Mortality Quick Reference: Can I Use This Year To…?

This chart can help you quickly see the information available for U.S. mortality schedule years to help answer your research questions. Find the mortality schedule year, then use the colored dots to determine what details you will find on that schedule.

Explicit Inferred Not Recorded Not Applicable Vastly Unavailable

U.S. Federal mortality schedules were taken in 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. They record deaths that occurred during the twelve months preceding each census. Mortality schedules were taken at the same time as the population schedules and follow the same geographic order.

PERSONAL IDENTITY	1850	1860	1870	1880
Identify a deceased person by name?
Determine age?
Estimate birth year?
Determine sex?
Determine marital status?
Determine color?
STATUS & EMPLOYMENT	1850	1860	1870	1880
Determine free or slave status?
Identify possible slaveholder?
Identify occupation?
ORIGIN, MIGRATION & FAMILY	1850	1860	1870	1880
Locate birthplace?
Identify father's foreign birth?
Identify mother's foreign birth?
Identify father's birthplace?
Identify mother's birthplace?
Determine length of residence in county?
Connect to family in population schedule?
DEATH & HEALTH INFORMATION	1850	1860	1870	1880
Determine month of death?
Estimate death year?
Identify cause of death?
Determine duration of illness?
Identify where disease was contracted?
Identify attending physician?
	1850	1860	1870	1880