1820 Federal Census

Orange County, Indiana

What do all of the numbers mean?

Each entry in the census represents 1 household. Associated with each household are atleast 3 groups of numbers. The first group of numbers represent the males in the household, the second group represents the women, and the third group represent the means of employment.

A typical entry might read:

Robert McConnel 011300 01101 0100
The first group of numbers (males) breaks down as follows:
0 1 1 3 0 0  
| | | | | |  
| | | | | --- 45 and over
| | | | ---- ---- 26 - 44
| | | ---- ---- ---- 16 - 25
| | ---- ---- ---- ---- 16 - 18
| ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 10 - 15
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Under 10
The second group of number (females) breaks down as follows:
0 1 1 0 1  
| | | | |  
| | | | ---- 45 and over
| | | ---- ---- 26 - 44
| | ---- ---- ---- 16-25
| ---- ---- ---- ---- 10 - 15
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Under 10
The third group of number (employment) breaks down as follows:
0 1 0 0  
| | | |  
| | | ---- Manufacturing
| | ---- ---- Commerce
| ---- ---- ---- Agriculture
---- ---- ---- ---- Foreigners
So from the example above, the household of Robert McConnel consisted of 5 males (1 between the ages of 10-15, 1 between the ages of 16-18 and 3 between the ages of 26-44) and 3 females (1 between the ages of 10-15, 1 between the ages of 16-25, and 1 over 45). One person was employed in the field of agriculture.
Blacks were treated as special entries. While it was legal to own slaves in Indiana in 1820, there were no slaves held in Orange County. The census records for Blacks includes 3 additional fields: The first field represents the state of the person (free or slave), The second group represents males and the third group represents females as follows

Males and Females:

1 1 1 1  
| | | |  
| | | ---- 45 and over
| | ---- ---- 26 - 44
| ---- ---- ---- 14 - 25
---- ---- ---- ---- under 14
Blacks lived in white households and also maintained separate household, as reflected by the records.