The Pennsylvania Septennial Census for Schuylkill township

In the original Pennsylvania constitution of 1790 there is a requirement for a listing of taxable residents every 7 years. In all the years the census was run, except 1793 and 1800, the returns included an occupation.

The Schuylkill returns for 1842 and 1849 are missing. The last census was to be run in 1870, but it was discontinued. Schuylkill township did not provide returns. The Septennial census was completely independant of the Federal 10 year census.

These returns provide an unparalled view of occupations for the first half of the 19th century.The commonest occupations were farmer and laborer.

A spreadsheet of the Schuylkill returns have been created. It has been converted into a PDF document for viewing online. The occupational analysis can be viewed here.

Notes and References

• An analysis of the 1800 returns for the whole of Pennsylvania discussing some of terms can be found in Rural Pennsylvania in 1800: a portrait from the Septennial Census (1982).