The 1860 mortality, industrial, and agricultural censuses do include
1859 data. The only point I'm trying to make is that the statement about
the census being taken in 1859 was made because the conference
participants were supposed to only discuss events that happened before
1860 (Americans in 1859 didn't have the 1860 census to look at); that
probably does not come through in the published transcript:
On page 15 of America on the Eve of the Civil War (Edward L. Ayers and
Carolin R. Martin, eds., University of Virginia Press, 2010) the reader
notes that the 1860 census may have taken place a year earlier.  In the
opening paragraph of Chapter 1, Professor Ayers, leading the discussion,
states:  "It strikes me that these 1850s have been pretty interesting
times.  What do you think is going to leap out from the census that is
being taken for the country?  It will later be known as the 1860 census,
but it was actually taken in 1859."

I am not making any reference to the politics of census taking.

-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Craig Kilby
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 11:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] When was the 1860 census taken?

Mari,

To the contrary. The mortality schedules, for example, are for the
previous year (i.e. 1859). Census day was June 1st, 1860, of course. but
the total population schedule includes mountains of material for the
previous year. What it is not supposed to include is anyone born after 1
JUN 1860. So, in theory, it is merely a snapshot in time. I know of one
case in my own family (Kilby) where the family is enumerated twice in
1860, which must make up for their total invisibility on the 1850
census. 

It is important to keep in mind the political aspects of the US census
(which haunt us to this day.) It's all about apportionment in Congress
and, today, money from the US government to localities. It doesn't take
a giant leap of faith to see how figures lie, and liars figure. (An old
saying, not my own pithy original.)

Craig

On Oct 26, 2010, at 7:49 AM, Julienne, Mari (LVA) wrote:

> As I recall from the conference, nothing that happened from 1860 
> forward was supposed to be discussed that day. So the statement that 
> the census was taken in 1859 isn't to be taken literally. That 
> probably should have been made clear in the published text.
> 
> Mari Julienne

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