IPUMS-USA 1790-1840 Household-level Full Count Data

1800 U.S. Census

The IPUMS-USA 1790-1840 Full Count Data is available as household-level and county-level datasets for each decennial census year and for the combined years, 1790-1840. This data was made available to researchers through IPUMS from our collaboration with Ancestry.com.

The U.S. Census data for 1790-1840 consists of household-level data for the United States at the time of enumeration. There is no individual-level data available in these years, and the detail of household data is largely dependent on the particular census year. In contrast to later U.S. censuses, these historical censuses named only the head of the household and tallied household totals attached to that record (See image to the right from the 1800 U.S. Census, provided by Ancestry.com). For this reason, person-level information is not available, and information about total persons can only be tabulated using household totals.

All of the years have missing data, and in some cases, whole states are missing. Thus, the household-level microdata does not always match the published county-level totals.

To help identify the missing areas and other issues in the data, county-level summary data is also available. Each county-level variable gives the total from published figures for that county. The data can be merged onto the household-level data files using YEAR, STATEICP, and COUNTY. The county-level datasets are from the ICPSR Study 2896, Part 1-6, which is also available via IPUMS NHGIS.

1790-1840 Household-level Data Variables
1790-1840 County-level Data Variables

There is extended documentation detailing known issues in the data. This resource is intended to help users find if a problem related to the county or variable in question has already been flagged. Please email ipums@umn.edu with questions regarding the data, and email us if you find data errors or issues.

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