----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 18, 2000 7:06 PM Subject: The 'Forgotten' Census of 1880 In 1880, the Federal government did a special census of people in mental asylums, jails and who were otherwise "dependent," or inmates of public institutions. It was officially labeled SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULES, 1-7: DEPENDENT, DELINQUENT AND DEFECTIVE CLASSES. It is a valuable tool for obtaining personal information not available on the regular census. In the case of my husband's ancestor, we had copies of the court document that committed her to "the lunatic asylum of this state" on 1 Dec 1879. This was the state of Georgia, and she had resided in Harris County. I did not know where the state mental asylum was. I obtained the Supplemental Schedules for GA (two reels of microfilm containing all counties), and went through them. I found the asylum in Milledgeville, Baldwin Co. I also found our Elizabeth, discovered her diagnosis, how long she had had the symptoms, if she was restrained (when and how), how long she was prescribed to stay, etc. It also lists people in each county who were in orphanages, poorhouses, at home but deemed to be insane, idiotic, crippled or blind [official census words]; or in jails or prisons. There is an article about this census in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, V. 80, No. 1, March 1992, p. 57: "The 'Forgotten' Census of 1880: Defective, Dependent and Delinquent Classes," Ruth Land Hatten. This article includes all the instructions to the census taker, which helps to interpret the data found on the census report. It also tells where the census for each state is located (and gives appropriate microfilm numbers). I obtained mine from the National Archives. It took about two weeks, approximately $30 each reel. If you think you may have anyone who might be listed in this schedule, it could be worth pursuing. There is far more information given on this census than on the regular schedule. Depending on where the census is located for your state, it might be cheaper to hire a professional genealogist to obtain the information and relevent copies for you. Stefani Evans ==== YOUNG Mailing List ==== You will never get rich writing a genealogy book. The list owner is at [email protected] ============================== Free Web space. ANY amount. ANY subject. RootsWeb's Freepages put you in touch with millions. http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi