This week's
topic is “Non-population Schedules of the U S Census”. There are several of these available from
1850 through 1880, mortality, agriculture, industry, and slave among them. For
my husband’s farming families, the agricultural schedule will reveal a lot of
information to fill out the lives of these people who lived in Willow Hill, Jasper County, Illinois. Willow Hill is a very small farming community south and west of Terra Haute, Indiana. It's main claim to fame is as the home of folksinger Burl Ives, the voice of Frosty the Snowman.
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In 1870,
Fred Simpsrod (41) and his wife Annie (38) were the parents of seven children from
thirteen to one year of age.[i]
Fred and Annie were both German immigrants and living in southern Illinois. A
look at the non-population agricultural schedule for the 1870 census will give
a glimpse into their lives.
In 1870 Fred
Sempsrott was the owner, manager, or agent of 85 acres of improved land of
which 45 acres was wooded showing a land valued at $1200.00. The family had 3
horses, 3 milk cows and 3 other cattle. The other cattle were not asses, mules,
or working oxen as they were listed separately. There were also 13 sheep on the
farm. Including 5 swine, the value of all livestock was listed as $520.00.
Fred’s
land produced 158 bushels of winter wheat, 400 bushels of Indian corn and 45
bushels of barley. Although called Indian Corn, it was just corn. Other crops
that were itemized on the 1870 Agricultural Schedule were spring wheat, oats, buckwheat,
rice and tobacco. These were all known as cash crops as they were grown to be
sold. Fred also grew 12 bushels of Irish potatoes and 60 bushels of grass in
1870.
The last entry on the census relates to the “Estimated Value of all farm
production including betterments and additions to stock” Fred’s estimated value
was $600.00 which is $11,227.00 today, not a lot to support a family of nine.
By the time
of the 1880 Census, F A Simpsrott and Anna Sampsrott were still in Willow Hill,
Jasper County, Illinois with six children living on the farm. On the 1880
Agricultural Schedule Fred recorded as F A Simpson and is the owner of 63 acres
of fallow and grass in rotation, whether pasture or meadow, 17 acres of meadows.
pastures, orchards, vineyards, and 40 acres of woodland and forest. The value
of the farm, including land, fences, and buildings was $1500.00 with a total of
$135.00 in implements and machinery and $350.00 invested in livestock. Fred had
paid $49.00 in building and repair costs in 1879. The estimated value of all
farm production (sold, consumed, or on hand) was $400.00.
The farm encompassed
17 acres of mown grasslands and 16 tons of hay had been harvested to help feed
the four horses. There were three
milk cows and four animals on the farm that were classified as other than working
oxen or milk cows. Fred had two calves born and sold three living cattle.
The farm
made 150 pounds of butter in 1879, one lamb was born, and one fleece weighing 20
pounds was clipped or shorn in the spring of 1880. There were 35 swine on hand June
1, 1880 and 24 poultry on hand in the barn yard which had produced $50.00 worth
of eggs in 1879.
Under the
heading of Cereals, the farm produced 11 acres of Indian corn equaling 30 bushels,
28 acres of land had produced 317 bushels of wheat, and 4 bushels of dry beans
were produced in 1879. Four acres produced 30 bushels of Irish potatoes, and
Fred also grew 30 pounds of tobacco. In the orchard there were 25 fruit bearing
apple trees and 12 bearing peach trees. The bee hives yielded 50 pounds of
honey and Fred cut 15 cords of wood in 1879. The value of all forest products
sold or consumed in 1879 was $30.00.[ii]
It is
interesting to observe the changes in both the questions asked and the answers
to the Agricultural Schedule and the changes in farming in ten years. It is
impossible to guess whether the family’s fortunes improved with the passing of
time but, since the farm remained in the family into the 20th
century I would guess that Frederick Albert Sempsrott and his family prospered
no matter how their last name was spelled! (Did you find all five versions of their last name?)
[i]
1870 US Federal Census, database on line Ancestry.com; Willow Hill, Jasper,
Illinois; Roll M593_232; page 3866A; Family History Library Film 545731
[ii]
1880 U S Federal Census; database online, Ancestry.com; Willow Hill, Jasper
County, Illinois; Archive Collection Number: T1133; Roll: 41; Page: 13; Line:
8; Schedule Type: Agriculture; NARA microfilm publication T1133, rolls 1-11,
13-56
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