Finding an individual or family in Boston in the 1850 Census should be easy; however, the available census indices are incomplete, and it is often necessary for the researcher to use other sources in lieu of a "real census index". One such source is the Boston City Directory.
Directories are available at some public libraries or through the Family History Center.
The City Directory should give the street address of the individual; the table (below) will show what WARD that street "belonged to". The appropriate census roll can then be examined.
It's important to remember that ward boundaries have changed over the years. This information SHOULD be reliable for the 1850 Federal Census and the 1855 Massachusetts State Census.
| WARD |
| WARD | WARD | ||||
| A Street | 12 | Chestnut | 6 | Hawley | 7 | Providence | 11 |
| Adams | 11 | Clark | 2 | High | 8-9 | Purchase | 8-9 |
| Albany | 10 | Clayton | 11 | Howard | 4-10 | Rochester | 11 |
| Albion | 11 | Commercial | 1-2 | Hudson | 10 | Richmond | 1-2 |
| Alder (Alden) | 4 | Comon | 10 | Hull | 1 | Rowe | 7-9 |
| Allen | 5 | Congress | 7-8 | India | 8 | Salem | 1 |
| Andover | 3 | Cooper | 1-3 | Kilby | 8 | Sea | 9-10 |
| Ann | 2 | Cornhill | 4 | Kingston | 9 | Second | 5 |
| Arch | 9 | Court | 4 | Kneeland | 10 | Second Street | 12 |
| Ash | 10 | Cove | 10 | Lehigh | 10-11 | School | 7 |
| Atkinson | 8-9 | Cross | 2-3 | Leverett | 5 | Shawmut | 11 |
| B Street | 12 | Curve | 10 | Lowell | 3-5-11 | Sheafe | 1 |
| Battery | 2 | Dedham | 11 | Lynde | 5 | Snowing | 1 |
| Beach | 9-10 | Devonshire | 7 | Marion | 11 | Somerset | 4 |
| Beacon | 6 | Doane | 8 | May | 6 | South | 9-10 |
| Bedford | 7-9 | Dover | 11 | McLean | 5 | Southack | 6 |
| Belknap | 4-6 | East | 9 | Medford | 1 | South Beaver | 10 |
| Bennett | 1 | Elliott | 10 | Merrimack | 3 | South Margin | 3 |
| Beverly | 1-3 | Emerald | 11 | Middlesex | 11 | South Market | 4 |
| Billerica | 3 | Endicott | 1-3 | Mill | 7 | South Russell | 6 |
| Blackstone | 1-2 | Erie | 11 | Mt Vernon | 6 | Spring | 5 |
| Blossom | 5 | Essex | 9 | Myrtle | 6 | Stark Alley | 2 |
| Board Alley | 2 | Exchange | 7-8-9 | Nashua | 3 | Slate | 4-7-8 |
| Bowdain | 4 | Federal | 12 | North Margin | 1 | Stillman | 3 |
| Boylston | 7-10 | First Street | 12 | North Market | 2-4 | Sudbury | 4 |
| Brattle | 4 | Fleet | 2 | North Russell | 5 | Suffolk | 11 |
| Bridge | 5 | Franklin | 7-9 | Oak | 10 | Temple | 4-7 |
| Brighton | 5 | Friend | 3 | Oliver | 8 | Tileston | 1 |
| Board | 8-9 | Fulton | 2 | Oneida | 11 | Travers | 1-3 |
| Brownfield | 7 | Garden | 6 | Orange | 10 | Tremont | 11 |
| Buttolph | 6 | Garland | 11 | Oswego | 11 | Troy | 11 |
| Byron | 6 | General | 8 | Otis Point | 9 | Tyler | 10 |
| C Street | 12 | Genesee | 11 | Pearl | 8 | Union | 2 |
| Cambridge | 5-6 | Gooch | 3 | Pemberton Sq. | 4 | Utica | 9-10 |
| Canal Street | 3 | Green | 3 | Piedmont | 11 | Village | 11 |
| Carver | 10 | Groton | 11 | Pine | 10 | Vine | 5 |
| Castle | 11 | Grove | 6 | Pinkney | 6 | Walnut | 6 |
| Causeway | 1-3-5 | Hancock | 4 | Pitts | 3 | Waltham | 11 |
| Cedar | 11 | Hanover | 1-2-4 | Pleasant | 10-11 | Warren | 10 |
| Charlestown | 1-3 | Hanover Alley | 2 | Poplar | 5 | Washington | 7-10-11 |
| Charter | 1 | Hanson | 11 | Porter | 11 | Water | 8 |
| Chatham | 4 | Harrison | 11 | Portland | 3 | West | 7 |
| Chelsea | 11 | Haverhill | 3 | Prince | 1-2 | Weston | 11 |
| West Centre | 2-6 | ||||||
| Winter | 7 |
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Marge Reid--[email protected]
This page was created 29 January 1999.
copyright © 1999 - Margaret V Reid