The Commonwealth of Massachusetts conducted a state census every ten years from 1855 to 1945. The original population schedules have survived only for 1855 and 1865 - all other state census schedules have been lost or destroyed.

     In the late 1980s noted Massachussetts professional genealogist Ann Smith Lainhart, now the Historian General of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, published transcriptions of the 1855 and 1865 schedules for the following towns:

     These volumes can be found in many large libraries in Massachusetts. They can be difficult to find in the used book market. I suggest using BookFinder.com to search for available volumes - enter "lainhart" for the author and "1855" for the subject (both without quotation marks).

     The following information is found in these census schedules:

• Dwelling-houses numbered in the order of visitation
• Families numbered in the order of visitation
• The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1855, was in this family
• Age
• Sex
• Color
• Profession, occupation or trade of each male person over 15 years of age
• Place of birth, naming the state, territory or country
• Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict

• Dwelling-houses numbered in the order of visitation
• Families numbered in the order of visitation
• The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of May, 1865, was in this family
• Age
• Sex
• Color
• Place of birth, naming the state, territory or country (many entries include the town of birth)
• Marital status
• Persons over twenty years of age who cannot read or write
• Profession, occupation or trade of each person over 15 years of age
• Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict
• Ratable poll (male persons over 16 who own taxable property)
• Legal voters
• Naturalized voters