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I'm not able to locate a Catherine Stanley, widow, last name now Mundy in the 1860 census records by name search. According to 1850 census, when her husband, Robert, was just deceased, she was living in Sni-A-Bar, Jackson, Missouri. Therefore, I think it is very likely that for the 1860 census they were still living in Sni-A-bar.

Therefore, I'd like to find the 1860 census records for Sni-A-bar, Jackson, Missouri and search the pages to try and find their record, for her and her small children, including James Edward Munday, aged 14.

I tried using Stephen P. Morse's One Step web page (provided in this related answer):

But it does not cover the 1860 census, it only goes back to 1880. Is there another way to find a city in the 1860 census?


More info on the example person, Catherine Stanley, listed for this question:

As Harry suggests in a comment, Catherine could be dead or remarried in 1860. My only clues are that most of her kids also disappear before reappearing in 1865, 1870, or 1880.

  • Elvira Jane b. 1833 is found in 1860 married to John D Moutrey in Sni-a-Bar.
  • Martha A "Mattie" b. 1836 is found in 1865 living with her married sister Lucinda in Kansas state census. Martha later marries Greenvill Thurman Johnson.
  • Lucinda "Lou" b. 1838 is found in 1860 married to Joseph Grey in Oxford, Johnson, Kansas Territory.
  • Susan Anne b. 1845 reappears in 1865 living with her married sister Lucinda in Kansas state census. Later she is married to Michael Napolion Womacks in Blue Springs, Jackson, Missouri in 1880.
  • James Edward b. 1846 reappears in Newton, Barton, Missouri in 1870.

Can't find any of most of her kids, the exceptions being the now married Lucinda and Elvira.

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  • I have added a link to the 1850 census image - but the surname is spelled Monday and the husband is not living with them as your post suggests.
    – Harry V.
    Feb 19, 2016 at 22:12
  • @HarryVervet Oops, I corrected, husband died in 1847.
    – WilliamKF
    Feb 19, 2016 at 22:25
  • I know this question isn't only about locating these specific people, so maybe we could have a longer discussion in chat. But are you certain Catherine lived until 1860, or is it possible she married again and thus would be found under a different surname?
    – Harry V.
    Feb 19, 2016 at 22:29
  • @HarryVervet I've added more info to the question. You can also view: person.ancestry.com/tree/23767283/person/1928503074/facts
    – WilliamKF
    Feb 20, 2016 at 2:46

2 Answers 2

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The 1880 census was the first US census to include a place on the form for what we call a street address. On the censuses prior to that, individual dwellings were organized geographically in districts but not usually given unique identifiers. Therefore, it will not be possible to search the 1860 census by address. You can search most census databases by the levels of geography available on the forms.

Looking at the 1850 census in your example, it does not say Snic-a-bar. The place Catherine was living was Sni-a-bar (or Sniabar) township, Jackson Co., Missouri.

It is a straightforward matter to search the 1860 census by township on FamilySearch, Ancestry, or other website, by just entering the township in the Residence search field. Then from the search results you can pick a random individual and move back and forth through the pages.

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As already stated, the types of information asked for in the Census changed over the years, and so did the arrangement of the Census itself. The 1880 Census introduced the numbering of the Enumeration Districts -- this change in arrangement may be why Morse's Unified ED finder only starts with the 1880 Census.

In her article "Plans of Division": Describing the Enumeration Districts of the 1930 Census, before starting her description of the EDs for the 1930 Census, Claire Prechtel-Kluskens writes:

The bureau used the term "minor civil division" to describe the political subdivision unit below the county level (such as cities, towns, villages, precincts, and townships), since the name for that unit varies widely throughout the United States. According to the general "Instructions for Making Plans of Division," every incorporated place and unincorporated places with populations of more than 2,000 were designated separate EDs.

and

The numbering and arrangement of enumeration districts evolved over time. For the 1790 through 1870 censuses, the EDs were not numbered and consisted of large areas that included many MCDs. For the 1880 through 1920 censuses, each county was divided into numbered EDs.

The US National Archives (NARA) has microfilm of a typescript of the plans of division, published as Descriptions of Census Enumeration Districts, 1830 - 1950 (T1224, 156 rolls). NARA's Document DESCRIPTIONS OF CENSUS ENUMERATION DISTRICTS, 1830-1890 AND 1910-1950 (T1224.pdf) describes the arrangement of the microfilm rolls.

A table of contents for each census year has been provided. The original volumes are arranged by assigned volume number, beginning anew with each census year. Within individual volumes the pages are typically arranged numerically by supervisor's or marshal's district and thereunder numerically by subdivision or enumeration district. This arrangement often conforms to an alphabetical arrangement by county. Major cities are sometimes arranged separately from the counties. As an aid to the user the 1850 and 1860 volumes, which have little order in the original, have been filmed out of the original page sequence so that the states and territories appear on film in alphabetical order.

The descriptions for the 1860 Census are on T1224 Roll No. 2; the original page numbers for Missouri are 122-132 (but as noted above, you'll find the state alphabetically in between Mississippi and Nebraska Territory). The microfilm publication T1224 is available at the Family History Library.

The 1860 Census Schedules are on NARA Microfilm M653. Most people are familiar with searching via sites like Ancestry or Heritage Quest, but you can also view the microfilm online, at the Internet Archive, because the Allen County Public Library shared their copy of the census with them.

On his website, genealogist Michael Hait, CG has kindly shared a copy of his document Census Pathfinder and NARA's document M653.pdf which describes the arrangement of the rolls, so we can see that the schedules for Missouri are on rolls 625 (free schedules) and 662 (slave schedules).

Using this information along with the microfilm at the Internet Archive, or by browsing on Ancestry, if a place search fails, you can 'walk through' the microfilm images for Jackson County the old-school way, or by using the actual microfilm at a facility like a NARA regional archive, the Allen County Public Library, or the Family History Library.

Ancestry also has the U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885, but the state of Missouri is not listed in the coverage table on that page.

Resources:

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