1820 U.S. Federal Census
The fourth census was taken under the provisions of an act of March 14, 1820. The enumeration began on the first Monday of August, and was scheduled to conclude within 6 calendar months; however, the time prescribed for completing the enumeration was extended to September 1, 1821. The 1820 census act required that enumeration should be by an actual inquiry at every dwelling house, or of the head of every family within each district.2
There was a district wide loss for Arkansas Territory, Missouri Territory and New Jersey. Partial losses included half the counties in Alabama, and roughly 20 eastern Tennessee counties supervised by the Federal Court District out of Knoxville.3
Population Census Items
Name of family head; age; sex; race; foreigners not naturalized; slaves; industry (agriculture, commerce, and manufactures).1
** Click here for a FREE 1820 Census form from Ancestry.com (Adobe Acrobat required)
<< United States Federal Census
1 Availability of Census Records About Individuals, U.S. Census Bureau Web Site, www.census.gov
2 Census of Population and Housing, U.S. Census Bureau Web Site, www.census.gov
3 The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto Dennis Szucs; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).
