Have you ever thought about how your ancestor's possessions would be valued in today's world? I often think about this because it helps me to better compare their situation against my own.
On the 1850 United States Population census individuals were asked about only the value of their real estate. The 1860 US census was the first to ask people to provide information about both their personal assets and the value of their real estate. The process continued with the 1870 census but was removed on the 1880 census. This makes the 1850, 1860 and 1870 census helpful in shining some light on the financial situation of our ancestors.
There is one downfall and that is that Individuals may have hesitated to answer correctly because the values they provided were used to determine the tax they owed.
Because I haven't come across any ancestors that had a large fortune, I decided to focus on those that didn't. I looked into all of my 3rd great grandfathers and what they claimed as the real estate and personal estate value on the 1860 and 1870 census.
I have been able to identify fourteen of my sixteen 3rd Great Grandfathers. six of them were living in the United States and recorded on the 1860 and/or 1870 census. The remaining eight were living in Canada.
One way to better understand the financial situation of our ancestors is to convert income and assets to current day value. This makes the comparison a little easier to understand.
I decided to compare 1860 values to 2010 values and 1870 values to 2020 values. You can see the results in the chart below.[zref]9C974GWN[/zref]
Instructions for Census Taker
1860
[zref]KK5PPK8T[/zref]
1870
[zref]UNWD6M8T[/zref]
In July of 1860 Francis Ward, age 27, was living in Harrison Township, Elkhart, Indiana with his wife of two years Mary Elizabeth and their baby daughter Lucinda Ellen Ward. Francis was working as a farm laborer and had no real estate and $50 in personal assets. In 2010 this would equate to $1,313.59.[zref]United States. Indiana. Elkhart County. 1860 Federal Population Census, population. Digital image. Ancestry.com. http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7667 : 2017.[/zref]
By July of 1870, Francis, age 37, was living in Concord, Elkhart, Indiana. He and Mary now had 4 children (Lucinda, John, Mary, & William). Francis lists his occupation as a farmer but does not claim any real estate or personal assets. I'm not sure if that was truly the case or if he was trying to sneak out of some taxes.[zref]United States. Indiana. Elkhart. Concord. 1870 Census, population. Digital image. www.ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/19217591:7163?tid=171372097&pid=372223153536&hid=1049480921589&_phsrc=sMi468&_phstart=default : 2021.[/zref]
In June of 1860 George Faught, age 22, was living with his brother William Faught in Lexington, Sanilac, Michigan. Also living with William were his elderly mother Bridget and older sister Ann. George is a farmer and does not report any real estate or personal assets.[zref]1860 Population Census, Sanilac County, Michigan, population, Lexington, 899, Dwelling Number: 452, Family Number: 443, William Faught; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/44736122:7667 : Viewed 26 March 2021); Family History Library Film: 803558.[/zref] However, this doesn't mean he didn't have any. Per the directions given to census takers for the 1860 census, only the head of each household was asked for information about real estate and personal assets.
By July of 1870, George, age 32, is living in Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan with his wife Elizabeth and their daughter Mary Anna. He is still working as a farmer and claims real estate with a value of $800 and $200 in personal assets.[zref]1860 Population Census, Sanilac County, Michigan, population, Bridgehampton, 10A, Household: 14, Family: 14, George Faught; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/44736122:7667 : viewed 26 March 2021); Family History Library Film: 803558.[/zref] Comparatively speaking these assets would be valued at $15,809.29 and $3,951.32 in 2020.
In July of 1860 Thomas Jefferson Burt, age 54, was living in Sciota Township, Shiawassee, Michigan with his second wife Amelia and their five children (Ann, Ruth, George, Pruie, and Nile). Thomas is a farmer and reports that he owns $1,200 of real estate and $400 in personal assets. In 2010, these assets would be worth $39,407.71 and $10,508.72 respectively.[zref]1860 Population Census, Shiawassee County, population, Sciota Township, Dwelling No. 1500 Family No. 1354, Thomas J. Burt; digital image, Ancestry.com (: viewed 26 March 2021); https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4232713_00187?treeid=171372097&personid=372223153407&usePUB=true&_phsrc=sMi444&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&pId=45279055.[/zref]
Thomas passed away on June 26th, 1864 at the age of 58, and was not recorded on the 1870 census.[zref]Henry Martyn Burt and Silas Wright Burt. Early Days in New England: Life and Times of Henry Burt of Springfield and Some of His Descendants. Genealogical and Biographical Mention of James and Richard Burt of Taunton, Mass., and Thomas Burt, M.P., of England. Madison, Wisconsin: C. W. Bryan Company, printers, 1893.[/zref]
In July of 1860, John Paul Jones was 34 years old and living in Howell, Livingston, Michigan with his wife Mary Jane and their three children (Delphine, Lucinda, and John Paul Jr.). John is working as a farmer and owns real estate with a value of $550.00 and personal assets of $67.00. Comparatively speaking, this would equate to a value of $14,449.49 and $1,760.21 in 2010.[zref]United States. Livingston County. 1860 Federal, population schedule. Digital image. Ancestry.com. http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7667 : 2017.[/zref]
By August of 1870, John, age 44, and his family have moved to Sciota Township, Shiawassee, Michigan. Five children are living in the household (John Paul Jr., Lucinda, Merritt, Royal, and Harriet). John now lists his occupation as a mason. The value of his real estate has increased to $3,000 and his personal assets to $326.00. In 2020 this would have been worth $59,269.85 and $6,440.66 respectively. It appears that he significantly improved the financial situation of his family in ten years.[zref]United States. Shiawassee County. 1870, population schedule. Digital Image. Ancestry.com. http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7163 : 2017.[/zref]
in July of 1860 Sylvester Mason, age 45, is living in Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan with his wife Nancy and their four children (Robert, Silas, Amelia, and Perry). Sylvester is working as a lumberman. On the census, he claims $800 in real estate and $300 in personal property. Respectively, in 2010, this would be worth $21,017.45 and $7,881.54.[zref]United States. Michigan. Sanilac County. 1860 Population Census, population. Digital image. Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/44736122:7667 : 2021.[/zref]
By July of 1870 at the age of 54, Sylvester had moved his family to Sault Ste. Marie, Chippewa, Michigan. In the household are Sylvester, Nancy, Robert, Amelia, Mark, and Mary). Sylvester is working as a fisherman and does not report either real estate or personal property on the census. This could have been a mistake on the part of the census taker or maybe Sylvester was trying to avoid taxes. We can't know for sure but I assume that he had at least some assets.[zref]United States. Michigan. Chippewa County. 1870, population census. Digital image. www.ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/27281969:7163?tid=171372097&pid=372223153643&hid=1049777162193&_phsrc=sMi491&_phstart=default : .[/zref]
In June of 1860, at the age of 19, William Thomas King was living in Bloom Township, Seneca County, Ohio. William was living in the household of James and Sarah Stinchcomb. William was attending school and working as a laborer. He did not report any personal or real estate assets. This was probably because he was not the head of household and therefor not required to provide this information.
By July of 1870 at the age of 29, William had moved to Portland, Ionia, Michigan. He is living with his wife Catherine and their son Truman. The family is living next door to Catherine's mother Clarissa Coon and her mother's mother Catherine (Macqueen) Goodwin. William does not report any personal assets or real estate.
Summary
Although I have chosen to compare these six men across ten years they aren't all the same. Their ages range from 19 - 45 years of age. This is a range of 26 years. They lived in different states, counties, and cities. They were at different stages of their lives, and had different occupations. Some men were at the beginning of their lives and some nearing the end.
Throughout these ten years, their lives, families, occupations, and fortunes have changed. Being able to create comparisons like this for a single generation of our ancestors helps to put their lives into perspective. Census records contain so much information that allows us to do just that.
Asking the non-typical questions about typical record types will help us better understand and relate to our ancestors which helps us better understand their stories and the circumstances that lead to our lives today. Their successes, and struggles built the foundation for our life today. For that, we should feel fortunate.
