Prologue Magazine Spring 1996, Vol. 28, No. 1 The Fate of the 1890 Population Census, Part 1 By Kellee Blake The 1890 census was the first to use punchcards and an electrical tabulation system. (Courtesy Bureau of the Census) Of the decennial population census schedules, perhaps none might have been more critical to studies of immigration, industrialization, westward migration, and characteristics of the general population than the Eleventh Census of the United States, taken in June 1890. United States residents completed millions of detailed questionnaires, yet only a fragment of the general population schedules and an incomplete set of special schedules enumerating Union veterans and widows are available today. Reference sources routinely dismiss the 1890 census records as "destroyed by fire" in 1921. Examination of the records of the Bureau of Census and other federal agencies, however, reveals a far more complex tale. This is a genuine tragedy of records--played out before Congress fully established a National Archives--and eternally anguishing to researchers. As there was not a permanent Census Bureau until 1902, the Department of the Interior administered the Eleventh Census. Political patronage was "the most common order for appointment" of the nearly 47,000 enumerators; no examination was required. British journalist Robert Porter initially supervised the staff for the Eleventh Census, and statistician Carroll Wright later replaced him.(1) This was the first U.S. Census to use Herman Hollerith's electrical tabulation system, a method by which data representing certain population characteristics were punched into cards and tabulated. The censuses of 1790 through 1880 required all or part of schedules to be filed in county clerks' offices. Ironically, this was not required in 1890, and the original (and presumably only) copies of the schedules were forwarded to Washington.(2) June 1, 1890, was the official census date, and all responses were to reflect the status of the household on that date. The 1890 census law allowed enumerators to distribute schedules in advance and later gather them up (as was done in England), supposedly giving individuals adequate time to accurately provide information. Evidently this method was very little used. As in other censuses, if an individual was absent, the enumerator was authorized to obtain information from the person living nearest the family (3) For remainder of Part 1 and Parts 2 and 3, go to: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-1 html https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-2 html https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-3 html [sources] Sally Rolls Pavia Sun City, AZ [email protected] Owner: Genealogy Bits and Pieces Mailing List - [email protected]