By The 1820 Census of Morgan County, Georgia was taken between August 7, 1820 and September 7, 1821. Lemuel Gresham was in charge of taking it. This census listed the name of the head of the household and the numbers of free white males, free white females, free black males, free black females, male slaves, female slaves, foreigners not naturalized, and people who were not taxed. It also listed the numbers of people who were involved in agriculture, commerce, and manufacturing. In 1820, Morgan County was divided into 17 Militia Districts. The census records were grouped by these districts. Each district was named for the captain who was in charge of putting together a militia if one was needed, except for the Madison District which was named after the town. The 17 districts were: Beasley, Campbell, Chisolm, Cook, Farron, Hackney, Harper, Knight, Leonard, Madison, McClendon, Morrow, Pace, Patrick, Shaw, Tolbert, and Walker. Many mistakes were made in the 1820 Morgan County Census. Some mistakes were made accidentally as in miscalculating the totals of various rows and columns, but some may have been intentional. The 1820 Census was taken for three main reasons: to determine taxation, to determine the number of seats a state would get in the House of Representatives, and to determine the number of men eligible for military service. The number of seats in the House that a state was given depended on the state’s population. Hence, the censuses were sometimes padded to make the population appear larger in order to get more representation in the House. In the 1820 Morgan County Census at least 35 families appear twice (some three times). This caused an additional 350-400 people to appear on the census. It is unclear whether this was meant to pad the census or whether the duplicate entries were made by mistake. Some of the duplicate entries are identical – others are similar and are most likely duplicate entries. In determining the number of men eligible for the military, the 1820 Census two different columns for free white men aged 16-17: “of 16 and under 18” and “of 16 and under 26.” The entries made in the “of 16 and under 18” column were not counted in the population totals. If an entry was made in the “of 16 and under 18” column, then the “of 16 and under 26” column should contain the same value or a higher value. There were 3 families where entries were made into the “of 16 and under 18” column, but the “of 16 and under 26” column was left empty. This resulted in 4 individuals not being counted. These families (districts) were Mary Allen (Chisolm), George Campbell (Campbell), and John Prior (Harper). After the 1820 Morgan Census was taken, an Assistant Marshall looked over it to assure that it was complete and correct. Both the Assistant Marshall and Lemuel Gresham came up with different totals, and the totals that are found in these spreadsheets are different than either of theirs. After completing these spreadsheets, I double checked all entries in question with the microfilm of the actual records at the Georgia Archives in Atlanta. I believe these spreadsheets accurately reflect the totals of the 1820 Morgan County, Georgia Census. Marc L. Atkinson
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