This weekend, as we have been honoring our military heroes, both present and past, we thought we might introduce you to a little-known resource you may find useful in tracking down ancestors who served in the American Revolution or a military operation in that time period. If you have worked with early federal censuses, you know that the first fifty years of the census listed only heads of household, and enumerators used tally marks in columns to indicate age and gender of household members. It wasn’t until 1850 that the census began to list names of individual members of each family. However, an exception was made in 1840.
Congress needed to determine how much money to allocate for the support of living pensioners from the American Revolution and other military service. This group was dwindling, but many were still in need of the money owed them. Hence, the government added a special census to the population schedule listing each pensioner, his or her age, and the name of the person with whom they were living.
The results were printed in a book called A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services with their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. (Yes, the title takes up almost the entire first page!) The book is divided into states and each state into counties. Nothing is alphabetical. It starts with New England, followed by the Atlantic states, then heads south and into the Midwest. The last pages include territories, Washington, D.C., and one entry for Kentucky that was not received in time to be properly inserted. For many years, this publication was inaccessible except as a book, but it is now widely available online, and it is searchable.
On Google’s website, you can read the book or work with it as a PDF, which is a bit nicer, as it is easier to skim through the pages. Either way, the file is easy to search. In book form, you will get thumbnails; clicking on each brings up the page. Use the PDF if you want to scroll and search by state or county.
What might you find?
Jarrett Brickey fought in Captain David Looney’s Company in Virginia in the American Revolution. After the war, Jarrett moved first to Tennessee and then, around 1790, to what is today Crawford County, Missouri. The example from the special census below shows Jarrett was eighty-three years old, living in Cortois [sic] Township, and either he was head of household, or he lived with someone bearing his same name.
United States. Census Office, A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary Or Military Services With Their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. (Washington, D.C.: Blair and Rives. 1840–1841), 189; digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Census_of_Pensioners_for_Revolutionary/W7JYAAAAMAAJ?hl=en : accessed 25 May 2022).
Checking for Accuracy
How do we know if Jarrett was alone or with a family member with the same name? Our next step is a look at the actual 1840 census, which shows us that Jarrett was, indeed, living by himself. However, his son Peter and his grandson Cornelius and their families were close by.
1840 federal census, Courtois Township, Crawford County, Missouri, population schedule, p. 174, line 12, Jarrett Brickey, (son Peter on line 10; grandson Cornelius on line 15): digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2022) from National Archives microfilm M704, roll 223, Family History Library microfilm no. 0014855.
Finding information on ancestors from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century is often difficult, so having another resource to use may be very helpful. We hope you enjoy learning more about your early Revolutionary War-era ancestors, and in doing so, you remember the sacrifices they made so that our young country could come into existence. Happy Memorial Day!
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