New York State Census Records

What Records Were Created

Census enumerations for New York State occurred every ten years from 1825 to 1875 and from 1905 to 1925. There is more information in the nineteenth-century records than one usually expects from a census.  In addition to an enumeration of the population, the state was interested in information about farms and businesses, about churches and newspapers, about marriages and deaths.  If your ancestor lived in the state during this time and owned land, even a few acres, or a small business such as a gristmill or a cabinet making shop, then you may find how many acres he planted in buckwheat and how many sheep he owned, or how many people he employed and how much he paid them.

Only one census was taken between 1875 and 1905 – that of 1892. This census, dated February 16, 1892, was quite brief.  It asked only name, sex, age, color, in what country born, citizen or alien, and occupation.  This census gains in importance because of the loss in 1921 of the 1890 federal census. 

The nineteenth century was a time of flux for the state.  As settlers flooded in, new counties were established to provide local government.  Thus your ancestor’s location may change from one census to the next, not because he moved, but because a new county was formed.  The following link is to a table of upstate counties formed after the Revolutionary War. It lists the year the county was formed, the parent county/counties, and the first census in which the county is listed as a separate entity.  The last column lists that part of the state census records which are incomplete or missing in the New York State Library in Albany.

Table 1 - Upstate NY Counties Formed After the Revolutionary War

Original state census records were stored by county in each county clerk’s office.  Copies of these records were sent to Albany and are today held by the state library there.  Public libraries with a local history or genealogy section frequently have microfilm copies for their county, and occasionally for neighboring counties.  You should inquire about interlibrary loan of these microfilms.  All of these collections are probably incomplete; earliest records will be hardest to find. 

I searched  the catalog of the Family History Library for 1825 New York census records and found only Washington and Cattaraugus counties.  For the 1835 census only Cattaraugus County is listed.  The NEHGS library catalog lists indices to the 1855 census of Schenectady and Montgomery counties, but nothing earlier.  I found no New York State census records in the databases in Ancestry.com.  County web pages sometimes have census information.  Schuyler County, for example, was formed in 1854.  Nevertheless, the website offers 1825 census data for those parts of the county, which, at the time, were in neighboring counties.  Ontario, one of the oldest upstate counties, offers indices for 1850-1875 records online at the web page for the county archive.  The archive  holds records county records from 1845 to 1925.  County historical societies may be another source of online information.

The remainder of this article details the wealth of information to be found in these records.  After listing the questions asked on the various censuses, I present some examples to show how the state census can enhance the family information obtained from the federal census records.  The most complete record in the state library is for Steuben County, so I chose that county for my examples.  The original census records are held in the county clerk’s office in Bath.  The collection is not complete.  Only a few towns are present for 1825, and 1845 is missing entirely.  For my examples I have chosen the family of David McMaster, a farmer from Bath.  In addition to David, (born 1796), the household contained his wife, Mary, (born 1815), her mother, Abby Humphries, (born 1782), and at least nine children born between 1829 and 1859. [1]

Information from the 1825 census is contained in thirty-six columns.  Columns 1 to 13 do the basic job of a census – they count people.  Columns 14 to 16 ask about marriage, birth, and death.  Columns 17 to 21 are concerned with agriculture, and columns 22 to 36 with “domestic manufacturies.”  The 1835 census was slightly shorter. 

Table II - Questions for the 1825 and 1835 New York State Census

The 1855 census is enormous.  Like the 1850 federal census before it, this is the first state census to list by name every member of the household.  Unlike the federal census, it also specifies the relationship of each person to the head of household.  This census also asks how many years present in this city or town, which can help you track your family’s movements within the state. 

The census information requires more than 150 columns.  The population schedule occupies columns 1-21.  The agriculture section of the second schedule is the largest section of the census, columns 22-101.  This section is completed with questions about Domestic Manufacturies, columns 102-108.  Industry other than agriculture is in schedule III, columns 109-125.  Schedule IV contains listings of marriages and deaths, columns 126-139.  Schedule V lists churches and schools.  Schedule VI lists newspapers and other periodicals.  The questions in columns 1-139 are listed below by schedule.

Table III - Questions for the 1855 New York State Census

1865 and 1875

The 1865 census contains some military service information.  An added schedule lists the page and line of a person in the census and adds information such as their rank and the unit they are serving with. In the 1875 census the schedules appear in a different order, marriages and deaths coming before the agriculture and manufacturing sections.  There is more detail in several entries.  The section on sheep, columns 141-148, is shown below as an example.

            141 Shorn in 1874

            142 Shorn in 1875

            143 Lambs raised in 1874

            144 Lambs raised in 1875

            145 Pounds of wool shorn in 1874

            146 Pounds of wool shorn in 1875

            147 Sheep slaughtered in 1874

            148 Sheep killed by dogs in 1874

Example: David McMaster, Farmer

In the 1850 federal census we find David McMaster living in Bath with his wife Mary, six (presumed) children, an older woman named Abby Humphries, and two other people who may be servants.  The gap in ages of children, David M., age 20, and Adaline, age 6, suggests the possibility of several married daughters or children who died young.  The 1855 state census identifies Abby Humphries as Mary’s mother, born in Connecticut.  It also gives the county of birth for those born in New York State, and states how long they have lived in Bath.  One son, Greg H. McMaster, is no longer in the household. [2] A daughter, Adaline McMaster, is no longer listed in the household.  She would have been 11 years old, and so probably died rather than married.  A son, James, has been added.  Elizabeth Cummins, probably supplying domestic help in 1850 has gone, her place taken by Mary Heron.

In addition to the population schedule, David McMaster is listed in the agriculture schedule since he owns land.  This schedule gives the following description of his farm with milk cows, pigs, apple orchard, and bee hives. David McMaster, 92 acres improved, 2 acres unimproved, cash value of farm $5400, of stock $410, of tools and implements $130, 34 acres plowed previous year, none fallow, 24 acres in pasture, 14 acres of meadow, 15 tons of hay, no grass seed, no spring wheat, 20 acres sown to winter wheat yielding 236 bushels, 5 acres sown to oats yielding 60 bushels, no rye, 12 acres sown to barley yielding 300 bushels, 6 acres sown to buckwheat yielding 50 bushels, 10 acres sown to corn yielding 15 bushels, 1 acre sown to potatoes yielding 50 bushels, no peas, beans, turnips, flax, hemp, hops, or tobacco, 40 bushels of apples, no maple sugar, molasses, or wine, 100 pounds of honey, no wax or silk, 4 cattle over one year, no working oxen, 8 cows, 1 killed for beef, 8 cows milked yielding 1200 pounds of butter, 2 horses, no mules, 5 swine over 6 months, 15 sheep, 18 fleeces, 54 pounds of wool, no poultry sold, $60 value of eggs sold.  I’m not sure how to get 18 fleeces off of 15 sheep; perhaps three of 18 original sheep were later slaughtered. 

Although David’s mother-in-law, Abby Humphries, is listed as an owner of land, I found no listing for her in agricultural schedules for any of the four districts of Bath.  Perhaps she owned the farm jointly with her son-in-law.  Or perhaps her land was managed by someone else and was listed under that name.  The answer may lie in land records.

The first census in which the David McMaster household appears is the 1830 federal census. [3] From information in the 1850 and 1855 censuses about how long people were resident in Bath, we expect this 1830 household to contain David McMaster, 26, his wife Mary McMaster, 16, her mother Abby Humphries, 48, and their eldest son Greg McMaster, 1.  What we find is 1M<5, 1M 30-40, 1F 20-30, 1F 40-50.  The agreement is moderately successful. 

The first state census listing the David McMaster household is 1835.  This census describes the household as containing 3 males total, 3 females total, 1 male 18-45, 1 male voter, 1 married female under 45, no females 16-45, 1 female unmarried under 16, no marriages, 2 births one male and one female, 2 deaths one male and one female, 50 acres of improved land, 6 neat cattle, no horses, no sheep, 11 hogs. 

We can account for the three males as the head of household and his two young sons.  The three females we assign to Mary, her mother, and possibly a daughter, unmarried, under 16.  The two births and deaths listed occurred during 1835 and may indicate babies, perhaps twins, who died young.  We can also see that the farm is smaller – 50 acres of improved land instead of the 92 in 1855.

Even the somewhat skimpy information of the 1892 census can be useful.  In this census I find three of the McMaster daughters, apparently unmarried, listed sequentially in Bath. [4]

Postscript

There is also more general information included in some state censuses that may not be found elsewhere.

In 1855 farm hands hired by the season or year earned $20 per month.  Those hired for haying and harvest earned $1.50 per day.  Women hired for household work $0.75 per day or $2per week. [5]   Wages in 1875 per month: blacksmith, $39; tailor, $35; cooper, $28; baker, $30; brick maker, $25; wagon maker, $25. 

Farmers were apparently troubled by dogs attacking sheep flocks.  Whether perceived or real, the matter merited a question in the 1875 census.  In the 4^th district of Bath I find that 8 sheep were reported killed by dogs; in comparison 45 sheep were slaughtered that year.  Other data in the 2^nd district are less easy to analyze.  One farmer reported none of his 28 sheep killed by dogs, but he also slaughtered all 28.  Apparently he was shifting to pig farming.  Another farmer reported having no sheep, but 14 were killed by dogs.  Is that why he had no sheep?  Or did he sell or slaughter the rest?

* Final question on 1835 census. ** These questions dropped on 1835 census.

II. Agriculture (columns 22-101) and Domestic Manufacturies (columns 102-108)

III Industry other than Agriculture (Columns 109-125)

IV Marriages and Deaths (columns 126-139)