 1879: Sheep and lambs: Died of disease: 0
42. Sheep: Movement 1879: Sheep and lambs: Died of stress of weather: 0
43. Sheep: Clip, spring 1880, Shorn and to be shorn: Fleeces: 0
44. Sheep: Clip, spring 1880, Shorn and to be shorn: Weight: 0 Lbs

45. Swine: On hand, June 1, 1880: 0

46. Poultry on hand June 1st, 1880: Exclusive of spring hatching: Barn-yard: 0
47. Poultry on hand June 1st, 1880: Exclusive of spring hatching:Other: 0
48. Eggs produced in 1879: 0

49. Cereals: Barley, 1879: Area: 0 Acres
50. Cereals: Barley, 1879: Crop: 0 Bushels
51. Cereals: Buckwheat, 1879: Area: 0 Acres
52. Cereals: Buckwheat, 1879: Crop: 0 Bushels
53. Cereals: Indian Corn, 1879: Area: 16 Acres
54. Cereals: Indian Corn, 1879: Crop: 800 Bushels
55. Cereals: Oats, 1879: Area: 20 Acres
56. Cereals: Oats, 1879: Crop: 500 Bushels
57. Cereals: Rye, 1879: Area: 0 Acres
58. Cereals: Rye, 1879: Crop: 0 Bushels
59. Cereals: Wheat, 1879: Area: 0 Acres
60. Cereals: Wheat, 1879: Crop: 0 Bushels

61. Pulse: Canada Peas (Dry), in 1879: 0 Bushels
62. Pulse: Beans (Dry), in 1879: 0 Bushels

63. Fiber: Flax - 1879: Area in Crop: 0 Acres
64. Fiber: Flax - 1879: Seed: 0 Acres
65. Fiber: Flax - 1879: Straw: 0 Acres
66. Fiber: Flax - 1879: Fiber: 0 Acres
67. Fiber: Hemp: 0 Acres
68. Fiber: Hemp: 0 Tons

69. Sugar: Sorghum - 1879: Area in Crop: 0 Acres
70. Sugar: Sorghum - 1879: Sugar: 0 Pounds
71. Sugar: Sorghum - 1879: Molasses: 0 Gallons
72. Sugar: Maple - 1879: Sugar: 0 Pounds
73. Sugar: Maple - 1879: Molasses: 0 Gallons

74. Broom Corn, 1879: 0 Acres
75. Broom corn, 1879: 0 Lbs.
76. Hops, 1879: Area: 0 Acres
77. Hops, 1879: Crop: 0 Lbs
78. Potatoes (Irish), 1879: Area: 1/16 Acres
79. Potatoes (Irish), 1879: Crop: 10 Bushels
80. Potatoes (Sweet), 1879: Area: 0 Acres
81. Potatoes (Sweet), 1879: Crop: 0 Lbs
82. Tobacco, 1879: 0 Acres
83. Tobacco, Crop: 0 Lbs

84. Orchards, 1879: Apple: Acres: 0 Acres
85. Orchards, 1879: Apple: Bearing Trees: None
86. Orchards, 1879: Apple: Bushels: 0 Bushels
87. Orchards, 1879: Peach: Acres: 0 Acres
88. Orchards, 1879: Peach: Bearing Trees: None
89. Orchards, 1879: Peach: Bushels: 0 Bushels
90. Orchards: Total value of all kinds sold or consumed, 1879: $0

91. Nurseries: Acres: 0 Acres
92. Nurseries: Value of produce sold in 1879: $0
93. Vineyards: Acres: 0 Acres
94. Vineyards: Grapes sold in 1879: 0 Pounds
95. Vineyards: Wine made in 1879: 0 Gallons

96. Market Gardens: Value of produce sold in 1879: $0
97. Bees- 1879: Honey: 0 Pounds
98. Bees - 1879: Wax: 0 Pounds
99. Forest Products: Amount of wood cut in 1879: 0 Cords
100. Forest Products: Value of all forest products sold or consumed in 1879: $0

As you can see, a researcher can learn an awful lot about their ancestor's farm if they are in the Agricultural Census!!!

Note: The Agricultural census form for other years is different from the one above.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow wow that is great. Bitter sweet reading for me. It is going to be great to reconstruct and visualize these homes in my head. I think it could be a lot more fun than playing farmland of fb. The bitter part?? Looks like hours and hours of more research. Adding it to my todo list for all "farmers" who owned property. Labor of love for my family(past, present, and future)

Anonymous said...

Hi Randy!

Thanks for listing all the categories for this census. I found a couple of my second great-grandfathers, but the forms aren't clear enough to be able to read everything!

Ruth Stephens
Bluebonnet Country Genealogy

Bill West said...

Wow indeed! I've already found records for John Cutter West there.
Thanks for the tip, Randy!

Susan said...

Dear Randy,
You have no idea how helpful it was to use your list of questions on the 1880 Agricultural Census in evaluating the farm income for my great-grandfather Robert Shane. I was having a heck of a time reading the copy posted on Ancestry... so thanks again for the list of questions. This census is especially fascinating to me because my great grandparents were separated at the time of the census and their farm activities posted separately. Fun stuff. Thanks again. Sue Edminster