"What are mortality schedules?" When the federal population census was taken, there were also non-population schedules. Different ones are available in different years. Some are extant on microfilm, while others have been lost. The census taker would ask questions like, "did anyone die in the past year in this household?" If the answer was yes, he had to fill out another long form. This was true also for farmers, industrial product producers, and folks who were deaf, blind, dumb, mentally delayed or impaired, epileptic, ill, in jail, or on the public dole. In 1890 there was the veteran schedule. These give a wonderful snapshot of the person's life and work, and are well worth the effort to find. In this area the mortality schedules go back to 1850. They offer about the same information as the later death records did. Unfortunately it only covers one year prior to the census date once per decade. So in 1850, for instance, it covered about June 1849 through May 1850. Cynthia in Lake County

Cynthia, Thank you for the information. Is my thinking correct in assuming that when the federal non-population schedules (e.g. the mortality schedules) were *taken*, they were taken in all states, if they were taken at all? Therefore, if Ancestry.com does not include a particular state in it's mortality database information that it is because the schedule for that particular state was lost to the archives? I see that Ancestry.com has the mortality schedule for only one Ohio census year, 1850 while West Virginia is included for 1860, 1870 & 1880. Bette > "What are mortality schedules?" > > When the federal population census was taken, there were also > non-population schedules. Different ones are available in different > years. Some are extant on microfilm, while others have been lost. The > census taker would ask questions like, "did anyone die in the past year > in this household?" If the answer was yes, he had to fill out another > long form. This was true also for farmers, industrial product producers, > and folks who were deaf, blind, dumb, mentally delayed or impaired, > epileptic, ill, in jail, or on the public dole. In 1890 there was the > veteran schedule. These give a wonderful snapshot of the person's life > and work, and are well worth the effort to find. > In this area the mortality schedules go back to 1850. They offer > about the same information as the later death records did. Unfortunately > it only covers one year prior to the census date once per decade. So in > 1850, for instance, it covered about June 1849 through May 1850. > Cynthia in Lake County