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Re: How was the army enumerated in the 1810 census?
Jenette ParishApr 2, 2018 3:17 PM (in response to Lynda Howell)
2 people found this helpfulHello Ms. Howell,
I have consulted with a few staff members at Archives I, in Washington D.C. You’re right, this is a tough question! If you are looking for soldiers in the census, it seems that they were enumerated at home...see 1810 Census Instructions. See Chap. 7, Sec. 5 - Who shall be returned. “That every person whose usual place of abode...and every person occasionally absent at the time of enumeration…” The instructions also mention to count whereabouts on the first Monday in August, so you may need to consider where the infantry members were located on August 6, 1810? It seems that we can presume they were counted at home at best. The US Census may be able to answer this question a bit better.
We also recommend that you contact our Army reference team in Washington D.C. about collecting research on the regular Army pre-1812. They have a few regular Army resources that may be of pertinence. You may contact them at archives1reference@nara.gov.
I hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
Jenny Parish-
Re: How was the army enumerated in the 1810 census?
Lynda Howell Apr 13, 2018 3:32 PM (in response to Jenette Parish)Thanks, I'll check with the Army reference team. I can only guess at "home" locations for a few of the men. The enlistment register doesn't typically list where they enlisted, let alone where they lived before then. I did a little genealogy-style research on a few of them and then looked at their fathers' households, but didn't find any extra men of the right ages, so I don't think they're there. After several years in the army, they -- and their fathers -- could well have stopped considering their fathers' households their "usual place of abode". But there aren't enough extra men of military age for them to be in the civilian population where they were stationed, either. It would have been easy for them to fall through the cracks. I'll see if the Army reference team can help me pinpoint at least the cracks more precisely. Thanks for your help.
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