By Al Bates

This article is one of a series that will appear in this space during this year on historic events relating to the Arizona Territory’s Sesquicentennial and the founding and establishment of Prescott as the Territory’s first capital.

By early April of 1864 Governor John Goodwin was on the road again; this time headed to southern Arizona to visit the Tucson and Tubac areas.

Before departing for points south, the governor (and Secretary Richard McCormick) had completed two necessary tasks preceding the elections of the territorial legislators and the representative to Congress.  First was to create the three judicial districts that also would serve as the original legislative districts.  Second was to establish the ground rules for the special census that, among other things, would determine how many councilmen and representatives each district would have in the bicameral legislature.

Just below the community of Weaver (sometimes called Weaverville or Antelope) the governor encountered a party headed for Fort Whipple that included Indian Agent Charles Poston and Judge Joseph Allyn who were being escorted by 60 Maricopa and Pima Indians led by Chiefs Juan Cheveria and Juan Manuel.  The news that the governor shared with Poston and Allyn was bad.

Half the population had left to avoid starvation and death (the estimated population of Weaver had dropped from 400 to 100).  Fort Whipple was thronged with fugitives; and there wasn’t an animal fit to use left in the country. King S. Woolsey was leaving with 100 men on a second expedition against the Apaches.

After stopping at Weaver—where Maricopa Chief Cheveria was celebrated as a hero for his role in the Bloody Tanks affair—Poston and his Indian escort abandoned a plan to visit the Hopi villages and instead headed to a hoped-for rendezvous with Woolsey to help on his new anti-Apache campaign.  Allyn and two companions continued on to Fort Whipple, “. . . a melancholy journey, past burned and deserted cabins.”

Governor Goodwin continued to southern Arizona where he would remain for almost two months while Arizona citizens waited to hear which location the governor would choose for the first legislature.  Would-be politicians waited to learn what openings for which they might vie.

During the governor’s absence from central Arizona during April and most of May 1864, the taking of the special census was the most noteworthy event.  Territorial Marshal Milton Duffield led the effort.  He chose to cover the first (southern) district himself, and appointed Charles A. Phillips to the second (western) district, and “Minister/Postmaster” Hyrum Read to the third (northern) district.

There was a profound ethnic bias to the census since Indians—even friendly tribes—were excluded.  An analysis of the census shows the total non-Indian population of Arizona as 4573, slightly higher than an abstract of the results used by the governor in allocating seats in the legislature.

The third district headcount—including some late entries—was 1088 and was centered about the area that would soon become Prescott.  The population was heavily male, with the 49 women and girls outnumbered 22 to one.  Single women outnumbered the married ones and there was a scattering of children.  There were 19 married couples, one pair being spliced by the Rev. Reed while taking the census.

Race and ethnicity was ignored by the census, but in the third district over half the women and 300 of the men were born in Mexico, or places that had been part of Mexico until 1848.  About half of those counted were born in the United States, but 24 other nations of origin were identified.  Almost 200 of the men were married to women left behind in the “states” or in native lands, some never seeing those spouses again.  There are accounts of early arrivals conveniently forgetting their marriage vows and finding new wives locally.

The list of occupations given to the census taker ranged from the whimsical “bummer” and “whatever” to a wide list of serious occupations, although miner, soldier and laborer were the three most common.  There was one “whiskey seller” and one minister/postmaster.  Seventeen of the single ladies listed their occupation as “mistress” which is open to interpretation.

Of political importance, the census answered the question of how power in the first territorial legislature would be divided.  The southern district (Tucson mainly) was assigned just over half the seats, ensuring that the two most powerful offices, the Council President and the House Speaker would go to men from Tucson.

Days Past is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). The public is encouraged to submit articles for consideration.  Please contact SHM Library & Archives reference desk at 928-445-3122 Ext. 14, or via email at dayspastprescott@gmail.com for information.