The basic data were coded from the manuscript censuses of population and agriculture for 1850 and 1860 (7th and 8th decennial censuses, respectively) for the Town of Polk, Washington County, Wisconsin, in order to examine the occupational mobility, family structure, and degree of persistence of individuals, relationship to head of household, origin of parents of children, number of persons in the household, location of household in village or rural area. The site contains a study description, an online codebook in PDF format (which can be downloaded, 1,202 KB), and the data proper.