What do you think was the cause of the population decline after 1860? Where did all the people go?  

If you live in a small town, has your community grown in the past two or three decades? Why or why not?
 

Are there families with the surnames of the early residents still there in 1870?

What are some of the first names that may seem different to us? Are there any that are common today that do not show up in the census?

How many families have elderly relatives living with them?

Find the residents of the "town farm" or Poor Farm, as such places were commonly known. Do these individuals seem to be related to other families in town? If so, does it seem that their relatives could have supported them?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What percentage of those who died in 1865 and 1870 were under the age of 18?
What did people die of? Are any of these diseases still prevalent today?
 
 
 
 
 
 

Where did the better-off people in the community live? Where was the Poor Farm located? What factories and mills can you find? Where would they be expected to be located? What did they use for power?

     At left is a compilation of the total census population of Turner from 1790 to 1980. Notice the dramatic decline in population from 1860 and 1930. This same decline occurred in much of rural Maine during this time period. 

     You can see that Turner enjoyed a comeback in population after 1960. This was largely due to the growth of the DeCoster Egg Farm, which became one of the largest egg producers in the East, employing as many as 500 people by 1980. Better highways made it easy to commute to and from small towns and larger cities, and Turner attracted many new residents who enjoyed living in a small town while working in cities such as Lewiston and Portland.

     The most recent Federal census was taken for the year 2000. Every household in the United States was contacted, and every person in the United States should have been accounted for. Did your family get the "short" or the "long" questionnaire? If your family got the "long" version, what kinds of questions were asked?
 

The Census of 1870. To see what a page of the original manuscript of this census looks like, click here. To make things easier for you, we have created a downloadable database for the regular population census schedule for Turner in the year 1870. If you haven't done so already, look at the website "A Beginner's Guide..." as noted above, and click on information about the 1870 census to familiarize yourself with the special features of that year's enumeration. Here is a typescript copy of the 1870 census with the major headings. 

     Compare the surnames of the 1870 inhabitants with those that were featured in the early years of Turner's history.  Many of the first names are still common today.Most of the town's residents were born in Maine. Where else were people from? Had any of the families moved around in the years previous to the census. How could you tell?  What other questions or issues can you think of, and find the answers to, by using this census?
     If you download the 1870 MS-Access database, by sorting some of the fields, you can find out many other interesting things. What is the most common last name? Farming is probably the most common occupation for men and keeping house for women. What are the next most common occupations? Who had the most valuable property?

 Special Censuses. In addition to the regular population schedule that you have just looked at, the U. S. government collected information for three separate schedules: Products of Agriculture, Products of Industry, and a compilation of social statistics that enumerated the number of churches, schools, and newspapers that were active in each town, as well as the amount of money spent on pauper relief and similar town expenditures.

 The Mortality Schedule. In 1870, the Government also collected data about the deaths that occurred in each town during the preceding year. Click here to see our tabulated transcription of this census for Turner; and click here to see a transcription of a similar document solicited by the State of Maine in 1865 from the town of Turner.  You can find out what the medical terms used as "cause of death" mean by looking at this dictionary.  You should be aware that it was commonplace for families to lose one or more children in infancy, or as a result of epidemics of diseases such scarlet fever, typhoid fever and diphtheria. When were such diseases eradicated? How?

See Exactly Where All These folks lived! In 1873, three years after the census was taken, the "Atlas and History of Androscoggin County, Maine was published by Sanford Everts & Co., of Philadelphia, Pa. The Atlas contains a detailed map of each community in Maine, showing each inhabitant's residence or farm, and the location of sawmills, gristmills and other features. Compare these map sections with the 1870 population census.