90-60 Census Workbook

The 90–60 Census Workbook: Unlock the Power of Early U.S. Censuses

Designed for genealogists, historians, and genohistorians, this powerful Google Sheets tool turns the elusive 1790–1860 census data into a clear, trackable map of your ancestors’ households over time. It makes that proverbial needle in the haystack findable.

Make the early U.S. censuses work for you.
The 90–60 Census Workbook transforms the most difficult U.S. federal censuses into a manageable, insightful, and even collaborative research tool. Using the power of Google Sheets, it gives census researchers a way to organize and compare the elusive data found in name-deprived censuses, especially before 1850 for free ancestors, or 1870 for once-enslaved ones.

This is one piece of a 195-column-wide sheet, allowing you to go further than collecting data: you can analyze it. You can find answers.

Instead of struggling to match unnamed household members across decades, the 90-60 aligns census years side-by-side. Each decade appears in a consistent format, so you can easily spot likely household changes, birth year ranges, deaths, marriages, and census-taker errors.

Why it works:

✅ Compare multiple census years with standardized column alignment, no matter how different the censuses were
✅ Identify household changes, estimate birth years, and detect record inconsistencies
✅ Work from any device, anywhere—with automatic saving and sharing via Google Sheets
✅ Collaborate with research partners or family historians in real time
✅ Make unlimited personal copies for your own projects

Even better? You’ll get a Getting Started video that walks you through setup and smart usage, so you're never lost in the data.

Key Features:

✅ Built in Google Sheets—no software to install
✅ 195-column framework, with examples and explanations
✅ Focus on white and free nonwhite households pre-1850 and enslaved population data pre-1870.
✅ Built-in visual design to reveal patterns across time
✅ Designed by genealogist and historian Dr. Donna Cox Baker, author of Zotero for Genealogy and A Quick Guide to Zotero 7

🔍 Sneak peek:

Watch the Getting Started with the 90-60 Census Workbook video to see how this powerhouse saves time and unlocks discoveries.

Bonus Blog Post:

Read how the 90-60 solved a tough genealogical problem in Genohistory.com's "Genohistory on Purpose" blog.