1870 Census, Clarke Co., MS

The Ninth Census of the United States (1870) is contained on 1,748 rolls of microfilm. All information and data contained in this work was extracted from my personally owned Microcopy M593, Roll #726. Generally, names of persons, occupations, and birthplaces have been shown with spellings exactly as in the copy. I have shown the surnames in all caps and some punctuation marks have been added to initials and abbreviations. If I was not sure of an entry, I have added a question mark. Some personal explanatory notes (green italics) will be found throughout this work.

It will be evident to the reader that various spellings of names were used. For example, the surname TAYLOR can be found under TALAR, TALOR, TAYLOR. This was probably due to the census taker writing the name down as it sounded. Some researchers with whom I have worked believe part of the 1870 Clarke Co., MS census is missing (or at least it's not on the microfilm). I personally have a great grandfather who most certainly resided in Clarke in 1870, but he and his family are not on the census! There are several possible explanations: (1)some residents of the county were missed by the enumerator (2)part of the census was lost (3)a portion of the Clarke census is actually included on another county. There may be other possibilities as well. Personally, I lean toward (1).

Each original census page contains data under 20 different column headings. Shown below are column numbers and descriptions (copied exactly from census record):

1. Dwelling-houses, numbered in the order of visitation.
2. Families, numbered in the order of visitation.
3. The name of every person whose place of abode on the first day of June, 1870, was in this family.
4. Age at last birthday. If under 1 year, give months in fractions, thus, 3/12.
5. Sex. - Males (M.), Females (F.)
6. Color. - White (W.), Black (B.), Mulatto (M.), Chinese (C.), Indian (I.)
7. Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male or female.
8. Value of Real Estate.
9. Value of Personal Estate.
10. Place of Birth, naming State or Territory of U. S.; or the Country, if of foreign birth.
11. Father of foreign birth.
12. Mother of foreign birth.
13. If born within the year, state month (Jan., Feb., &c.)
14. If married within the year, state month (Jan., Feb., &c.)
15. Attended school within the year.
16. Cannot read.
17. Cannot write.
18. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic.
19. Male citizens of U. S. of 21 years of age and upwards.
20. Male citizens of U. S. of 21 years of age and upwards, whose right to vote is denied or abridged on other grounds than rebellion or other crime.

Inquiries numbered 7, 16, and 17 are not to be asked in respect to infants. Inquiries numbered 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 20 are to answered (if at all) merely by an affirmative mark, as /.

For this work, I extracted inquiries 2 - 10 (columns 2 - 10) in the same order as the original census. However, due to space limitations, inquiry 1 above (Dwelling Number) is not shown in this extraction. I have used a "miscellaneous" column (11) for inquiries 11 - 20. The applicable inquiry number is indicated for the individual.

Clarke County, Mississippi, is located in the east central part of the state. It was one of several counties formed in 1833 as a result of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. The county seat is Quitman. Lauderdale County borders Clarke to the North, Jasper to the West, Wayne to the South, and Choctaw County, Alabama to the East. In 1990, the population was 17,313.

For this posting, I have divided the census into 18 files as follows:

1. Families 1 - 44 (Pgs. 1-9 ; 665-669)
2. Families 45 - 107 (Pgs. 10-20 ; 669-674)
3. Families 108 - 179 (Pgs. 21-28;32;29-31(part) ; 675-678; 680(part);679-680(part)
4. Families 180 - 233 (Pgs. 31(part);33-40 ; 680(part)-684)
5. Families 234 - 294 (Pgs. 41-51(part) ; 685-690(part))
6. Families 295 - 354 (Pgs. 51(part)-60 ; 690 part)-694)
7. Families 355 - 423 (Pgs. 61-71(part) ; 695-700(part))
8. Families 424 - 502 (Pgs. 71(part)-80 ; 700(part)-702;715-716)
9. Families 503 - 565 (Pgs. 81-90 ; 717-721)
10. Families 566 - 657 (Pgs. 91-104 ; 722-726;703-704)
11. Families 658 - 727 (Pgs. 105-115(part) ; 705-706; 727-730 (part))
12. Families 728 - 784 (Pgs. 115(part)-124 ; 730(part)-734)
13. Families 785 - 843 (Pgs. 125-134 ; 707-711)
14. Families 844 - 913 (Pgs. 135-144 ; 712;735-738)
15. Families 914 - 970 (Pgs. 145-154 ; 745-746;755-757)
16. Families 971 - 1026 (Pgs. 155-164 ; 758-760;739-740)
17. Families 1027 - 1086 (Pgs. 165-176 ; 713-714;761-762;747-748)
18. Families 1087 - 1176 (Pgs. 177-190 ; 741; 749-754)

The 1870 Federal Census of Clarke County, Mississippi, was taken between 1 June 1870 and 15 August 1870. J. W. WEST, Assistant Marshal, conducted the enumeration. The following chart shows enumeration districts, post offices, and census page numbers:

The following shows enumeration dates by page numbers:

Where They Were Born

According to the census taker, Clarke County's population totaled 7,391 inhabitants (Pg. 743); however, my count came to 7,496 individuals. The residents originated from 28 different states and 13 different countries; 4,825 persons were born in Mississippi, or 64% of the total inhabitants. Other stats and birthplaces were:

In addition, 6 each were born in France and Sweden; 5 each in Iowa, Ohio, and Maryland; 4 each - Arkansas, Missouri, and England; 3 each - US, Canada, Scotland, and Europe; 2 each - New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois, and Maine; and 1 each - Delaware, Austria, Brazil, Switzerland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Four could not be identified.

As evidenced by the census, Clarke County in 1870 was primarily farm land -- 598 farmers were listed. However, this was not the dominant occupation. "Keeping House" was listed 1,153 times! Most of these were loving, devoted wives and mothers who cleaned the house, washed the clothes, cooked the meals, and helped with other household chores. How proud we all should be of these gallant pioneers who paved the way for the beautiful and prosperous Clarke County we enjoy today.

Here are the major occupations found in the census and the number of persons listed:

Among the other occupations listed were (3 or less each): Dentist, Apprentice Dentist, Apprentice Carpenter, Assistant Postmaster, Auditor, Baker, Barber, Bookkeeper, Boot & Shoe Maker, Brick Mason, Circuit Judge, Confectioner, Cotton Operator, Cotton Weigher, Editor, Railroad Engineer, Insurance Agent, Lumber Merchant, Milliner, Nurse, Postmaster, Professor of Music, Probate Clerk, Paper Publisher, Saddle & Harness Maker, Shingle Maker, Silversmith, Tailor, Telegraph Operator, Weaver, Wheelwright, Steam Mill Worker, Sawmill Worker, Overseer, and others.

Number of white males residing in 1870 Clarke County was 1,951; white females, 2,123; black males, 1,646; black females, 1,682; mulatto males, 37; mulatto females, 51; Indian males, 4; Indian females, 2.

Almost one fifth of the total population consisted of children 5 years of age and under. Nearly 15% were between the ages of 6 and 10 inclusive; this same percentage applied to the 11 to 15 age group. Indicative of the times was the number of children who had attended school "within the year." According to the census, only 336 youngsters out of about 2,198 between the ages of 6 to 15 were enrolled! Family number 530 shows a Sopha DUNLAP, age 100. This is the only person recorded in the census at or over the century mark.

A word of caution about this compilation: Every effort has been made to copy the data accurately; however, I cannot promise the extraction to be error-free. I strongly urge you to consult a microfilm copy of the original census records, if possible (NARS Microcopy #M593, Roll # 726). HAPPY HUNTING!!!