The 1850 census, begun on the first of June, 1850 (the date of record), was taken by Assistant Marshal Thomas H. McDill, a resident of the town of Plover, then comprising most of the southern part of the county. McDill was responsible for visiting each of the approximately 204 households (many of which were hotels or boarding houses) in Portage County, to determine each of the following, as of the date of record:

1. The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1850, was in this family
2. Description: age, sex, color (white, black, mulatto)
3. Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each male person over 15 years of age
4. Value of Real Estate Owned
5. Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country
6. Whether person was married within the year
7. Whether person attended school within the year
8. Persons over 20 years of age who cannot read and write
9. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict

Nationally, the enumerators went door to door, counting and compiling data on the 23 million inhabitants of the 31 states, not including Native Americans not taxed, nor slaves, who were counted separately. There was a special schedule for the enumeration of slaves, but as Wisconsin was a free state, no slave schedules exist. The enumerators were existing Federal employees; civilian enumerators were not hired until the 1880 census. They had orders to complete their work within five months.

This was the first Federal census to list the names of every inhabitant, and not merely heads of household as had previously been the case. Property owners were asked the value of their real estate, but these figures are at best only approximate. Indeed, it has been suggested that fear of increased taxes may have motivated some to undervalue their property.

Although Wisconsin became a state in 1848, county boundaries in 1850 were rather different from what they are at present. In particular, Range 10, the eastern tier of townships now in Portage County (Alban, New Hope, Amherst, Lanark, and Belmont) was part of Brown County, and, on the western side, the town of Grand Rapids, now in Wood County, was then in Portage County. Persons researching the Range 10 townships in 1850 should therefore see the census for Brown County. These townships were given to Portage County in February, 1851, and the town of Grand Rapids was ceded to Wood County when that county was formed in March, 1856. Thereafter the boundaries of Portage County have been as they are today.

The county at that time consisted of but three townships: Grand Rapids, Plover, and Stevens Point. The town of Stevens Point (not to be confused with the city of that name, which was not incorporated until 1858) comprised most of the northern part of the county, and the town of Plover the southern part. The official population was 1250, a good share of them constituting a "floating" population involved with the lumbering and sawmill industry.

This index groups families together, alphabetized by surname, for ease of identification. Exceptions to the family grouping occur when family members have a different surname (married daughters living at home, stepchildren, mothers-in-law, etc.); these are indexed separately. Each entry gives, in the right-hand column, the page number of the census schedule where the name can be found. On the microfilm, look for the printed page number in the upper right-hand corner of each right-hand or "A" page. The "B" page, with the same number, immediately follows.

In producing this index, considerable care and effort has gone into deciphering the penmanship, which is generally good, but as with all records of this type, large allowance should be made for variant spellings and misspellings. In some cases it is possible only to make a reasonable guess as to the enumerator’s intent. Watch out for the "long s", a letter which in 1850 was still in common use: in cursive script, "ss", with a long s in the first position, can look like "p."

The 1860 census, begun on the first of June, 1860, and to be completed within five months, was taken by Assistant Marshal Thomas B. McNair, a resident of the city of Stevens Point, then a city of 1,538 inhabitants. McNair was responsible for visiting each of the 1,593 households in Portage County, to determine each of the following, as of June 1, 1860, the effective date of the census:

1. The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1860, was in this family
2. Description: age, sex, color (white, black, mulatto)
3. Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age
4. Value of Estate Owned: Value of Real Estate, Value of Personal Estate (new for 1860)
5. Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory, or Country
6. Whether person was married within the year
7. Whether person attended school within the year
8. Persons over 20 years of age who cannot read and write
9. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict

Nationally, this army of enumerators went door to door, counting and compiling data on the 31.4 million inhabitants of the country, not including Native Americans not taxed, nor slaves, who were counted separately. Portage County at that time consisted of fifteen governmental units (fourteen townships and the city of Stevens Point, not yet divided into wards), and had an official total population of 7507. For the first time in 1860, persons were asked about the value of their real estate and personal property. Their responses are probably not particularly accurate. Indeed, it has been suggested that fear of increased taxes may have motivated some to undervalue their property.

Although the boundaries of Portage County had been fixed by 1856 as they are today, the township boundaries remained unsettled until 1899. In 1860 the towns of Alban, Carson, Dewey did not yet exist. At that time the town of Eau Pleine extended to the east of the Wisconsin River, and the town of Hull extended north to the Marathon County line. The present town of Carson, and part of Linwood, formed the township of Stevens Point, what remained of the old Territorial township of that name which had originally extended east to the county line. The land now in the town of Alban was then part of New Hope. Part of Linwood lay south and east of the Wisconsin River, later to be ceded to the town of Plover. Various other township boundaries were slightly different from what they are today. It should therefore be kept in mind that finding families in different townships in different censuses does not necessarily mean that they had moved.

This index groups families together, alphabetized by surname, for ease of identification. Exceptions to the family grouping occur when family members have a different surname (married daughters living at home, stepchildren, mothers-in-law, etc.); these are indexed separately. Each entry gives, in the right-hand column, the page number of the census schedule where the name can be found. On the microfilm, look for the page number in the upper left- or right-hand corner. Unfortunately, for reasons which are not clear, the pages were not microfilmed in numerical order. The pages can be found in the following sequence: 47 – 58, 75 – 90, 11 – 22, 35 – 46, 1 – 6, 117 – 122, 23 – 34, 67 – 74, 105 – 116, 59 – 66, 135 – 158, 123 – 134, 159 – 197, 7 – 10, 91 – 104.

In producing this index, considerable care and effort has gone into deciphering the penmanship, which is generally good, but as with all records of this type, large allowance should be made for variant spellings and misspellings. In some cases it is possible only to make a reasonable guess as to the enumerator’s intent. Watch out for the "long s", a letter which in 1860 had not yet fallen into disuse: in cursive script, "ss", with a long s in the first position, can look like "p."

The 1870 census, taken during the month of June, 1870, was taken by Assistant Marshal Peter Grover, a resident of the town of Amherst, who was responsible for visiting each of the nearly 2000 households in Portage County, to determine the following, as of June 1, 1870, the effective date of the census:

1. The name of every person whose place of abode on the first day of June, 1870, was in this family
2. Description: age at last birthday, sex, color (white, black, mulatto, Chinese, Indian)
3. Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male or female
4. Value of Real Estate owned
5. Place of birth, naming State or Territory of U. S.; or the Country, if of foreign birth
6. Parentage: Father of foreign birth, Mother of foreign birth.
7. If born within the year, state month [new for 1870]
8. If married within the year, state month [new for 1870]
9. Attended school within the year
10. Education: Cannot read, Cannot write
11. Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic

Constitutional Relations: Male citizens of U. S. of 21 years of age and upwards; male citizens of U. S. of 21 years of age and upwards, whose right to vote is denied or abridged on other grounds than rebellion or other crime [new for 1870]

Nationally, the enumerators went door to door, counting and compiling data on the 38.6 million inhabitants of the country, not including Native Americans not taxed, who were counted separately. Portage County at that time consisted of eighteen governmental units (fifteen townships and three city wards), and had an official total population of 10,634. The residents of the city of Stevens Point numbered 1,810.

Although the boundaries of Portage County had been fixed by 1856 as they are today, the township boundaries remained unsettled until 1899. Small areas were being traded back and forth among Plover, Grant, Buena Vista, and Pine Grove townships, the political reasons for which are interesting (see Our County Our Story by Malcolm Rosholt). In 1870 the towns of Alban, Carson, Dewey did not yet exist. At that time the town of Eau Pleine extended to the east of the Wisconsin River, and the town of Hull extended north to the Marathon County line. The present town of Carson, and part of Linwood, fomed the township of Stevens Point, what remained of the old Territorial township of that name which had originally extended east to the county line. The land now in the town of Alban was then part of New Hope. The part of Linwood south and east of the Wisconsin River had been ceded to the town of Plover in 1864. It should therefore be kept in mind that finding families in different townships in different censuses does not necessarily mean that they had moved.

This index groups families together, alphabetized by surname, for ease of identification. Exceptions to the family grouping occur when family members have a different surname (married daughters living at home, stepchildren, mothers-in-law, etc.); these are indexed separately. Each entry gives, in the right-hand column, the page number of the census schedule where the name can be found. On the microfilm, look for the number in the upper right-hand corner: imagine a large book opened flat; the left-hand page is the "A" side, the right-hand page, bearing the page number, is the "B" side. You will find a few persons erroneously counted twice, generally young people working away from home, who were counted in both places.

In producing this index, considerable care and effort has gone into deciphering the penmanship, which is generally good, but as with all records of this type, large allowance should be made for variant spellings and misspellings. In some cases it is only possible to make a reasonable guess as to the enumerator’s intent.

The 1880 census, regarded by some as the first "modern" census of the United States, was taken during the month of June, 1880, and was the first to use a specially-appointed staff of more than 31,000 enumerators. Earlier censuses had been the responsibility of existing local officials, typically sheriffs and federal marshals. The enumerators went door to door, counting and compiling data on the 50 million inhabitants of the country, not including Native Americans not taxed, who were counted separately. The twenty-seven governmental units of Portage County (seventeen townships, six villages and four city wards) were enumerated by seventeen persons, with varying penmanship skills and spelling ability.

The data gathered in 1880 had been considerably expanded from earlier times. This census was the first to include the relationship of each person in the household to the head, and marital status of each.

The census taker was instructed to record:

1. Name of street, and house number (in cities)

For each person residing at that place on June 1:

2. Name
3. Color: White, black, mulatto, Chinese, Indian
4. Sex
5. Age at last birthday prior to June 1; if under 1 year, give as a fraction, together with month of birth
6. Relationship to head of household
7. Single, married, widowed
8. Whether married during the past year
9. Profession, occupation, or trade (not asked of children)
10. Number of months unemployed during the past year
11. Whether sick or temporarily disabled on the day of the visit, and if so, the complaint
12. Whether blind, deaf & dumb, idiotic, insane, maimed/crippled/bedridden or otherwise disabled
13. Whether attended school during the past year
14. Cannot read; cannot write
15. Place of birth
16. Place of birth of father; place of birth of mother

Although the boundaries of Portage County had been fixed by 1856 as they are today, the township boundaries remained unsettled until 1899. Small areas were being traded back and forth among Plover, Grant, Buena Vista, and Pine Grove townships, the political reasons for which are interesting (see Our County Our Story by Malcolm Rosholt).  In 1880 the town of Carson was much smaller than today, comprising only the western part; most of the area west of the city of Stevens Point made up the town of Stevens Point, which existed until 1899, when its territory was divided between Carson and Linwood. The town of Dewey did not yet exist at all. At that time the town of Eau Pleine extended to the east of the Wisconsin River, and the town of Hull extended north to the Marathon County line. It should therefore be kept in mind that finding families in different townships in different censuses does not necessarily mean that they had moved.

The Stevens Point city limits were, on the west and south, the same as they are today, but present-day Maria Drive formed the northern boundary, and the approximate location of the future Frontenac Avenue was the eastern limit. North Division Street did not extend beyond Franklin Street, where it ended in undrained marsh lands. The city was partitioned into four wards, the first being the central city, the second the southwest quadrant, the third the southeast quadrant, and the fourth the northwest part. The northeast part, along "Jordan Road", which later became Stanley Street, was unplatted.

In producing this index, considerable care and effort has gone into deciphering the penmanship, but as with all records of this type, large allowance should be made for variant spellings and misspellings. In some cases it is only possible to make a reasonable guess as to the enumerator’s intent.

It was 1900; William McKinley was president, Edward Scofield was governor of Wisconsin, and Patrick H. Cashin was mayor of Stevens Point, a city of 9,524 inhabitants. North Division Street ended in a swamp before it reached Fourth Avenue, and what is now Goerke Park was the fairgrounds, out in the country. The country was still talking about its recent war with Spain, and Congress has just gotten around to directing that a twelfth census be taken of the United States.

In 1900, a permanent Bureau of the Census did not yet exist. Instead, every ten years Congress simply passed its customary decennial Census Act establishing a census office and ordaining in general what it was to accomplish. Those appointed to the office then set about hiring staff and an army of enumerators and supervisors, usually untrained if not unsuited for the job, who proceeded to gather and tabulate the census data, and then the entire office disbanded.

Experience with the 1880 census had shown, however, that tabulating census data was fast becoming a full-time job. It had taken nine years to complete work on the 1880 census, and it was even feared that tabulating the 1890 census (now lost) would not be finished by the time the 1900 census was to be taken. (It was, in fact, completed in seven years, owing largely to the use of rudimentary tabulating machines which had been invented expressly for the purpose.) Gains in efficiency were offset by demands from Congress for more enumeration detail, and by the massive immigration which had swollen the 1900 population to half again its 1880 size.

Enumerators were trained, and given volumes of material to read, but their job was hard. Traveling by horse and buggy on dirt roads, they encountered foreign languages, uncooperative residents, and others who simply did not know what the census was all about. The newspapers had given much advance publicity to the census, listing the questions that would be asked, and reminding the public that compliance was mandatory, but this was a time when one person in ten was foreign-born, and one in nine was illiterate.

The enumerators themselves were a mixed lot. For the first time in 1900, enumerators received their appointment only after passing a written exam, which they could take at home. The exam consisted of a narrative description of a hypothetical family, and a blank form identical to the population schedule that would be used to record the census. The would-be enumerator was to fill out the schedule from the given data and return it to the district supervisor. Of the 300,000 persons who submitted applications, one out of six failed this test. Of the remaining group, 53,173 were chosen as enumerators. They had the entire month of June to finish their task, but June 1 was the official date of record. Babies born after that date were not to be counted; on the other hand, anyone alive on the first of June was to be counted, even if they had died by the time the census taker came to call.

All of the enumerators had learned penmanship in school, but they were more or less successful at it. Spelling of names became a challenge, especially when the enumerator and his subject were of different ethnic extractions, and did not speak each other’s language. Consequently, many of the names you will find in the census schedules, and in this index, are horribly misspelled. Known errors have been corrected, but the reader is urged to try every possible variant spelling of a name, and every possible misspelling (and perhaps some impossible ones as well) before concluding that the person being sought is not in the census.

Families are indexed as a group, for ease of identification, and alphabetized by surname. Exceptions to the family grouping occur when family members have a different surname (married daughters living at home, stepchildren, mothers-in-law, etc.); these are indexed separately. Every person enumerated in 1900 is in the index somewhere; the only exceptions are twelve Felician sisters of the Polonia orphanage who were counted but not listed by name. Each entry gives, in the right-hand column, the page number of the census schedule where the name can be found. On the microfilm, look for the number in the upper right-hand corner. A few persons were erroneously counted twice, but there is no evidence of the "padding" of which some earlier enumerators had been accused.

The census schedules give the location (including street address and house number if in the city); name; relationship to the head of household; race; sex; date of birth (month and year); age; marital status; if married, how many years; for mothers, mother of how many children; nativity (place of birth, father’s place of birth, mother’s place of birth); if foreign born, year of immigration, number of years in the US, and naturalization status; occupation, trade, or profession for each person 10 years of age and over; education (attended school, can read, can write, can speak English); ownership of home.

Some of the names on the films are exceedingly difficult to read. Poor penmanship plus an attitude of "spell it like it sounds" combine to make a hard puzzle for the genealogist to solve. Add to this the habit of the auditors in the census office of writing their notations directly over the names, and the result may be a combination impossible to decipher. At their best, enumerators wrote in an elegant hand, but at their worst, one wishes they had foregone the flourishes and printed in simple block letters. Considerable effort has gone into resolving these difficulties for the production of this index, but unfortunately many necessarily remain.

• Adams County RootsWeb
• Central Wisconsin Genealogy Index
• D.C. Everest Area Schools Oral History Project (Wausau, Marathon County)
• Directory of Wisconsin Local Historical Societies
• Historic Point Basse (Nekoosa, Wood County)
• History and Memories: Portage County, Belmont Township, by Wayne A. Guyant
• Juneau County RootsWeb
• Langlade County RootsWeb
• Lincoln County RootsWeb
• Main Street: Stevens Point Photo Gallery
• Marathon County Genealogical Society
• Marathon County Historical Society
• Marathon County GenWeb
• Marshfield Public Library Local History & Genealogy (Wood County)
• McMillan Library Local Genealogy (Wood County)
• McMillan Library Local History (Wood County)
• National Register of Historic Places:
  • Marathon County
  • Portage County
  • Waupaca County
  • Wood County
• Our county, our story: Portage County, Wisconsin by Malcolm Rosholt
• Polish Roots (Portage County)
• Portage County Cemetery Locator
• Portage County Census Index (Index to the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 U.S. Censuses)
• Portage County Historical Society
• Portage County Historical Society Photo Collection
• Portage County GenWeb
• Recollection Wisconsin (Digital Resources)
• South Wood County Historical Museum
• Stevens Point Area Genealogy Society (Portage County)
• Stevens Point Journal Index 1992-November 2005
• Turning Points in Wisconsin History (Wisconsin Historical Society)
• Waupaca Area Genealogical Society
• Waupaca County History & Genealogy GenWeb
• Waupaca Historical Society
• Waupaca Area Public Library Genealogy Resources
• Waushara County WIGenWeb
• Wisconsin Historical Society – Area Research Center Network
• Wisconsin Local History & Biography Articles (Wisconsin Historical Society)
• Wood County GenWeb