I have a handful of ancestors that I have tried searching for in the 1870 census. I don’t remember if I attended a workshop or watched an online lecture, but the presenter stated that most people were accounted for in the US Census. If you couldn’t find your ancestor, you weren’t looking hard enough because they should be there. Since that time I have learned there are lots of missing people in the US Census. Every year the census has been taken, people were missed, whether intentionally or through incompetence. While it is likely true that most people were counted, it is also true that not everyone was included.

The 1870 federal census is an interesting census for the Southern States. This was a period of Reconstruction after the Civil War. It was the first census to identify African Americans by name, so an essential census for anyone doing African American research. This census asks interesting questions about marriage, eligibility to vote, property values, and place of birth.

The population likely changed quite a bit. People died during the Civil War. Others moved. I have spent a lot of time looking through the 1870 census in Lauderdale and Limestone County, Alabama. No matter how often I searched or what name variations I tried, I have been unable to find several people. Some of these people should be there. As an example, I can place Colby Ross in Limestone County in 1867, based on voter registration. His step-children are getting married in 1871 and 1872. He is there in the 1880 census living with his step-son Michael Read. In 1880, Colby is listed as paralyzed in the census. It is unlikely that he traveled somewhere else in 1870.

The 1870 census was the last census to use U.S. Marshals. These marshals appointed assistants that conducted the majority of the census, many of whom were barely literate or otherwise qualified. The marshals and assistants came from the North. It would be easy to imagine that many residents in the Southern states were reluctant to speak to the census enumerator. These enumerators were blamed for errors, under-counting, and outright fraud. The general consensus is that the South was under-counted by about 10%¹. Other states were also determined to be counted incorrectly and a second census was taken of Philadelphia, New York City, and Indianapolis.

Research Tips

Do not immediately assume your ancestor was missed after an initial cursory search. It is possible the ancestor is there, but hiding. Here are some research tips for looking for people in the census.

1. Try name variations and spelling variations, including initials for first names.
2. Search for each member of the family and not just head of household.
3. If your ancestor is in the 1860 and 1880 census, search for your ancestor’s neighbors in the 1870 census.
4. Look at the 1870 mortality schedule to see if the person may have passed away the year prior.
5. Expand your search to neighboring counties.
6. Try a broad general search of the entire census using name variations. Look for family members as well. Maybe the family moved further than expected.
7. Try a search in a different database. If you searched using FamilySearch, try Ancestry. These companies sometimes use different indexers for the same record collections, so the indexes will vary.
8. If all else fails, search and read every page of the expected location. There could be transcription errors and recording errors. In these cases look for family groupings, ages, and other details that seem to match in other census records.

I have tried all of these steps in my attempts to locate Colby Ross, William Jasper Eaton (10 years old in 1870), Duncan Stewart and others. These individuals lived in the rural areas of the county. On the surface it appears the enumerators did not venture very far into the county, meaning they focused on population centers. This makes sense in some ways. Limestone and Lauderdale County were devastated from the Civil War and both Florence and Athens likely had population booms. It would be an interesting study to see how many people moved in these counties between 1860 and 1870. Either that or the enumerators intentionally avoided rural areas to save time. It is hard to say what happened.

I was able to locate some of Colby Ross’ neighbors, which helped me validate the enumeration district he should have been located, if he did not move. It also shows that rural residents were enumerated, though it is not clear how thorough the enumerators were in rural areas. Not only is Colby Ross missing but so is his entire family. Families and individuals were listed in order of visitation, including dwellings. It is possible Colby Ross moved after the Civil War and this is a point for further research. A search of the entire county also turned up empty. If you have worked through all possibilities, then your ancestor is indeed missing from the census.

Other reasons people were missed:

1. Travel
2. Not at home that day
3. Moved
4. Enumerator missed them, intentionally or otherwise
5. Pages from the census are missing
6. The person avoided the enumerator.
7. Casualty of the Civil War

The National Archives have profile pages for each of the census years. This is great resource to review when spending a lot of time doing census research. The profile pages give a brief historical overview, names of those involved in the census, questions asked, blank copies of the forms, and interesting tidbits including what might be missing.

Another good resource for census research guides is the FamilySearch Wiki. The information found at FamilySearch is similar to the information found at the National Archives with a few additional links for more information.

Sources

1. https://ngsmonthly.ngsgenealogy.org/the-1870-federal-censuss-second-enumeration/
2. https://ancestralfindings.com/an-in-depth-look-at-the-1870-us-federal-census/
3. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_States_Census_1870
4. https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1870