1870 and 1880 Agricultural, Industrial, Mortality and Other Special Census Schedules for Idaho

by Steve Barrett, Library Assistant, and Bonnie Fuller, Volunteer

Steam thresher on the Camas Prairie in Idaho County, undated. ISHS photo 1274-B

Think you've exhausted the possibilities of the 1870 and 1880 U. S. Censuses? You may wish to think again. Genealogists and historians of the 19th- and 20th-century United States are familiar with the population schedules of the federal censuses. Much less well known are the "non-population" schedules—the agricultural, industrial, mortality, and other schedules—compiled between 1850 and 1910. These special schedules are rich with historical and genealogical information, but because the Census Bureau returned the originals to the states before the creation of the National Archives, copies are harder to come by and those that do exist are often not indexed.

The Idaho State Historical Society Public Archives and Research Library (PARL) holds both the one-and-only, original hard-copies and one of only a handful of microfilm copies of the 1870 and 1880 Agricultural, Industrial, Mortality, Prison, Social Statistical and Supplemental Schedules for Idaho. Not only that, but Steve Barrett, PARL staff member, and Bonnie Fuller, PARL volunteer, have created indexes to these schedules.

Blacksmith shop, undated. ISHS photo 74-45.1

The information in these schedules goes well beyond that found in the more familiar population schedules. For instance, agricultural schedules contain the following data for each farm enumerated, all in remarkable detail: landowner; number of laborers hired; acreage owned (tilled, untilled, leased); livestock owned (including bees!); crops, produce, and timber raised; orchards, nurseries and vineyards owned; structures and fences erected or maintained; and more. If your ancestor was a farmer or an agri-businessperson in Idaho, you will want to check out these schedules.

Similarly, industrial schedules contain name of owner, name of business, capital (real and personal) invested, number of employees (both highest and average numbers), hours and wages of employees, value of materials used, value of products manufactured, and types and amounts of power used (water, steam, horse). Separate industrial schedules were required for general manufacturing, lumber mills, saw mills, brick yards, tile works, flour and grist mills, cheese, butter and condensed milk factories, slaughtering and meat-packing works, and salt works, among other industries.

For persons who died during the twelve-month period, 1 June 1869 to 31 May 1870, the 1870 Mortality Schedule contains name, place of birth and occupation of the deceased, birthplaces of the parents of the deceased, month, year and cause of death, length of residence (in months or years) at place of death, name of the attending physician, even the name of the location where the deceased contracted a fatal illness or experienced an accident if this differed from the actual place of death! The historical and genealogical potential of information like this cannot be overstated.

Other schedules enumerate prisoners and persons considered "defective, dependent or delinquent."

If you find a name on one of the lists and would like a photocopy of the original record, please contact us. We do respond to U.S. mail, e-mail, and telephone requests. Please be aware that we have photocopy and research fees.

To view the "non population" schedule indexes, click on one of the links below. You must have Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download) on your computer to open the file. If you do not have Acrobat and would like us to look up a name for you, or if you encounter any difficulties, click here to review our procedures for submitting a request for assistance.Be advised that the "non population" schedule indexes are intended for personal research purposes only and should not be copied or distributed to others in any format, including paper or electronic versions.

• 1870 "non population" schedule PDF format 52 kb
  
• 1880 "non population" schedule PDF format 144 kb
  
  

For more information about the non-population schedules of the federal censuses, see "Special Federal Schedules," The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, edited by Arlene Eakle and Johni Cerny and published by Ancestry Publishing Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1984, pages 102-119.



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