The federal censuses have been taken every 10 years and began in 1790 (1791 for Vermont). Due to privacy laws, only census records 72 years and older are available for open research. Each census has an "official date" that should always be noted. The census taker, regardless of what day he or she recorded the information, was to list the occupants of any given household on the official date of that year's census. The official dates for each year up to 1930 are listed below: · 1790—August 2 (first Monday in August) · 1800—August 4 (first Monday in August) · 1810—August 6 (first Monday in August) · 1820—August 7 (first Monday in August) · 1830-1880—June 1 · 1890—June 2 (first Monday in June) · 1900—June 1 · 1910—April 15 · 1920—January 1 · 1930—April 1 This means that a person born on April 20, 1910 shouldn't be listed in the 1910 census. The enumerator was to list only those people living in the household on April 15, 1910. In some cases it took months for the enumerator to visit every household and record the data. In the early census years (1790 to 1840), the enumerators were allowed anywhere from nine to 18 months to complete their tasks. In 1850, 1860 and 1870, they were allowed only five months to record all of the residents and from 1880 to 1920, only one month. Some enumerators followed the rules strictly, while others did not. Excerpted from The Genealogist's Question and Answer Book by Marcia Yannizze Melnyk, $18.99. Reprinted here with permission from the publisher, Betterway Books. Downloaded from: Family Tree Magazine Email Update; on Thursday, 12 Dec 2002 Sally Rolls Pavia Sun City, AZ [email protected] List Owner: [email protected] "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup." All incoming and outgoing email checked by Norton Anti-Virus 2002 .