Census-takers did not use standard forms in the early censuses. For 1850-1880, the codes for enumerators were generally white (W), black (B) and mulatto (M). Beginning in 1850, the data item was ...

This 1850 census was the first made after California ... was published in book form in 1929. The census taker went from house to house, listing all the occupants and numbering the houses in ...