Finding American Ancestors Before 1840

What would we genealogists do without the U.S. federal census? We have come to rely on it for so much: names, ages, occupations, locations, neighbors, and, in some years, military and citizenship information, health status, individual wealth, and more. But . . .  all that bonus information only applies to the censuses from 1850 onwards. What about our ancestors who lived in earlier years? The earliest censuses captured only basic information, so how do we find out more about the lives of our pre-1850 ancestors?  There are genealogical methods you can use to learn more, and noted genealogist, D. Joshua Taylor, will go into depth on this in his presentation, "Bridging the Gap: Finding Ancestors in the United States Between 1790 and 1840," at our annual Fall Speaker Series this coming Saturday, 1 October 2022. Read on to learn the details!

The answer to "How do we find out more?" about our early American ancestors may surprise you, as federal censuses available from 1790 through 1840, combined with other records, can reveal more than you thought. If you have looked at these early censuses, you know they contain only names of heads of households, and others in the home are mere numbers and/or check marks on the page. It wasn’t until 1850 that everyone in a household (except for enslaved people) was enumerated by name.

Many genealogists ignore the early censuses because of their lack of detail, but they can be very helpful in fleshing out families, if you know how to combine those numbers and check marks along with other record sets. For instance, here is the 1830 census for David Pinkerton, who lived in Greene County, Illinois. As you can see in this example, David was not the only Pinkerton in his part of Greene County. Living in close proximity were Andrew, William, and two James Pinkertons. Of course, we would want to find out who each of those men was and to use those numbers on the sheet to learn more about their respective families.

1830 U.S. census, Greene County, Illinois, page 20, National Archives Microfilm Series M19, roll 24, Family History Library microfilm 0007649, ancestry.com : accessed 25 September 2022.

And how would we learn more? You can compare census data to information found in other record sets, such as:

• Tax lists
• Land records
• Wills and probates
• Church records
• Family bibles

to identify relationships and build a more complete family history. Join us to learn where you can locate these records and how to use them to your best advantage. Enhance your skills and unlock more of your genealogy! 

There is still time to register for our HYBRID 2022 Fall Speaker Series, but don't wait . . .  It's coming up this Saturday!

Attend in person or virtually via Zoom!

New Approaches to Old Problems

Featuring D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA

President of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society and host of the PBS series, Genealogy Roadshow

Saturday, 1 October 2022

9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. (Central)

Maryland Heights Community Center

Lectures will be livestreamed and recorded. All attendees will receive access to the recordings for 90 days.

For those attending in-person: box lunch optional to purchase, StLGS sales table, printed syllabus

Those attending virtually will receive an electronic syllabus.

 Lectures include:

• "Bridging the Gap: Finding Ancestors in the United States Between 1780 and 1840"
• "My New England Research is Done . . . Or Is It?"
• "Having No Children: Tracing Relatives with No Known Descendants"
• "On and Off the Net: Locality Searching"

Registration information for the Speaker Series is on our website, and it's easy to register at our secure online store. If you are a member of StLGS, be sure to log into the website first so you can receive your member discount.

Questions? Email programs@stlgs.org.