Little House in the Census: Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Every 10 years since 1790, the U.S. Government has taken a census to enumerate the population so as to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. Census enumerators canvass their districts house-to-house, collecting information about individuals and households on large forms called population schedules. In each decennial census, Americans from the famous to the unsung and the infamous appear, including favorite figures of literat