Welcome to the Census Records of Mount Desert Island (and the town of Cranberry Isles) home page, part of the Mount Desert Island Cultural History Project.

Purpose of this web page: The purpose of this web page is to present information about Mount Desert Island's census records, especially to report corrections to the books Census Records of Cranberry Isles and the Towns of Mount Desert Island (see below).

For Sale:

	Census Records of Cranberry Isles and the Towns of Mount Desert Island - Volume 1: 1790-1840 edited and with notes by Thomas F. Vining. A companion to the book Cemeteries of Cranberry Isles and the Towns of Mount Desert Island. Includes the decennial reports plus a special 1837 report for the town of Mount Desert. All records are presented in their original order and alphabetically arranged. Indexed by surname. Soft cover, twin wire binding (enabling the book to lay flat), 8-1/2" x 11", 139 pp. ISBN 0-9664874-3-5, 2002. $25.00 (Shipping is $5 for one book, $6 total for two or more books; Maine residents please add $1.25 per book for sales tax.)
	Census Records of Cranberry Isles and the Towns of Mount Desert Island - Volume 2: 1850 edited and with notes by Thomas F. Vining. Volume 2 in the series. All records are presented in their original order and alphabetically arranged. Soft cover, twin wire binding (enabling the book to lay flat), 8-1/2" x 11", 178 pp. ISBN 0-9664874-8-6, 2004. $25.00 (Shipping is $5 for one book, $6 total for two or more books; Maine residents please add $1.25 per book for sales tax.)
	Census Records of Cranberry Isles and the Towns of Mount Desert Island - Volume 3: 1860 edited and with notes by Thomas F. Vining. Volume 3 in the series. All records are presented in their original order and alphabetically arranged. Soft cover, twin wire binding (enabling the book to lay flat), 8-1/2" x 11", 204 pp. ISBN 0-9664874-9-4, 2009. $25.00 (Shipping is $5 for one book, $6 total for two or more books; Maine residents please add $1.25 per book for sales tax.)

How to contribute: All information (including images) should be e-mailed to info@vfthomas.com or sent by traditional mail to MDI Census Records, c/o V. F. Thomas Co.; P. O. Box 400; Southwest Harbor, ME 04679.

1790

In 1790 a town called Mount Desert comprised what are today the towns of Bar Harbor, Cranberry Isles, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, and Tremont. Only one name in each household was recorded—the "head of family". Each person in the household was tallied in one of the following categories: Free white males (16 and upwards, including family head), Free white males (under 16), Free white females (including family head), and All other free persons.

town	free white males 16 and upwards	free white males under 16	total males	free white females	all other free persons	total persons
Mount Desert	191	207	398	345	1	744

Mount Desert in 1790 was composed of 132 "families" (sometimes only one person in a family). The individual recorded under the heading "all other free persons" was "Neptune Junior / A Black Man", and his name and information were recorded vertically in that column near the end of the census (see image below).



A transcript of the 1790–1840 censuses as a set (volume 1) is available from V. F. Thomas Co. (see above).

1800

There are two main differences between the 1790 census and 1800 census, one national and one local. Nationally, the 1800 census recorded finer divisions of the population. As in 1800, only the name of the head of the family was recorded, but both free white males and free white females were divided into the following age classes: under 10, 10–16 ("Of ten and under sixteen"), 16–26 ("Of sixteen, & under twenty-six, including heads of families"), 26–45 ("Of twenty-six and under forty-five, including heads of families"), and 45 and above ("Of forty-five and upwards, including heads of families"). There was also a column for "All other free persons, except Indians not taxed". At the local level, the town of Eden (now Bar Harbor) was formed from a portion of the town of Mount Desert on 23 February 1796, so the 1800 census included two towns. Mount Desert in 1800 was composed of what are today the towns of Cranberry Isles, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, and Tremont.

town	male <10	male 10–16	male 16–26	male 26–45	male 45 and over	total males	female <10	female 10–16	female 16–26	female 26–45	female 45 and over	total females	total persons
Eden (67 households)	86	33	37	33	26	215	66	25	40	29	24	184	399
Mount Desert (121 households)	128	62	46	92	33	361	147	55	54	71	33	360	721

One of the households in Eden in 1800 included Bartholomew De Gregoire and (presumably) his wife (Maria Theresa née Cadillac), who was a granddaughter of the explorer Cadillac, for whom both the mountain and the automobile are named (see image below).



A transcript of the 1790–1840 censuses as a set (volume 1) is available from V. F. Thomas Co. (see above).

1810

The 1810 census was like that of 1800—only the head of the family listed, people divided into the same age classes, and still only two towns.

town	male <10	male 10–16	male 16–26	male 26–45	male 45 and over	total males	female <10	female 10–16	female 16–26	female 26–45	female 45 and over	total females	total persons
Eden (107 households)	127	52	61	64	31	335	126	49	62	59	26	322	657
Mount Desert (171 households)	193	95	90	83	74	535	184	91	74	101	67	517	1052

Of the 107 households in Eden in 1810, 25 were headed by a Higgins, and, in second place, 8 were headed by a Mayo.
Of the 171 households in Mount Desert in 1810, 12 were headed by a Gott, and, in second place, 9 were headed by a Richardson.

A transcript of the 1790–1840 censuses as a set (volume 1) is available from V. F. Thomas Co. (see above).

1820

There were two changes in the 1820 census. One was the addition of a category of free white males 16–18 without removing the broader category of free white males 16–26, which meant that some people would be listed twice. The other was the creation of three columns of possible employment: agriculture, commerce, and "manufactures".

town	male <10	male 10–16	male 16–18	male 16–26	male 26–45	male 45 and over	total males	female <10	female 10–16	female 16–26	female 26–45	female 45 and over	total females	total persons	agriculture	commerce	manufactures
Eden (118 households)	151	73	28	72	65	42	403	120	67	68	65	41	361	764	141	47	19
Mount Desert (220 households)	229	94	34	149	117	92	681	237	97	127	105	92	658	1339	248	120	21

Three residents of Mount Desert who were included in the above enumeration were "foreigners, not naturalized".

A transcript of the 1790–1840 censuses as a set (volume 1) is available from V. F. Thomas Co. (see above).

1830

The categories for both males and females became much more finely divided in the 1830 census—5-year divisions through age 20 and 10-year divisions thereafter. And on 16 March 1830, the town of Cranberry Isles was incorporated.

town	male <5	male 5–10	male 10–15	male 15–20	male 20–30	male 30–40	male 40–50	male 50–60	male 60–70	male 70–80	male 80–90	total males	female <5	female 5–10	female 10–15	female 15–20	female 20–30	female 30–40	female 40–50	female 50–60	female 60–70	female 70–80	female 80–90	total females	total persons
Cranberry Isles (38 households)	20	27	22	20	22	9	15	3	3	1	1	143	25	17	19	16	19	14	7	3	1			121	264
Eden (141 households)	89	76	79	58	94	35	35	31	9	7	3	516	65	66	58	66	75	45	34	22	6	4		441	957
Mount Desert (242 households)	179	117	88	82	136	106	40	35	26	11	2	822	127	124	94	83	146	88	46	28	24	14	8	782	1604

Corrections to early printings of transcript volume 1:
   total males for Mount Desert in 1830 should be 822
   total persons for Mount Desert in 1830 should be 1604.

A transcript of the 1790–1840 censuses as a set (volume 1) is available from V. F. Thomas Co. (see above).

1840

The categories for both males and females remained the same as 1830, but categories of employment were added. Those pertinent to the Mount Desert Island region were agriculture, commerce, manufactures and trades, and navigation of the ocean. Locally, the town of Seaville was incorporated on 9 March 1838, so there were four towns in the 1840 census that had 50 years before been just one—Mount Desert.

town	male <5	male 5–10	male 10–15	male 15–20	male 20–30	male 30–40	male 40–50	male 50–60	male 60–70	male 70–80	male 80–90	male 90–100	total males	female <5	female 5–10	female 10–15	female 15–20	female 20–30	female 30–40	female 40–50	female 50–60	female 60–70	female 70–80	female 80–90	female 90–100	total females	total persons
Cranberry Isles (43 households)	16	9	20	15	23	14	5	8	1	2			113	29	15	14	16	20	14	10	4	3				125	238
Eden (178 households)	102	77	69	64	93	64	37	20	27	8		1	562	83	77	54	47	88	52	43	23	15	9	1		492	1054
Mount Desert (333 households)	177	138	136	105	149	110	71	29	23	12	5	2	957	187	145	120	108	144	89	67	27	22	13	4	2	928	1885
Seaville (18 households)	13	5	10	12	9	8	7	1	2				67	10	10	7	10	10	8	3	2	1	1			62	129

town	agriculture	commerce	manufacturing	navigation of the ocean
Cranberry Isles (43 households)	18	5	1	21
Eden (178 households)	101	7	53	68
Mount Desert (333 households)	176	12	64	111
Seaville (18 households)	10	2		7

A transcript of the 1790–1840 censuses as a set (volume 1) is available from V. F. Thomas Co. (see above).

1850

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930