the name of the head of the family

the number of free white males 16 years and older

the number of free white males under 16 years old

the number of free white females

the number of all other free persons

the number of slaves

the name of the head of the family

the number of free white males under 10, over 10 and under 16, over 16 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and 45 or older

the number of free white females under 10, over 10 and under 16, over 16 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of all other free persons

the number of slaves

____________________________________

the name of the head of the family

the number of free white males under 10, over 10 and under 16, between 16 and 18, over 16 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and 45 or older

the number of free white females under 10, over 10 and under 16, over 16 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of all other free persons

and the number of slaves.

_________________________________

the name of the head of the family

the number of free white males under 10, over 10 and under 16, between 16 and 18, over 16 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and 45 or older

the number of free white females under 10, over 10 and under 16, over 16 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of foreigners not naturalized

the number of persons engaged in agriculture, commerce, and manufacture

the number of male slaves under 14, over 14 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of female slaves under 14, over 14 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of free Black males under 14, over 14 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of free Black females under 14, over 14 and under 26, over 26 and under 45, and over 45

the number of all other individuals.

the name of the head of the family

the number of free white males under 5, over 5 and under 10, over 10 and under 15, over 15 and under 20, over 20 and under 30, over 30 and under 40, over 40 and under 50, over 50 and under 60, over 60 and under 70, over 70 and under 80, over 80 and under 90, over 90 and under 100, over 100

the number of free white females under 5, over 5 and under 10, over 10 and under 15, over 15 and under 20, over 20 and under 30, over 30 and under 40, over 40 and under 50, over 50 and under 60, over 60 and under 70, over 70 and under 80, over 80 and under 90, over 90 and under 100, over 100

the number of male slaves under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of female slaves under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of free Black males under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of free Black females under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of deaf and dumb whites under 14, over 14 and under 25, over 25

the number of blind whites

the number of deaf and dumb slaves and free Blacks under 14, over 14 and under 25, over 25

the number of blind slaves and free Blacks

the number of white foreigners not naturalized

the name of the head of the family

the number of free white males under 5, over 5 and under 10, over 10 and under 15, over 15 and under 20, over 20 and under 30, over 30 and under 40, over 40 and under 50, over 50 and under 60, over 60 and under 70, over 70 and under 80, over 80 and under 90, over 90 and under 100, over 100

the number of free white females under 5, over 5 and under 10, over 10 and under 15, over 15 and under 20, over 20 and under 30, over 30 and under 40, over 40 and under 50, over 50 and under 60, over 60 and under 70, over 70 and under 80, over 80 and under 90, over 90 and under 100, over 100

the number of male slaves under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of female slaves under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of free Black males under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of free Black females under 10, over 10 and under 24, over 24 and under 36, over 36 and under 55, over 55 and under 100, over 100

the number of individuals engaged in mining, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing and trades, navigation of the oceans, navigation of the lakes, canals, and rivers, learned professions and engineering

the number of deaf and dumb whites under 14, over 14 and under 25, over 25

the number of blind whites

the number of idiotic or insane whites

the number of white males over 21 who cannot read and write

the number of deaf and dumb slaves and free Blacks under 14, over 14 and under 25, over 25

the number of blind slaves and free Blacks

the number of idiotic or insane slaves and free Blacks

the number of white foreigners not naturalized

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

whether each individual was white, black, or mulatto

the profession, occupation, or trade of each individual over 15

the value of the real estate owned by each individual

each individual's state, territory, or country of birth

whether or not an individual was married within the year

whether or not an individual attended school within the year

whether or not an individual can read and write, if over 20

whether an individual is deaf, dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, a pauper, or a convict.

**  The 1850 Census for Ionia County is now on-line.  Actual scanned images of the census have been placed  in the USGenWeb Archives, as part of the USGenWeb Archives Census Project. 
These pages can be viewed at:    http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/cen_img.htm    
Because each page of the census is listed as a file name, the following guide will help you to decide which page you want to view for the actual images.  

This census has also been transcribed.  Just click on the township name to view the transcription. 

In 1850, the President of the United States was Zachary Taylor, the Vice President was Millard Filmore. A first class postage stamp could be purchased for 5 cents, a New York Theater ticket for 55 cents. Wheat was selling at $1.08 per bushel and corn for 58 cents per bushel. An overseas passage fare could be purchased for $55.00. "Camptown Races" was the most popular song.

"The Dexter Settlement" as Ionia was first known, was settled in the early 1830's. By 1840 the County had been divided into six townships with nine post offices, and a white population of approximately 2,500. In the late 1840’s and early 1850’s the fur trade was replaced with the lumbering trade. Lumber saw mills were found all along the Grand and Flat Rivers. There was actually more money made from Michigan White Pine than there was in the California Gold Rush!

The 1850 Federal Census for Ionia County Michigan was taken during the months of August and September of 1850. Imagine if you will, traversing the county on horse back or by carriage to visit each and every household in the county. One must believe that the job of taking this census must have been a very tedious one. This census includes 7,597 individuals from 859 families, living in 836 dwellings. The Ionia County census was enumerated by two young men from the county. William W. Bogue was one of the individuals that enumerated this census. Mr. Bogue is found in this census as living in the city of Portland. He was a 23 year old Merchant from New York. J. M. Babcock, the other enumerator for this census, is found living in the township of Berlin as a 30 year old farmer from New York. While Mr. Bogue had much better penmanship than Mr. Babcock did, an unknown individual recopied portions of the work done by Mr. Babcock in order to separate Montcalm County from Ionia County. Thus, there were at least 3 different distinct handwriting styles to decipher in this record.

One may assume that most of the information given on the census returns is accurate. However, the census takers were not the best spellers and many had very poor penmanship. Census takers were supposed to go door-to-door, so you will find neighbors listed sequentially on the returns. Occasionally, when a family was not home, the information was obtained from a neighbor. Thus, you may find some inaccuracies in the returns. In addition, studies have shown that men nearly always aged more than the 10 years between census. Were they attempting to get beyond the age of eligibility for military service? Women on the other hand, rarely aged the ten years! The 1850 census was the first federal census to list each and every person residing in the household. Until this time, the census returns were statistical in nature and listed only the number of individuals that fit into the categories required by the census.

Many thanks to the following individuals that assisted me by proof reading this transcription: Pat Billings, Hope Farris, Kathy Laux, Sandra Page, Marie Sweet, Lori Fox, Kay Diers and Elizabeth Stockman.

Good luck in your family research. I hope that you find this transcription to be helpful.

Beth Erskine Wills
Beth's Genealogy Research and Consulting
91 Flowers Court
Ionia, Michigan 48846

Pages/Files        Township

123A-126A     Sebewa
126B-129B      Danby
130A-134B      Orange
135A-136B      Campbell
137A-146B      Portland
147A-157B      Lyons
158A-161B      North Plains
162A-167B      Berlin
168A-176A      Ionia
176B-181B      Easton
182A-187A      Orleans
188A-193A      Ronald
193B-198B      Boston
199A-207B      Keene
208A-end        Otisco

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

whether each individual was white, black, or mulatto

the profession, occupation, or trade of each male over 15

the profession, occupation, or trade of each female over 15

the value of the real estate owned by each individual

the value of the personal property owned by each individual

each individual's state, territory, or country of birth

whether or not an individual married within the year

whether or not an individual attended school within the year

whether or not an individual can read and write, if over 20

whether an individual was deaf, dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, a pauper, or a convict

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

whether each individual was white, black, mulatto, Indian, or Chinese

the profession, occupation, or trade of each male

the profession, occupation, or trade of each female

the value of the real estate owned by each individual

the value of the personal property owned by each individual

each individual's state, territory, or country of birth

whether or not an individual's father is of foreign birth

whether or not an individual's mother is of foreign birth

the month of birth if the individual was born within the year

the month of marriage if the individual was married within the year

whether or not an individual attended school within the year

whether or not an individual can read and write

whether an individual is deaf, dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic

whether or not the individual is a male citizen over 21

whether or not the individual is a male citizen over 21 who cannot vote

_____________________________________

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

whether each individual was white, black, mulatto, Indian, or Chinese

the month of birth if the individual was born within the year

the relationship of each individual to head of household

whether an individual was single, married, widowed, or divorced

whether or not an individual was married within the year

the profession, occupation, or trade of each male

the profession, occupation, or trade of each female

the number of months an individual was unemployed during the census year

whether or not an individual was sick or temporarily disabled so as not able to function normally, and if so, the nature of the illness

whether an individual was blind, deaf, dumb, idiotic, insane, maimed, crippled, bedridden, or otherwise permanently disabled

whether or not an individual attended school within the year

whether or not an individual can read and write

each individual's state, territory, or country of birth

each individual's mother's state, territory, or country of birth

each individual's father's state, territory, or country of birth

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

whether each individual was white, black, mulatto, Indian, or Chinese

the month of birth if the individual was born within the year

the relationship of each individual to head of household

whether an individual was single, married, widowed, or divorced

whether or not an individual was married within the year

the profession, occupation, or trade of each male

the profession, occupation, or trade of each female

the number of months an individual was unemployed during the census year

whether or not an individual was sick or temporarily disabled so as not able to function normally, and if so, the nature of the illness

whether an individual was blind, deaf, dumb, idiotic, insane, maimed, crippled, bedridden, or otherwise permanently disabled

whether or not an individual attended school within the year

whether or not an individual can read and write

each individual's state, territory, or country of birth

each individual's mother's state, territory, or country of birth

each individual's father's state, territory, or country of birth

the name and sex of each individual in the household

the relationship of each individual to the head of household

the color or race of each individual

the month and year of birth of each individual

whether an individual is single, married, widowed, or divorced

number of years that an individual has been married

number of children born to female individuals, and the number of those children still living

each individual's place of birth

each individual's mother's place of birth

each individual's father's place of birth

an individual's year of immigration to the United States

the number of years that an individual has resided in the United States

whether or not an individual is naturalized

the profession, occupation, or trade of each male over 10

the profession, occupation, or trade of each female over 10

whether or not an individual attended school within the year

whether or not an individual can read and write

whether or not an individual can speak English

whether or not the family owns or rents their home, whether or not the home is mortgaged, and whether it is a farm or a house

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

the relationship of each individual to head of household

the color or race of each individual

whether an individual is single, married, widowed, or divorced

number of years an individual has been in his or her present marriage

number of children born to female individuals, and the number of those children still living

each individual's place of birth

each individual's mother's place of birth

each individual's father's place of birth

an individual's year of immigration to the United States

whether an individual is naturalized or an alien

the language each individual speaks

each individual's profession, occupation, or trade

the industry that the individual is working in

whether an individual is an employee, employer, or self-employed

if an individual is an employee, whether or not currently employed, and number of weeks out of work in 1909

whether or not an individual attended school anytime since September, 1909

whether or not an individual can read and write

whether or not the family owns or rents their home, whether or not the home is mortgaged, and whether it is a farm or a house

whether or not the individual is a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy

whether the individual is blind, deaf, or dumb

the name, age, and sex of each individual in the household

the relationship of each individual to head of household

whether or not the family owns or rents their home, whether or not the home is mortgaged

each individual's color or race

whether an individual is single, married, widowed, or divorced

an individual's year of immigration to the United States

whether an individual is naturalized or an alien

if naturalized, the year of naturalization

whether or not an individual attended school anytime since September, 1919

whether or not an individual can read and write

each individual's place of birth

each individual's father's place of birth

each individual's mother's place of birth

each individual's mother tongue

each individual's father's mother tongue

each individual's mother's mother tongue

whether or not each individual can speak English, and if not, language spoken

the profession, occupation, or trade of an individual

the industry an individual is working in

whether an individual is an employee, employer, or self-employed

if an employee, whether or not currently employed, and number of weeks out of work in 1919

number of years an individual has been in present marriage

number of children born to female individuals, and the number of those children still living

The Soundex is a system begun during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. His administration wanted to put many people to work in government programs. One of these programs was the WPA, which employed people to do many things for the government including organizing the Soundex.

These workers each took the census records, one county at a time, and wrote out a filing card for each household, naming all people listed in the census. Included on the card are: name, age, location, birthday and relationship to head of household for every person in every household. Not all information on the original census is given, but enough to identify the members of each household. Every surname was given a code (see Soundex code). These codes give numerical value to each letter of the alphabet.

The workers began with the 1900 census and listed each household in the entire United States on a separate file card. This system enables us to look at one surname in a whole state and find the exact locality of all persons in the state with that surname. Then we can go to the census records for that county, find the page listed in the Soundex and view all of the information collected by the census taker. No longer is it necessary to spend hours and hours looking at every entry, county by county to find the right entry.

Census records from 1880, 1900 and 1910 have been soundexed as of 1995. Others records will be processed in the future.

1 = B P F V

------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 = C S K G J Q X Z

------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 = D T

------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 = L

------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 = M N

------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 = R

Disregard the letters A E I O U W Y H

ˇIf your name has a prefix like Van, Von, De, Di, Le or La - code it both with and without the prefix. It might be listed under either code. (Mc and Mac are not considered prefixes.)

ˇIf your surname has double letters, they should be treated as one letter. Example: Lloyd. The second L should be slashed out. In the name Herring, the second R should be slashed out.

ˇYour surname may have different letters side-by-side which have the same coding number. Example: Hamner. (5 is the number for both M & N.) These letters should be treated as one letter and the N should be slashed out. Another example: Jackson. (2 is the number for C, K and S.) The K and S should be slashed. This rule applies when the letters are at the beginning of the surname, also. Example: Pfister. Both P and F are in the #1 category, therefore the letter F should be slashed out.

The resulting code will be a letter followed by three numbers. Thus, names that sound alike but may be spelled a little differently will be found together in the index. An example are the names

Hanselmann n, s, l H 524

Henzelmann n, z, l H 524

The first letter of the surname is the first letter of the code. In this example "H", the letters "e" and "a" are not coded, the letter "n" is coded with a 5, both the "s" and the "z" are coded with a 2, and the letter "l" is coded with a 4. All of the rest of the letters in the surname are ignored.

________________________________

Federal Mortality Schedules exist for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.

Mortality schedules counted the number of deaths that occurred in the year before the census was taken, and exist for the 1850 through 1880 censuses. This means that there are only four schedules currently available for the U.S. census. A mortality schedule lists the individual's name, age, sex, occupation, cause of death, date of death, and place of death by county.

A copy of the Ionia County Mortality Index is available as part of CD 164, "Death Records, Mortality Records 1850-1880 available from Broderbund Software.

A Union Veterans and Widows Census exists for the year 1890

________________________________

A Territorial Tax List was prepared in 1805

________________________________

State and Territorial Census were taken in 1884, 1894 and 1904

______________________________________

• The following census films are available at the Hall-Fowler Memorial Library in Ionia.

1790 Census - 3 rolls - covering CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA

1850 Census - 7 rolls - covering NY(Clinton and Jefferson Counties) Michigan (Ionia County)

1860 Census - 5 rolls - MI (Ionia and Livingston Counties), NY (Jefferson County), OH ( Knox County)

1870 Census - 3 rolls - MI ( Alpena, Antrium, Barry, Ionia, Livingston and Mackinac Counties)

1880 Census - 6 rolls - MI ( Ionia, Iosco, Isabella, Isle Royale, Ingham, Kent and Ottowa Counties)

1900 Census - 6 rolls - MI (Chippewa, Clare, Clinton, Crawford, Delta, Ionia and Kent Counties)

1910 Census - 1 roll - MI (Huron and Ionia Counties)

1920 Census - 2 rolls - MI (Ingham, Ionia, Iron, Iosco and Jackson Counties)

______________________________________

• The following microfilm rolls are available at The Library of Michigan

1830 Federal census: Territory of Michigan. Transcribed and ed. by Elizabeth Taft Harlan, Minnie Dubbs Millbrook, and Elizabeth Case Erwin, and A guide to ancestral trails in Michigan by Lucy Mary Kellogg, 2d ed.Publisher Detroit, Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, 1965.

Mich (Non-Circ) 2 N F565 .U55 1830z  

Census of 1850 Ionia County, Michigan / abstracted and typed (1956)

............. Mich (Non-Circ) 2 N : F572.I6 M65 1956

Census of 1850 Ionia County, Michigan [microform] / abstract (1956)

............. Microfilm 2 S : F574.B47 L48 1968a

Index to Ionia County, Michigan, 1870 census schedules / com (1980)

............. Mich (Non-Circ) 2 N : F572.I6 P68 1980

Federal Census Microfilms: 1840,1850, 1860, 1870,1880,1900,1910, 1920. Film HA 441.5 (year)

Census of 1850 lonia County, Michigan. R. M. R. Monteith, 1956. F 572.16 M65 1956; Film F 574 .B74 L48 1968a

1890 Michigan census index of Civil War veterans or their widows /

compiled by Bryan Lee Dilts.Publisher Salt Lake City, UT : Index Pub., 1985.

E 494 .D582 1985

Michigan territorial census, Detroit, 1827.Publisher[Lansing, Mich.] : Michigan State Library, 1960.

Mich (Non-Circ) 2 N F574.D4 M525 1960

Census of the state of Michigan, 1884 / compiled and published by the secretary of state, in accordance with an act of the Legislature approved June 5, 1883.PublisherLansing : Thorp & Godfrey, state printers, 1886.

LocationCALL #STATUS Mich Docs Official ST 1C-884/  

Census of the state of Michigan, 1894 / compiled and published by Washington Gardner, Secretary of State, in accordance with an act of the Legislature, approved May 31, 1893.PublisherLansing, Mich. : Robert Smith & Co., 1896. Gene 2 S HA442 1894 v. 3

Census of the state of Michigan, 1894 / compiled and published by Washington Gardner, Secretary of State, in accordance with an act of the Legislature, approved May 31, 1893.PublisherLansing, Mich. : Robert Smith & Co., 1896. Gene 2 S HA442 1894 v. 3

United States Civil War soldiers living in Michigan in 1894 / Genealogists of the Clinton County Historical Society. Publisher St. Johns, Mich. : Genealogists of the Clinton County Historical Society, c1988. Mich (Non-Circ) 2 N E494 .U6 1988  

Census of the state of Michigan, 1904 / compiled and published by George A. Prescott, Secretary of State, in accordance with an act of the Legislature, approved June 7, 1901.PublisherLansing, Mich. : Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., 1905-1906.

Mich Docs Official ST 1C-904/  

_____________________________

• The following books / film / fische regarding Michigan Census records may be purchased from AGLL (American Genealogical Lending Library).

1820 Michigan Census Index

PF-369 1 Fiche $5.00

1890 Michigan Veterans Census Index, 2nd ed. comp. by Bryan L. Dilts contains a listing of over 70,700 Civil War veterans or their widows. Entries include name, county, Supervisor District and Enumeration District numbers. Information includes: veteran's rank, company, regiment or vessel, date of enlistment, date of discharge, and length of service in years, months, and days, post office and address of each person listed, disability incurred by the veteran, and other remarks. Includes film numbers of the original 1890 census from the Family History Library and AGLL. Publ. 1993. Book includes maps. 321p.

X914 Hardbound $53.00

X914-AM 2 Fiche $19.95