1850 FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL CENSUS - NOTTOWAY COUNTY, VIRGINIA TOTALS By Thomas Walter Duda This file contains the totals of the various columns of the 1850 agricultural census for Nottoway County, Virginia, as transcribed by the author. A computer program was written by the author for the purpose, with several safeguards built into the software to ensure the accuracy of the sums. One additional total is rendered in this file: Total acreage. Although no such column appears in the agricultural schedule, it was deemed appropriate to include the figure, as the improved and unimproved acreage begged summation. At the end of the file will be found several potentially useful data. All of these were calculated based upon the numbers contained in the schedule. Thus, the derived average price per acre deserves comment. It is at once evident that the landowners of Nottoway County considerably undervalued their land, as by 1825 the average price per acre had already exceeded $6. Two of the persons with active farms declined to provide their acreage to the enumerator. They are Thomas Dyson and David G. Williams. Approximate acreage was deduced for these men based upon the average price per acre as reported in this file. However, this is the transcriber's assumption and therefore was used only in a limited fashion and is not reflected in the totals for acreage. Acres of Land ------------- Improved: .................................... 93,479 Unimproved: .................................. 93,615 Total acreage: ................................ 187,094 Cash value of farms: ............................ $1,116,393 Value of farming implements & machinery: ........ $39,475 Horses: ......................................... 1,309 Asses & mules: .................................. 201 Milch cows: ..................................... 1,411 Working oxen: ................................... 1,041 Other cattle: ................................... 2,910 Sheep: .......................................... 5,780 Swine: .......................................... 9,639 Value of livestock: ............................. $182,079 Wheat, bushels of: .............................. 71,904 Rye, bushels of: ................................ 150 Indian corn, bushels of: ........................ 216,352 Oats, bushels of: ............................... 56,241 Rice: lbs of: ................................... 7,100 Tobacco, lbs of: ................................ 2,087,499 Ginned cotton, bales of 400 lbs each: ........... 18,966 Wool, lbs of: ................................... 10,764 Peas & beans, bushels of: ....................... 4,299 Irish potatoes, bushels of: ..................... 5,114 Sweet potatoes, bushels of: ..................... 7,782 Barley, bushels of: ............................. 2 Buckwheat, bushels of: .......................... 20 Value of orchard products, in doll's: ........... 0 Wine, gallons of: ............................... 28 Value of produce of market gardens: ............. $10 Butter, lbs of: ................................. 54,690 Cheese, lbs of: ................................. 0 Hay, tons of: ................................... 28.50 Clover seed, bushels of: ........................ 4 Other grass seeds, bushels of: .................. 28 Hops, lbs of: ................................... 121 Hemp ---- Dew rotted, tons of: ......................... 0 Water rotted, tons of: ....................... 0 Flax, lbs of: ................................... 70 Flaxseed, bushels of: ........................... 0 Silk cocoons, lbs of: ........................... 0 Maple sugar, lbs of: ............................ 0 Cane sugar, hhds. of 1,000 lbs: ................. 0 Molasses, gallons of, and from what made: ....... 0 Beeswax and honey, lbs of: ...................... 1,924 Value of homemade manufactures: ................. $10,022 Value of animals slaughtered: ................... $44,030 Number of farms: 406 Average cultivated acres: 232.5 per farm Average size of farm: 465.3 acres Average price per acre: $5.91* * Assumes that Thomas Dyson owned 1,000 acres and David G Williams owned 834 acres. Part 12 of 12 *************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. **************************************************************************