Farming in Ionia County
In 1860 Consider and his brother William lived in their father's household. Neither is recorded as having an occupation in the census, but their father Horatio is listed as a farmer, so they may have worked with him.
Horatio told the census taker that his farm was worth $600, a little more than the values reported by his neighbors. In the 1860 Agriculture census it was recorded as being 40 acres in size, with 23 acres in use, growing wheat and corn, with two horses, two milch cows and two cattle. The farms around Horatio's property in that census were significantly larger in size, with many also keeping herds of sheep, and growing rye and oats as well as wheat and corn. (Only half of the agriculture census has been digitized - 21 columns of crops and activities are missing - so this is only a partial picture of the activities on these farms)
