In 1889, when North Dakota and South Dakota became states, the governmental records of Dakota Territory were split between the two. Each state received different parts of these records, but all were to be kept, protected, and accessible. Recently, the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the University of South Dakota partnered to virtually reunite territorial records and to create better access to them. We received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to do so. Soon researchers will be able to view all these collections easily and from anywhere.

The growing community of Lisbon shortly after the territorial census, circa 1890. SHSND SA B0009-00001

Amid the many interesting notes, correspondence, and other official documents held within these collections is information regarding the 1885 territorial census.

The 1885 territorial census was authorized through federal legislation in 1879. While establishing that a census be taken every 10 years, this legislation also made provisions for U.S. territories to conduct a census in between national censuses, partially paid for by the U.S. government. This documentation could show faster growth and opportunity in a territory, which could provide helpful support for procuring statehood, encouraging settlement and industry, and determining political delegation numbers.

Page from the 1885 territorial census. SHSND SA State Series 30111

Dakota Territory took part in this census, and the information gathered was valuable for residents at that critical time on the cusp of statehood. The information also remains important and informative today, documenting population in an era when fewer written records were kept. Aside from counting and listing the names of inhabitants, censuses often include additional information, and the 1885 census was no exception. Enumerators, or census workers, gathered additional information on separate pages, or schedules, relating to agricultural production and to industry, such as the type and amount of power used and what machinery was required. They also compiled a schedule relating to deaths that had happened in the year prior to the June 1, 1885, start of the census.

Directions to census workers on how to prepare and fill out the 1885 territorial census. SHSND SA State Series 30110

Two additional schedules were added to the mix in Dakota Territory, though these were optional to return. One documented ex-soldiers of the Union army; the other ex-soldiers of the Confederate army. As a result, the 1885 territorial census is one of the few records available in North Dakota that holds any record of the presence of former military personnel in the state.

It is worth noting that although most of the 1885 territorial censuses are located at the National Archives, the original census sheets for Dakota Territory remained within North Dakota and South Dakota. The North Dakota State Archives also retains correspondence and other information about the operation of the 1885 census. And while the census itself is a straightforward, historically interesting document, the correspondence relating to the undertaking of the census holds some surprises.

One of the most striking items I’ve found is a 13-page letter written to then-Territorial Governor Gilbert Pierce from A. W. Edwards, supervisor of the census for North Dakota. In April 1885, Edwards traveled to Washington, D.C., to figure out how the census would work—such as how much money the government would provide and the process of getting blank sheets printed. Edwards detailed the assistance, or lack thereof, and the red tape he encountered. He wrote: “I think I will know by tomorrow night as much about the census as any other man here or elsewhere. … I am satisfied that I already understand more about this than anyone in the Interior Department. The fact is, everybody seems at sea. The new officials can give no attention to any matter, and the old ones, won’t. Everybody is clever and polite and kind, but won’t give opinions, or decisions, or assistance.”

First page of A.W. Edwards’ April 1885 letter to Territorial Governor Gilbert Pierce. SHSND SA State Series 30110

With a little help from some old friends and a bit of luck—as well as adopting a hands-on approach when able—Edwards found what he needed. But according to his letter, he was one of the few. He even mentioned that the census supervisor from Colorado spent almost two weeks unsuccessfully trying to find answers to his questions there. Edwards, with his new knowledge, planned to have the Department of the Interior send wires to the various other appointed “supervisors of the different states that they will furnish blanks … and in that way the government printer will do the whole job.”

Edwards did not mean for this letter to be placed “on file as an official document, as it is not intended as a matter of record.” Yet that is exactly what happened—a note in red on the back of the final page of the letter states that it was “filed by Gov. Pierce.”

A note in red ink indicates that that A.W. Edwards’ letter was filed despite his stated wishes otherwise. SHSND SA State Series 30110

What a window into the past these documents provide us, from the banal everyday listing of who was living where to the intricacies of the inner workings of the contemporary federal government! Take a look at the 1885 census (at least partially viewable online through websites like Ancestry and FamilySearch) and reflect on how important that information was, both when it was compiled and today as we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. These critical territorial records will definitely remain important in the future, as we prepare them for digitization and to be accessible to a new generation.

Who knows? Some of these people milling in front of the George Jennings' grocery store in Bismarck may have even been counted in the territorial census, 1884. SHSND SA 2011-P-009-00002

Picture yourself doing the following:

• Looking at photographs or portraits of unidentified individuals and wondering whether anyone remembers who they were or if someone is looking to know more about them.
• Recording someone today so that a great-great-granddaughter, who isn’t even born yet, can hear their voice one day.
• Reading letters and becoming the memory keeper of the writer and recipient.
• Helping people find a loved one’s grave or reconnecting a family with a story they thought was lost.
• Realizing that a preservation decision or description of a record you made today may determine whether someone 150 years from now finds their great-grandmother’s story.

At the State Archives, we are entrusted with preserving not only information but memory itself. We are honored to be keepers of the past and present—helping the future connect with both. Memory links generations and forgetting these memories is a profound loss to subsequent generations. Ensuring that the stories of those who came before us are preserved is something that archivists take on every day. People often think of archivists as working with dusty boxes full of old papers and photographs. What they don't see is the emotional labor that comes with preserving the stories and memories inside those dusty boxes.

Schoolchildren at Fort Berthold Mission in Elbowoods, circa 1930. When working with photographs, I often find myself thinking about the individuals captured in them. What were their names? Who were their families? Do they have descendants? What did they go on to do in life? What were they like? SHSND SA 00041-01123

On any given day, an archivist may hold a soldier’s final letter home, read a diary entry describing a hardship, or process photographs of communities forever changed by disaster. We preserve records of war, violence, crimes, and prejudice alongside celebrations, milestones, and moments of joy.

Bismarck businessman George F. Will’s Feb. 19, 1919, journal entry reflecting on the death of his wife, Katharine. Journals preserve more than the memories of the writer; they can also capture deep emotions. Sometimes those emotions are so raw that as I work with these documents I find myself carrying a little of their weight, too. SHSND SA 10190-0036-003

We help families searching for the only surviving photograph of a grandparent, researchers hoping to identify an individual in an unmarked grave, Tribal Nations working to reconnect ancestors’ stories with their people, veterans looking for documentation of military service, and families seeking answers to questions that may have remained secret for generations. We work to ensure those who came before are not forgotten.

In these moments, an archivist is more than a keeper of old records and becomes akin to a trusted confidante. I’ve shared laughter, tears, hugs, and high fives from total strangers when assisting with searches. However, we cannot always provide the answers people hope for. Sometimes the records no longer exist. Sometimes they were never created in the first place. Sometimes they hold painful answers. We preserve both the accomplishments and failures of history because future generations deserve an honest and true record of the past.

Return address on a Nov. 11, 1941, letter from Richard S. Sherven to Harold Skogstad. Sherven, originally from McKenzie County, was stationed aboard the USS Arizona. Less than a month after sending this letter to his friend, Sherven was killed during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. SHSND SA MSS 20826

That said, it’s important to remember that as archivists we cannot let emotion influence how we care for records. But we also cannot pretend the stories we work with leave no impression. There are collections that stay with us long after we’ve closed the box for the day. Every decision we make aims to ensure these memories are protected and accessible. The way a collection is arranged, described, or preserved affects whether someone decades from now will be able to connect with a memory of a loved one.

Our responsibility is to help memory survive. That responsibility is profound. Each archivist at the North Dakota State Archives is honored to carry this weight on behalf of the people of this state and region—past, present, and future.