The Gettysburg Census of 1860
I’ve transcribed the entire 1860 Federal Census of Gettysburg in the ongoing effort to learn more about the residents of the Borough at the time of the battle. (I might even add all of the residents in a future version of our smartphone app, Pocket Gettysburg.)
The transcription process was time-consuming because I frequently found myself asking questions like “What the heck is a ‘mantua maker’?”, “What’s a ‘saddle tree maker’?”, and “What’s the difference between a domestic and a servant?” So, of course, I got sidetracked while looking for those answers. But it has all been great fun and a quite a learning experience!
The census was taken over the first 18 days of June, 1860. Here’s the breakdown on some of the types of data that were recorded:
| Total People | 2390 |
| Number of dwellings | 421 |
| Number of families | 474 |
| Avg. size of household | 5.68 people |
| Sex and Race | ||||||
| Male | Male% | Female | Female% | Total | Total Percent | |
| White | 1109 | 46.40% | 1103 | 46.15% | 2202 | 92.13% |
| Black | 69 | 2.89% | 88 | 3.68% | 157 | 6.57% |
| Mulatto | 16 | 0.67% | 15 | 0.63% | 31 | 1.30% |
| Total | 1194 | 49.96% | 1206 | 50.46% | 2390 | 100 |
| Average Age | |
| Male | 23.93 |
| Female | 25.84 |
| Total | 24.89 |
| Age Distribution | ||||||
| Age | Male | Male% | Female | Female% | Total | Total Percent |
| 0-10 | 347 | 14.52% | 310 | 12.97% | 657 | 27.49% |
| 11-20 | 272 | 11.38% | 255 | 10.67% | 527 | 22.05% |
| 21-30 | 197 | 8.24% | 237 | 9.92% | 434 | 18.16% |
| 31-40 | 124 | 5.19% | 130 | 5.44% | 254 | 10.63% |
| 41-50 | 101 | 4.23% | 118 | 4.94% | 219 | 9.16% |
| 51-60 | 90 | 3.77% | 84 | 3.51% | 174 | 7.28% |
| 61-70 | 37 | 1.55% | 48 | 2.01% | 85 | 3.56% |
| 71-80 | 13 | 0.54% | 12 | 0.50% | 25 | 1.05% |
| 81-90 | 3 | 0.13% | 10 | 0.42% | 13 | 0.54% |
| 91+ | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.08% | 2 | 0.08% |
| Other | ||
| Count | Percent | |
| Married within the year | 38 | 1.59% |
| Attended school with the year | 578 | 24.18% |
| Over 20yrs and cannot read or write | 53 | 2.22% |
| Deaf | 1 | 0.04% |
| Convict/Prisoner | 5 | 0.21% |
| Foreign born | 171 | 7.15% |
| Age Distribution of People Who Were Married Within the Year | ||||||
| Age | Male | Male% | Female | Female% | Total | Percent |
| 17-20 | 1 | 2.63% | 4 | 10.53% | 5 | 13.16% |
| 21-30 | 9 | 23.68% | 13 | 34.21% | 22 | 57.89% |
| 31-40 | 5 | 13.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 13.16% |
| 41-50 | 2 | 5.26% | 2 | 5.26% | 4 | 10.53% |
| 51-60 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 61-70 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 71-80 | 2 | 5.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 5.26% |
| Total | 19 | 50.00% | 19 | 50.00% | 38 | 100.00% |
| Age Distribution of People Who Attended School Within the Year | ||||||
| Age | Male | Male% | Female | Female% | Total | Percent |
| 4-10 | 150 | 25.95% | 123 | 21.28% | 273 | 47.23% |
| 11-20 | 164 | 28.37% | 131 | 22.66% | 295 | 51.04% |
| 21-30 | 7 | 1.21% | 2 | 0.35% | 9 | 1.56% |
| 31-40 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 41-50 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 51-60 | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.17% | 1 | 0.17% |
| Total | 321 | 55.54% | 257 | 44.46% | 578 | 100.00% |
| Place of Birth | ||
| Count | Percent | |
| Pennsylvania | 1965 | 82.22% |
| Maryland | 188 | 7.87% |
| Germany/Bavaria/Prussia, etc. | 132 | 5.52% |
| Virginia | 21 | 0.88% |
| Ireland | 19 | 0.79% |
| New Jersey | 12 | 0.50% |
| France | 10 | 0.42% |
| Ohio | 10 | 0.42% |
| New York | 8 | 0.33% |
| Delaware | 4 | 0.17% |
| England | 4 | 0.17% |
| Indiana | 3 | 0.13% |
| Connecticut | 2 | 0.08% |
| Holland | 2 | 0.08% |
| Illinois | 2 | 0.08% |
| Canada | 1 | 0.04% |
| English Channel | 1 | 0.04% |
| Georgia | 1 | 0.04% |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 0.04% |
| Missouri | 1 | 0.04% |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 0.04% |
| Scotland | 1 | 0.04% |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0.04% |
As is generally known, coach making was the biggest industry in Gettysburg in 1860. When you count all of the coach-related trades like wheelwrights and coach lace weavers, it represented a little more than 11% of the work force in the Borough. Of course, that population is limited to the 672 people (28.12%) whose occupation is specifically listed in the census. For many people (including 16% of males between the age of 18 and 60), no occupation was listed — so some occupations were probably under-represented (e.g., farmers). Lastly, it is acknowledged that the grouping of occupations into industries is somewhat subjective.
But with those caveats, here are the top 10 industries in Gettysburg in 1860:
| Industry | Count | Percent | Includes |
| Coach Making | 75 | 11.16% | Coach/Wagon Maker, Coach Painter, Coach/Carriage Trimmer, Coach Smith, Coach Lace Weaver, Body Maker, Wheelwright, Carriage Seller |
| Service | 73 | 10.86% | Domestic, Housekeeper, Help, Waiter, Coach Driver |
| Clothing | 72 | 10.71% | Tailor(ess), Seamstress, Hatter/Milliner, Shoemaker/Cordwainer, Mantua Maker, Clothier |
| Construction | 62 | 9.23% | Carpenter, Plasterer, Stone Cutter, Stone Mason, Brick Maker/Layer/Carrier, Mason |
| Labor | 55 | 8.18% | Day Laborer, Hireling |
| Equine | 48 | 7.14% | Blacksmith, Harness Maker, Saddle/SaddleTree Maker, Livery Keeper, Hostler |
| Education | 22 | 3.27% | Teacher, Professor |
| Merchant | 21 | 3.13% | |
| Furniture | 18 | 2.68% | Cabinet Maker, Chair Maker, Furniture Dealer |
| Clerk | 18 | 2.68% |
As for specific occupations, these are the most common among men, including their average estate (real estate + personal estate):
| Occupation | Count | Avg Estate |
| Day Laborer | 53 | $319 |
| Coach Maker | 33 | $644 |
| Blacksmith | 30 | $752 |
| Shoemaker | 29 | $622 |
| Carpenter | 23 | $470 |
| Merchant | 21 | $10747 |
| Clerk | 18 | $272 |
| Farmer | 17 | $5541 |
| Printer | 14 | $60 |
| Cabinet Maker | 13 | $790 |
(For this purpose, each category includes journeymen, apprentices, and masters).
These are the most common occupations among women:
| Occupation | Count | Average Estate |
| Domestic | 56 | $37 |
| Mantua Maker | 10 | $317 |
| Tailoress | 9 | $55 |
| Teacher | 9 | $200 |
| Milliner | 8 | $325 |
| Housekeeper | 7 | 0 |
| Help | 5 | 0 |
| Nurse | 3 | $33 |
| Seamstress | 3 | $41 |
| Laundress | 2 | $137 |
Oh, and the difference between a domestic and a servant? Domestics were generally white (44 of 50 or 88%) and servants were generally black (5 of 7 or 71%).
I’ll post more analysis with respect to individual residents once I finish cross-checking name spellings against other records.
Bob Velke
SegTours, LLC