The 1850 Census Act was the authorizing legislation for the 1860 census. That act had stipulated that, according to the recommendation of the secretary of the interior, its provisions were to be adhered to for all future decennial censuses if no new authorizing legislation was passed by January 1 of the year in which the census was required.

The Census Office, and the position of superintending clerk were abolished in May 1865. A portion of the clerks engaged in census work transferred to the General Land Office, where work of the 1860 census was completed under the direction of the commissioner of the General Land Office.

"The United States Census of 1860 was the eighth Census conducted in the United States starting June 1, 1860, and lasting five months. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,322, in 33 states and 10 organized territories. This was an increase of 35.4 percent over the 23,191,876 persons enumerated during the 1850 Census. The total population included 3,953,762 slaves."^[2]

|+1860 United States Federal Census Schedule I
Questions/Column Headings |- |align="left"|1 - Dwelling-houses - numbered in the order of visitation. |- |align="left"|2 - Families number in the order of visitation. |- |align="left"|3 - The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of June, 1860, was in this family. |- |align="left" |4 - Age. |- |align="left" |5 - Sex. |- |align="left" |6 - Color,{white, black, or mulatto. |- |align="left" |7 - Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male and female, over 15 years of age. |- |align="left" |8 - Value of Real Estate. |- |align="left" |9 - Value of Personal Estate. |- |align="left" |10 - Place of Birth, Naming the State, Territory or Country. |- |align="left" |11 - Married within the year. |- |align="left" |12 - Attended School within the year. |- |align="left" |13 - Persons over 20 y'rs of age who cannot read & write. |- |align="left" |14 - Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict. |}

1. ↑ "United States Census Bureau", website online, (https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/overview/1860.html); accessed 23 April 2020.
2. ↑ Wikipedia:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860_United_States_Census); accessed 23 April 2020.