Daily AncestorMortality schedule
A mortality schedule listed the people in each place who died during the year before census day, from 1850 to 1880, with age, cause of death and more.
Census takers asked each family about deaths in the past twelve months. The 1860 schedules, for example, cover June 1, 1859, to May 31, 1860. The 1850 form gave name, age, sex, color, birthplace, marital status, occupation, month of death, cause and days ill; 1880 added the birthplaces of parents.
For many people this is the only record of death, since many states did not yet require deaths to be recorded. In 1880 the form could be skipped where an official death register existed.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Mortality schedule." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/census-terms/mortality-schedule. Last checked 2026-10-03.