This week Ancestry posted a collection of Illinois State Censuses for the following years: 1825, 1830, 1835, 1845, 1855, and 1865. Information available for an individual will vary according to the census year and the information requested on the census form. Some of the information contained in this database though includes: name, enumeration date, and enumeration place. These censuses generally only recorded the names of the heads of household. Other individuals in the household were numbered in age and race categories.
In later years, you’ll find a bit more information, such as Value of Live Stock, Value of Grain Products, Value of other Agricultural Products, No. of Pounds of Wool, Grist Mills, Saw Mills, Distilleries, No. of Schools (columns for Universities, Academies and Grammar Schools, and Common Schools) and Pupils therein. Other enumerations documented the number of slaves, free persons of color, indentured servants, and mulattoes.
Be sure to read the extended description. The surviving censuses for Illinois do not include all locations. The extended description lists what counties are available for each year.
Although not as informative as some other state censuses, not only do these enumerations allow you to identify your ancestors in a particular location, but they can give you a peek into the economics of your ancestors and the neighborhood in which they lived.
Click here to search the Illinois State Census Collection.
I spent the day yesterday going through this database and, as someone who’s seen the images elsewhere, I was stunned at the quality of the images! Most of them was a lot more readable than what I’d seen previously.
Agree that though information is minimal, it is useful – and very easy to use database.
Why isn’t the Illinois state census coming up when I do a standard search for a person? I can see the Iowa state census, but not the Illinois state census. Has it just not been linked into the standard search yet?