Swem Library has all available census records for Virginia on microfilm for 1790-1930; mortality schedules for Virginia for 1850, 1860, and 1870; and the agriculture census for Virginia for 1870. We also have indexes to the population schedules for 1790-1870. In addition, the library has census schedules for North Carolina for 1790-1850 and for all other states for 1790-1830 only. Swem Library does not have the Soundex microfilm collection. For census information before the first federal census in 1790, see Virginia in 1740: A Reconstructed Census (VA REF F225 .V873 1992).
In the census schedules before 1850, only the head of the household was named; other members of the household were broken down by age and sex but are not named. Beginning with the 1850 census, the names of all persons were included as well as their age, sex, birthplace, and other information.
Slave schedules were done in 1850 and 1860 only. They list the names of owners and the sex and age of slaves but not their names. Swem Library has these records on microfilm. The 1870 census is the first census in which slaves appeared as free men and women. You may also consult: Free African Americans of North Carolina and Virginia, Including the History of More Than 80% of Those Counted as "All Other Free Persons" in the 1790 and 1800 Census ( E185.96 .H48 1993), and Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830, Together With A Brief Treatment of the Free Negro.
Note that some Virginia census schedules have not survived.
To determine what census indexes are available in print (although not necessarily at Swem) and online, consult The American Census Handbook (REF CS49 .K4 2001). Arranged geographically and by topic, this is a state-by-state and census-by-census guide to all federal censuses up to and including 1920.
To determine any county boundary changes, consult:
