1840 Federal Census, Peoria County, Illinois (Transcriber's Notes) The USGenWeb Archives provide genealogical and historical data to the general public without fee or charge of any kind. It is intended that this material not be used in a commercial manner. All submissions become part of the permanent collection. Abstracted by John C. Jacoby August 2001 from public records. Edited and formatted by Maggie Stewart, September 2001. Submitted by John C. Jacoby on September 11, 2001. This Transcription has been proofread by Candace Horton & Rebecca Fleishman-Rosenthal. Both above notices must remain when copied or downloaded. callie@anet-chi.com ___________________________________________________________ This work follows all guidelines of the USGW Census Project, http://www.usgwcensus.org/. ___________________________________________________________ NOTE: For more information on Peoria County, Illinois, Please visit the Peoria County, ILGenWeb page at http://www.usgennet.org/usa/il/county/peoria/index.html ___________________________________________________________ This is the 1840 Federal Census for Peoria County, Illinois ___________________________________________________________ TRANSCRIPTION COMMENTS & NOTES 1840 FEDERAL CENSUS OF PEORIA COUNTY, ILLINOIS The following Peoria City and County Precincts are enumerated. Peoria, Middle, Jackson, Northampton, Rochester, Lafayette, Prince's Grove, LaSalle, LaGrange, Chillicothe, Charleston, Copperas, Benton, and Harkness This transcription attempts to accurately reproduce the original 1840 document. However, In the 160 plus years since it's creation the original document has suffered irreversible fire and water damage resulting in the loss of some data. U.S. Marshal H. Wilton rejected the first submittal by Andrew M. Hunt. He ordered corrections be made, and the Census was resubmitted November 28,1840. It was late December before it was officially accepted. The Recapitulation Schedule was not corrected until later, and never officially accepted. Instead, Marshal Wilton included a statement warning the reader of its inaccuracy. Considering the time constraints it is doubtful he did any interviews. Duplicated names labeled [n], [n+1]… Excerpt from Page 63A "Recapitulation by H. Wilton U. S. Marshal" "This recapitulation has been made with care, the number of discrepancies in the body makes it impossible for my recapitulation to agree with the aggregate rendered by the Assistant ." "(Signed) H. Wilton, Marshal " Excerpt from Page 64B " The number of persons within my Divission [sic] consisting of Six Thousand One hundred and thirty three appears in the foregoing Schedule Subscribed by me this 28th day of October AD 1840" "(Signed) Andrew M. Hunt" Excerpt from Page 64B "We hereby Certify That a correct copy of the above Schedule signed by the said A. M. Hunt assistant Marshal has been set up in two of the most public places within the Division open to the inspection of all concerned " (Signed) Charles Kettalle" Samuel L. Heacock I reconstructed the 1840 recapitulation table in August, 2001using Marshal Wilton's corrections. It appears at the end of the Census, and is unofficial. Incorrect data was erased. Marshal Wilton, himself, took on the laborious task of correcting the 1840 Census. Although, It's doubtful he conducted any family interviews. Arithmetically He produced the most accurate census this Transcriber has seen. Marshal H. Wilton certainly deserves an Honorable Mention. Regrettably, recognition for a job well done comes 160 years late. Surnames appear exactly as enumerated. When seeking a Surname check the SOUNDEX equivalents. Members of the same family are sometimes listed with different surnames. Surname variations are the result of several Enumerators using different phonetic interpretations of the spoken family name. This problem is more prevalent in early Census. The only names that appear in this schedule are heads of families or persons not enumerated elsewhere in the Census. 1850 is the first Federal Census to list all individuals. Because printed forms were not generally used, all or part of the schedules of some localities carries less than the prescribed columns. This occurred in instances where no enumeration was made of persons belonging to groups ordinarily listed under these missing columns. Occasionally, where the number of persons belonging to these groups was so small they were listed numerically or by name at the end of the schedules of the locality in which they were enumerated. Census pages have been re-arranged, by the Transcriber, for the convenience of the reader. The page numbering system used is basically the same one used on NARA microfilm. The "B" page number is stamped in the upper right corner. The unmarked "A" pages immediately precede the stamped "B" page. Other Sources may use different systems. Peoria Census pages, including the recapitulation, run from 21A to 69B. Peoria occupies the center 1/3 of the M704-67 microfilm roll. Ogle County and Perry County bracket Peoria County. There are no conspicuous boundary markings between counties. [ ] = Transcriber comments /? / = All data in this field has been lost. [i.e. first name, last name, etc.] * = A single character has been lost, or is unreadable ? = Transcriber's guess . = Skipped entry [no data entered] Transcribed August, 2001 Copyright by John C. Jacoby & Candace Horton John C. Jacoby callie@anet-chi.com Candace Horton swtcandi@earthlink.net Reference: USGenWeb PROJECT for PEORIA COUNTY, ILLINOIS http://www.usgennet.org/usa/il/county/peoria/index.html