Massachusetts, State Census, 1865

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of an index & images of population schedules listing inhabitants of the State of Massachusetts in 1865. This project was indexed in partnership with the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). The census schedules consisted of large sheets with rows and columns. The schedules were arranged by street in order of visitation.

In 1855, the legislature directed that a census be taken on June 1 of that year and every 10 years thereafter. The 1865 census was conducted on May 1. The census schedules were delivered to the State Secretary and eventually sent to the State Archives for safe keeping. These records cover more than 95% of the Massachusetts population.

The state census of Massachusetts was taken in order to enumerate the population for representation purposes. Censuses are usually reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. Some information may have been incorrect or deliberately falsified.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

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What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

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  1865 Census