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I attended the 2012 Family History Jamboree in Dayton, OH back in February. It was sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The day was packed with information from well presented seminars. All the attendees picked six classes of their choice and boy did we soak up a lot of knowledge that day.
One of my seminar choices was “Migration Trails to Ohio” given by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG. Let me say that Peggy is a wonderful instructor. She’s informative as well as vibrant and easy to listen to. One of Peggy’s tips was the book, Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790 – 1920 by William Thorndale and William Dollarhide. She joked that her sisters borrowed her copy so much she bought them their own!
Let me tell you this is an excellent book for the genealogist. There are maps for each individual state with old county boundaries superimposed over today’s modern boundaries. The maps date from 1790 to 1920 and there are maps for every ten years or each federal census. There’s also notes added to most pages, for example on the Ohio -1810 page:
Ohio became a state in 1803.
The Michigan-Ohio boundary is shown as defined by Congress but was unsurveyed and uncertain in 1810. Ohio unilaterally claimed what became the modern line.
Census Availability
Federal census lost for all counties except Washington, shown as “extant” on map, and lost for Erie District, Michigan Territory.
I heartily agree with Peggy. This is an excellent book and worth the price. I have referred to it often as I do research on ancestors that moved from state to state. It helps so much to see the areas they lived in or traveled to.
In fact my sister has borrowed my copy twice already! I think I see a gift in her future!
© 2012 Cindy Freed
William Thorndale and William Dollarhide. Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790 – 1920. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987, page 269.
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Yes! I bought the book after attending that conference and it has come in very handy for states that I work on for clients! I usually copy the pages for the states of interest and mark on them where the towns were at each census. Tgat way i am aware of the changed county or state! Thanks for reminding me of this great resource!
One of my most heavily used books. My only regret is not buying it sooner.
I just put the book on my Christmas Wish List… my daughters are always complaining it is empty. Don’t know why we haven’t had this one, for years. Thanks for the reference and the reminder, Cindy!
Thank you Cindy. I will have to look into this book.
Thanks for the comments! I’ve found it to be a “can’t live without” resource too!