Treasure Chest Thursday - 1880 U.S. Agricultural Census Record for James Richmond in ConnecticutIowa

 It's Treasure Chest Thursday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The treasure today is the 1880 United States Agricultural Census record for James Richmond, my 2nd great-grandfather, in Putnam, Windham County, Connecticut:

There are four sections for these records on the single image on FamilySearch digitzed microfilm.. 

James Richmond is on line 9 of all four sections.

I uploaded the census page above and asked OpenAI ChatGPT5 to transcribe it, and it also provided descriptive comments.

Here are the headings and James Richmond's information (Line 9) on the four sections:

Section 1 — Farm, land, values, labor, and grasslands

Column	Census heading	Entry
1	The Name	James Richmond
2	Owner of farm	1 (owner)
3	Rent paid for fixed money rental	Blank
4	Rent paid for shares of products	Blank
5	Tilled land, including fallow and grass in rotation	40 acres
6	Permanent meadows, permanent pastures, orchards, vineyards	29 acres
7	Woodland and forest	3 acres
8	Other unimproved land, including old fields and lots not growing wood	8 acres
9	Value of farm, including land, fences, and buildings	$1,200
10	Value of farming implements and machinery	$150
11	Value of livestock	$260
12	Cost of building and repairing fences in 1879	Blank
13	Cost of fertilizers purchased in 1879	Blank
14	Amount paid for farm labor during 1879	Blank
15	Weeks of hired labor in 1879	Blank
16	Estimated value of all farm productions consumed or sold in 1879	$350
17	Grassland acreage mown	25 acres
18	Grassland acreage not mown	15 acres
19	Hay produced	29 tons
20	Clover seed	Blank
21	Grass seed	Blank
22	Horses on hand June 1, 1880	2
23	Mules and asses on hand June 1, 1880	Blank

What this tells us: James owned an 80-acre farm, consisting of 40 acres of tilled land, 29 acres of meadow or pasture, 3 acres of woodland, and 8 acres of other unimproved land.

The farm was valued at $1,200, with $150 invested in equipment and machinery and $260 in livestock. His reported farm production was worth $350 for 1879.

The 29 tons of hay are particularly interesting. Hay was an essential crop for keeping horses and cattle fed through the Connecticut winter.

Section 2 — Livestock and animal products

This section records animals on hand, livestock transactions during 1879, and animal products.

Column	Census heading	Entry
24	Working oxen on hand June 1, 1880	Blank
25	Milch cows on hand June 1, 1880	4
26	Other cattle on hand June 1, 1880	Blank
27	Calves dropped in 1879	3
28	Cattle purchased in 1879	Blank
29	Cattle sold alive in 1879	Blank
30	Cattle slaughtered in 1879	3
31	Cattle that died in 1879	Blank
32	Gallons of milk produced	Blank
33	Pounds of butter made	200
34	Pounds of cheese made	Blank
35	Sheep and lambs on hand June 1, 1880	Blank
36–42	Sheep and lamb movements and losses during 1879	Blank
43–44	Sheep fleeces and weight	Blank
45	Swine on hand June 1, 1880	3
46	Poultry on hand June 1, 1880	16
47	Other poultry	Blank
48	Eggs produced in 1879	50 dozen

What this tells us: James had at least four dairy cows and three pigs, along with 16 poultry. His cows produced 200 pounds of butter during the year.

The three calves born in 1879 suggest that he maintained a breeding dairy herd. Three cattle were also slaughtered during the year, although the census doesn't tell us whether these were older cows, steers, or other animals.

The 200 pounds of butter are particularly interesting. Butter production was an important source of food and potentially cash income for a Connecticut farm family.

Section 3 — Field crops and grains

This section records acreage planted and the quantity harvested in 1879.

Column	Crop	Acres	Harvest
49–50	Barley	—	—
51–52	Buckwheat	2	17 bushels
53–54	Indian corn	2	60 bushels
55–56	Oats	4	120 bushels
57–58	Rye	—	—
59–60	Wheat	—	—
61–62	Peas	—	—
63–66	Flax (acreage, seed, straw, fiber)	—	—
67–68	Hemp	—	—
69–71	Sorghum (acreage, sugar, molasses)	—	—
72–73	Maple sugar and molasses	—	—
74–75	Broom corn	—	—

What this tells us: James planted at least eight acres of grain crops:

• 2 acres of buckwheat, producing 17 bushels.

• 2 acres of Indian corn, producing 60 bushels.

• 4 acres of oats, producing 120 bushels.

Oats were especially useful for feeding horses. Corn could be used for both livestock feed and household consumption. Buckwheat was another useful New England crop, often ground into flour.

These were modest acreages, suggesting that James's operation was a diversified family farm rather than a large grain-producing enterprise.

Section 4 — Potatoes, orchards, gardens, bees, and forest products

Column	Census heading	Entry
76–77	Hops (acreage and crop)	Blank
78	Irish potatoes — acreage	1 acre
79	Irish potatoes — production	50 bushels
80–81	Sweet potatoes	Blank
82–83	Tobacco	Blank
84	Apple orchard acreage	Blank
85	Apple-bearing trees	35 trees
86	Apples produced	Blank
87–89	Peach orchards and production	Blank
90	Value of orchard products sold or consumed	Blank
91–92	Nurseries	Blank
93–95	Vineyards and wine	Blank
96	Market garden products	Blank
97–98	Honey and beeswax	Blank
99	Forest products — cords of wood cut	6 cords
100	Value of forest products	$45

What this tells us: James grew Irish potatoes, maintained an apple orchard, and harvested wood from his woodland.

The six cords of wood valued at $45 suggest that his woodland provided another useful farm product, perhaps for household heating or sale.

The 35 bearing apple trees also indicate that the farm had some established orchard production, even though no apple harvest quantity or value is entered.

In summary, we can see that James Richmond farm inventory in 1880 of his 80-acre farm was: 40 acres tilled, 29 acres meadow/pasture/orchard, 3 acres woodland, and 8 acres unimproved; a $1,900 farm valuation; 20 tons hay; 2 horses; 4 milch cows producing 200 lbs. butter; 3 calves; 3 swine; 16 poultry laying 50 dozen eggs; 17 bushels buckwheat, 60 bushels corn, 120 bushels oats, 50 bushels potatoes, 35 apple trees, and 6 cords wood.

I found the record above on FamilySearch in the Catalog, but now I cannot find it again.  I know that it is in a digital file for New London County Agricultural Census which also has Windham County records of the 1880 Agricultural Census.  My notes say it is Windham County, Putnam town, page 2, ED 139, image 857 of 998.   I cannot find it on Full-Text Search but it may be there!  If I, or someone else finds it, I will create a source citation with a link to the page. 

Isn't that a great record?  It's a snapshot of the possessions and livelihood of one man and his family for one year.  

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