The records for the 10 Grimshaws are summarized below with their respective images.

George Grimshaw, Caldwell Parish, Louisiana

George and his wife (between 40 and 50 and between 30 and 40, respectively) were living in a rather large household, with four other men and three other females. The men (and boys) were between 30 and 40, between 20 and 30, between 5 and 10 and less than five years old. The girls were between 10 and 14, between 5 and 10, and less than five years old.

Daniel Grimshaw, Hinds County, Mississippi

Daniel and his wife were between 30 and 40 and between 20 and 30, respectively. They had a son and a daughter, both between 10 and 15 years old.

Hugh Grimshaw, Salem County, New Jersey

Hugh was between 50 and 60 years old, and his wife was between 30 and 40. Their rather large household consisted of four other males and three other females. The males were between 40 and 50 and between 20 and 30. Two were less than five years old. The girls were 15 to 20, 10 to 15, and 5 to 10 years old.

Joseph Grimshaw, Jefferson County, New York

Joseph and his wife were both between 30 and 40 years old, and they had six boys and one girl in their household. Three of the boys were less than 5, two were between 4 and 10, and one was between 15 and 20 years old. The one girl was between 14 and 20.

William (and Charles) Grimshaw, Schenectady County, New York

William and his wife were both between 60 and 70 and were living with another woman, between 50 and 60, and with two men, one between 40 and 50 and the other between 20 and 30 years old.

An interesting feature of this census image is the presence of another Grimshaw, Charles, living with his wife. Both were between 20 and 30 years old. This head of household appears not to have been “picked up” in the census indexes.

Jonathan Grimshaw, Carroll County, Ohio

Jonathan and his wife, both between 60 and 70, were living with two other individuals – a male between 15 and 20 and a woman between 20 and 30 years old.

William Grimshaw, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

William was between 50 and 60 and was living with his wife or daughter, age 30 to 40. Also present in the household were two boys, one between 15 and 20 and the other less than five, and two girls between 20 and 30 and between 10 and 15 years old.

W Grimshaw, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This W (almost certainly William) was between 70 and 80 years old and was living with a wife between 60 and 70. Also present were a 20 to 30 year old male and three women – between 50 and 60, between 20 and 30, and between 15 and 20.

John Grimshaw, Newport County, Rhode Island

John and another male, both between 50 and 60, were living with one daughter, between 10 and 15 years old.

Henry Grimshaw, Hampden County, Massachussets 

Henry was between 50 and 60 and was living with his 40 to 50 year old wife and one daughter between 10 and 15 years of age.

Description of the 1830 U.S. Census

The following description of the census is provided on the Ancestry.com website.

Description:

This database details those persons enumerated in the 1840 United States Federal Census, the Sixth Census of the United States. In addition, the names of those listed on the population schedule are linked to the actual images of the 1840 Federal Census, copied from the National Archives and Records Administration microfilm, M704, 580 rolls. (If you do not initially find the name on the page that you are linked to, try a few pages forward or backward, as sometimes different pages had the same page number.)

Enumerators of the 1840 census were asked to include the following categories in the census: name of head of household, number of free white males and females in age categories: 0 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 to 15, 15 to 20, 20 to 30, 30 to 40, 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70, 70 to 80, 80 to 90, 90 to 100, over 100; the name of a slave owner and the number of slaves owned by that person; the number of male and female slaves by age categories; the number of foreigners (not naturalized) in a household; and the number of deaf, dumb and blind persons within a household. Additionally, the 1840 census asked for the first time the ages of revolutionary war pensioners, as well as the number of persons attending school. The categories allowed Congress to determine persons residing in the United States for collection of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House of Representatives.

The following rolls of film have not yet been linked to federal census images by Ancestry.com, and thus can not be searched in this linked index, M704: 1, 35, 37, 42, 45-46, 50, 59, 101-102, 116, 129, 131-134, 142, 147, 150, 179, 248, 288-289, 299-303, 307-310, 312, 318, 330, 414, 421, 429, 446, 483, 487, 509, 515, 517-538. They have however been indexed and can be searched in the separate, unlinked, U.S. Federal Census indexes at U.S. Federal Census index. For details on the contents of the film numbers that have not been linked yet, visit the following N.A.R.A. web page:  N.A.R.A.. The linked images for these rolls of film will be made available on Ancestry.com in the near future. This database is certain to prove useful for those seeking early American ancestors.

Additional Information:

The United States was the first country to call for a regularly held census. The Constitution required that a census of all “Persons…excluding Indians not taxed” be performed to determine the collection of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House of Representatives. The first nine censuses from 1790-1870 were organized under the United States Federal Court system. Each district was assigned a U.S. marshal who hired other marshals to administer the census. Governors were responsible for enumeration in territories.

The official enumeration day of the 1840 census was 1 June 1840. All questions asked were supposed to refer to that date. By 1840, there were a total of twenty-six states in the Union, with Arkansas and Michigan being the latest editions. The two new territories of Wisconsin and Iowa were also enumerated. There were no substantial state or district wide losses.

Taken from Chapter 5: Research in Census Records, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto Dennis Szucs; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).

William Dollarhide, The Census Book: A Genealogist’s Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes, Heritage Quest: Bountiful, UT, 2000.

Source Information:

Jackson, Ronald V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp. 1840 United States Federal Census. [database on-line] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 1999-. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the 1840 U.S. Federal Decennial Census.1840 United States Federal Census. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2001. Data imaged from National Archives and Records Administration. 1840 Federal Population Census. M704, 580 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration.

Previous Manual Search of Census Indexes for Grimshaws

Before the automated search capabilities became available on Ancestry.com, a manual search of printed census indexes was performed, as described on a companion webpage. The results of this search for the 1840 index (and a prior census) are summarized below.