United States Census Agricultural Schedules

United States

U.S. Census

Agricultural Schedules

Availability

1850 - 1880 and for those states that took an 1885 Census. 

They can be found in a variety of archives, but very few have been filmed.  

How to Access: 

http://www.archives.gov/research/census/nonpopulation/

The Family History Library has very few.  To locate these, do a Place Search for the state, select the topic Census, and choose the census year.

Historical Background

An Agricultural Schedule was made in 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 and for those states that took an 1885 census.

 Content

Information about all farms in the United States, including:                         

• Name of the owner, agent, or manager
• Number of acres and cash value of the farm
• Crops and other items produced
• Number and value of livestock (horses, cattle, sheep, and swine)
• Value of homemade manufactures

 Value

• They help identify the land holdings of your ancestors.
        - The Population Schedule mentions the value of the land, while the Agricultural Schedule gives the acreage.

• It shows each farm in relation to the neighboring farms and their owners.
       - This is especially helpful when land and tax records are missing.
       - Names of neighboring farmers help to distinguish between two people with the same name as you
                search existing land and tax records.

• For African American research, the 1850 and 1860 Agricultural Schedules help identify white overseers, Black sharecroppers,or track free Black men and their economic growth.
  

Indexes

Although few are indexed, Agricultural Schedules are arranged in the same order as the Population Schedules (list of residents).

Websites

National Archives:  [1]http://www.archives.gov/research/census/nonpopulation/

References

• Dollarhide, William. The Census Book: A Genealogist's Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes.  (Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 1999.) FHL Book 973.X27d.
• Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Wright, Matthew. Finding Answers in U.S. Census Records. (Orem, Utah: 2001 Ancestry) FHL Book 973 X27s.

Family History Library