The federal Census for 1840 and earlier listed only the names of the head of each household. It did not list the names of other members of the household, but counted how many persons were present in each age category, and indicated the numbers (1, 2, 5, etc.--these are not check marks), such as 1 male age 0-5 years, 1 male age 40-45 years, 3 females age 10-15, etc. Thus (and I have not looked at the North Branford entry but am relying only on your text here), Robert Byington would be the head of a household that contained several persons. The numbers in the columns to the right would tell you how many people were in each age category. These are not checkmarks, but are the numeral "1." From this information you can almost picture how many little kids, how many teens, how many old people, lived in Robert Byington's household. There is no way to know from the 1840 Census how many of these other people were relatives, boarders, hired hands, in-laws, apprentices, or children "bound out" by their own families and working in the household, etc. The next entry down, that for Harmon R. Byington, would be the next household--perhaps living next door or in the upstairs apartment or the back apartment or the cabin out back. If no other persons were indicated in columns to the right of Harmon, then he lived alone in his own household. The 1840 Census would not have indicated if Harmon and Robert were brothers, cousins, father and son, etc. You would find this kind of information in Census records of 1850 and after, but unfortunately not 1840. If you can find the household of Robert Byington in the 1850 Census, you will find more helpful information. If Robert and Harmon are listed as persons of about the same age and you can find their baptismal records, you will know if they had the same parents. If one is much older than the other, they are probably of different generations and could be father/son, uncle/nephew, etc. The fact that some female names are listed (as heads of households) in the 1840 Census should be no surprise--they were probably widows. Joanne Garland (former enumerator, Census 2000) -----Original Message----- From: Grace Coffman <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Monday, November 19, 2001 12:20 AM Subject: [CTNEWHAV] understanding the 1840 CT census >I am wondering how to interrpret the 1840 Census for North Branford. There >is an entry: Robert Byington, then underneath him is Harmon R. Byington. In >the columns for people at what ages Robert has many checks for ppl different >ages and Harmon has no checks. Who is Harmon and why is he listed and no one >else in the family? Above and below him they actually seem to list all the >peopl ein the family because I see female and male names. So, is Harmon >another Byington adult living at that residence, one of Robert's kids? What >have you all found as to the rhyme and reason the transcribers had when >taking the 1840 census? > >-Grace > >______________________________