Census day

If one of your relatives was born, married, or died during a census year, it’s important to know what date the census taker was using to collect household data. For example, if the census taker arrived August 15 and your ancestor died July 15, will he be listed on the census? That depends on the year. If the census was for 1850, then yes, your ancestor should be listed because the census taker was supposed to be asking who was in the household on June 1, 1850.

Use this chart as reference to the census days:  

Census	Year	Series	Census Day
1st	1790	M637	August 2 (1st Monday in August)
2nd	1800	M32	August 4 (1st Monday in August)
3rd	1810	M252	August 6 (1st Monday in August)
4th	1820	M33	August 7 (1st Monday in August)
5th	1830	M19	June 1
6th	1840	M704	June 1
7th	1850	M432	June 1
8th	1860	M653	June 1
9th	1870	M593	June 1
10th	1880	T9	June 1
11th	1890	M123	June 1
12th	1900	T623	June 1
13th	1910	T624	April 15
14th	1920	T625	January 1
15th	1930	T626	April 1
16th	1940	T627	April 1
17th - 20th	1940 - 1980		April 1

For more information about the census, visit the U.S. Census Bureau web site.