The 1790 - 1820 population schedules (census) were nearly all handwritten; the Government started using printed schedules in 1830. Article I, section 2, of the U. S. Constitution requires that a decennial population census, a nationwide enumeration or count of the population be TAKEN EVERY 10 YEARS (answer to question #8). Congress uses the census figures to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. The census also determines each state's number of votes in the electoral college, which selects the President and Vice President; and affects apportionment in state and local legislatures. The population schedules, FIRST PREPARED IN 1790 (answer to question #10), contain a wealth of information for historians, economists, and other researchers interested in topics such as Rev. War pensioners, Civil War veterans, western expansion, regional and local history, immigration, and naturalization. To ensure the privacy of individuals, Congress has provided for a 72-year restriction to access of Federal census schedules. The 1920 census was released in 1992; the 1930 census will be opened in 2002. To obtain specific nonrestricted data from post-1920 census, use Bureau of the Census Form BC-600, "Application for Search of Census Records." Copies of BC-600 are available from the Bureau of the Census, P. O. Box 1545, Jeffersonville, IN 47131. They usually can not be found at the National Archives. The 1790 - 1840 schedules furnish only the names of the free heads of family, not of other family members. These schedules totaled the number of other family members, without name, by free or slave status. Also, the sex and age categories that the schedules first used only for free whites from 1790 through 1810 eventually applied to other persons, and the age categories increased after 1790. The 1820 census first asked about naturalization status. The 1840 census included a special inquiry regarding pensioners for Revolutionary or military service. This section named persons who were either family heads or members and specified the pensioner's age, not just a range of ages. It is important to not overlook the data that might be obtained in the 1840 schedule of pensioners, especially if you are trying to zero in on a date of birth. More to come..... Barb