What is the 1790 Federal Population Census Schedule?

Click to view/Print Blank US 1790 Census Extract Form

The United States was the first country to call for a regularly held census. The Constitution required that a census of all “Persons…excluding Indians not taxed” be performed to determine the collection of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House of Representatives. The first nine censuses from 1790 to 1870 were organized under the United States Federal Court system. Each district was assigned a U.S. marshal who hired other marshals to administer the census. Governors were responsible for enumeration in territories.

The 1790 census records are useful for identifying the locality to be searched for other types of records for a named individual. The 1790 census will, in most cases, help distinguish the target family from others of the same name; identify immediate neighbors who may be related; identify slaveholders; and spot spelling variations of surnames. Free men “of color” are listed as heads of household by name. Slaves appear in age groupings by name of owner. By combining those age groupings with probate inventories and tax list data, it is sometimes possible to determine names of other family members and the birth order of those individuals

Name of family head; number of free white males of sixteen years and older; number of free white males under sixteen; number of free white females; number of slaves; number of other persons; and sometimes town or district of residence. The 1790 census instructed the marshals to identify, by age brackets, free white males sixteen years of age or older and those under sixteen. It was designed to determine the country’s industrial and military capabilities. Additionally, the first census was to count the number of free white females; all other free persons regardless of race or gender; and slaves. A twenty-dollar fine, to be split between the marshals’ assistants and the government, would be levied against anyone who refused to answer the enumerator’s questions.


1790 Census Maine - Bookshelf

Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790 ...

Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790 ...

Vermont, the first addition, was admitted in the following year, before the results of the First Census were announced. Maine was a part of Massachusetts, ...

Census of population and housing (2000): United States Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Counts

Census of population and housing (2000): United States Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Counts

Census data for Maine are available beginning with the 1790 census. Maine was enumerated as a separate district within the state of Massachusetts in the ...

Census of population and housing (2000): Maine Population and Housing Unit Counts

Census of population and housing (2000): Maine Population and Housing Unit Counts

Census data for Maine are available beginning with the 1790 census. Maine was enumerated as a separate district within the state of Massachusetts in the ...

Maine 1790 census index, Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790

Maine 1790 census index, Heads of families at the first census of the United States taken in the year 1790


Maine, a history

Maine, a history

He assisted in taking the census of Maine in 1790, and was twice employed ... was made the first president of the Senate of Maine, and soon after was ...

Daily Source Directory


Census Online - Maine - 1790 Census Records
Census Online - Maine - 1790. Links to Online Census Records. ... In 1790, Maine was still a part of Massachusetts, yet had its own census as it was a ...

Census Project (USGenWeb) - Maine 1790
In 1908 the Census Bureau published a 12 volume index of Heads of Household in the 1790 census. ... This work for the Maine District of Massachusetts has been ...

Maine 1790 Census Directory
1790 Census Records in the Maine USGW Archives (Courtesy of Jeff Morton) ... MAINE - CENSUS. New England States - Census. There is more information in our Cumberland ...

Maine, 1790 Census of
Picton Press are publishers of 17th, 18th, and 19th century genealogical research material

Census Online - Cumberland Co., Maine Census Records - 23 Links
Census Online - Cumberland Co., Maine. Links to Online Census Records.