The 1810 U.S. census is the third census taken in the United States. It is very similar to the 1790 and 1800 census. U.S. Marshalls and their assistants were required to record the head of household and record a count of the members of the household. There were no pre-printed forms unless the Marshalls paid for them out of their own pocket. In most cases census data was recorded on whatever paper could be obtained.
Table of Contents
Questions for the 1810 U.S. Census
The National Archives provides a list of questions:
- Name of head of family
- Number of free white males under 10 years of age
- Number of free white males of 10 and under 16 years of age
- Number of free white males of 16 and under 26 years of age
- Number of free white males of 26 and under 45 years of age
- Number of free white males of 45 years of age and upwards
- Number of free white females under 10 years of age
- Number of free white females of 10 and under 16 years of age
- Number of free white females of 16 and under 26 years of age
- Number of free white females of 26 and under 45 years of age
- Number of free white females of 45 years of age and upwards
- Number of all other free persons, except Indians, not taxed [free African-Americans]
- Number of slaves
Missing Records
The 1810 U.S. census had similar problems with missing records. The U.S. Marshalls were required to forward population totals to the Secretary of State. The schedules were to be deposited with the district courts of each district. Despite the admonition to securely and safely store the schedules, there were several states that have been lost.
The District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois Territory, Indiana Territory, Michigan Territory, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, and most of Tennessee have been lost. It is possible individual pages from the remaining states may have been lost due to time, poor storage, and transportation. The surviving schedules were forwarded to the Secretary of State and bound into books. Eventually the schedules were digitized and can be viewed on FamilySearch, Ancestry, and elsewhere.
Census Statistics
The Wikipedia article for the 1810 U.S. census provides a summary of the reported census statistics. This census confirms that the United States population was growing. The total population reported for the 1810 U.S. census was 7,239,881. This is a 36% increase from the previous census. The most populous state was Virginia and the least populous was Delaware. The most populous city was New York City. It is difficult to know how accurate the numbers are due to the loss of records. Also some of the enumerators did not tally their results and some schedules lacked headings. Some of the totals may be in doubt.
A look at Samuel Brockway III
Samuel Brockway III was born 1745 in Branford, New Haven, Connecticut. He married Lucy Barnes about 1765 in Connecticut. Samuel and Lucy had 8 children, 2 girls and 6 boys. We briefly looked at Samuel Brockway III in the 1790 U.S. Census blog article, but the 1810 U.S. census1 gives an opportunity to see how the family has changed in 20 years.

The 1810 U.S. census reports:
- White males 10-15 years = 1
- White males 16-25 years = 1
- White males 45 years and over = 1
- White females under 10 = 1
- White females 45 and over = 1
- Total household members = 5
Using the birth years of the family as shown on Samuel Brockway’s FamilySearch page, we can try to identify who may be in the household.
- White males 10-15 years = 1
- Unknown male
- White males 16-25 years = 1
- Martin Brockway b. 1785
- White males 45 years and over = 1
- Samuel Brockway b. 1745
- White females under 10 = 1
- Unknown female
- White females 45 and over = 1
- Lucy Barnes b. 1747
- Total household members = 5
It is easy to assume that Samuel and Lucy are the individuals over the age of 45. Samuel would have been about 65 and Lucy 63 years old. They were grandparents at this time. The male aged between 16-25 years old may have been Martin Brockway. He was married in 1810, so it is possible he was still living with his parents until his marriage. The mystery is the two unknown children, a male child aged 10-15 years and a female child under 10 years.
It is possible to try and guess who these children might be. In order to do that, each of Samuel Brockway’s children and their children would need to be matched up with an 1810 U.S. census record. This could give a list of possible candidates that could identify them. I suspect they are grandchildren, but it is hard to say without more research.
Further Research
The unknown children pose an interesting research question. It also demonstrates, once again, that there is always something new to learn about our ancestors. I had assumed this ancestor had been thoroughly researched but a deeper look at census records is showing more work is needed.
Living next to Samuel Brockway is Luri Brockway, his son. Luri is in his own household with 7 household members. A closer look at his count will help confirm his family in 1810. There is also a question about Luri’s name. The index suggests it may actually be Levi, but a closer look at the image does show Luri. Seeing the two possible interpretations, it would be worth searching for records with both spellings.
Sources
- Ancestry.com. 1810 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data:Third Census of the United States, 1810. (NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls). Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
One response to “A good Look at the 1810 U.S. Census”
[…] questions asked on the 1820 U.S. Census were similar to the previous census, but a bit more specific. The age groupings were broken down a bit more for each of the categories, […]