The U.S. Census Bureau has always been a home to veterans of 

the United States Armed Forces. The first superintendent of the 

census, William Augustus Weaver, appointed in 1840, received 

wounds as a combat veteran in the War of 1812. Francis Amasa 

Walker, the highly influential superintendent of the 1880 Census 

was a veteran of the Civil War and former prisoner of war. In 

1890, census legislation made it clear that honorably discharged 

veterans of the armed services would receive preference for 

employment as enumerators—a practice that continues to this 

day and one that has been further strengthened and expanded 

through civil service reforms. In 2015, for instance, the 

Department of Commerce, to which the Census Bureau belongs, 

employed 5,684 veterans (12 percent). The Census Bureau is 

proud to utilize the proven discipline and motivation of this 

unique and patriotic workforce.

One veteran that stands out is General of the Armies, John Joseph 

“Black Jack” Pershing. Born on September 30, 1860, in Laclede, 

Missouri, to parents John and Ann, Pershing was the oldest of six 

children that survived into adulthood. Originally interested in 

becoming a lawyer, Pershing found himself going to the United 

States Military Academy at West Point in 1882 due to the prospect 

of a high-quality and, more importantly, free education. 

Graduating 30th in a class of 77, Pershing’s first assignment was in

the American West where he participated in multiple Indian Wars. 

It was on the frontier that Pershing served as an officer in the all 

African-American 10th Calvary Regiment, thus earning his 

nickname “Black Jack.” Pershing also served in teaching positions 

before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, where 

he participated in action on San Juan Hill.

The Phillipine-American War resulted as an offshoot of the 

Spanish-American War, and in 1899, Pershing moved to Manila 

as a major in a volunteer regiment. By June of 1901, Pershing 

left the volunteers and reverted to his Regular Army rank of 

captain. 

He then transferred to a new command in Iligan, Philippines, in 

order to monitor the potential Moros uprising brewing in the 

area. The Moros are the Muslim population, often in conflict 

with the Catholic majority. Pershing was successful in 

conquering the locals mainly with kindness and respect. After 

hosting a local Moro leader, Pershing became perhaps the first 

American who was ever a willing guest of the Moros. 

Veterans and the U.S. Census Bureau

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress

Pershing Family 1870 Census

A later researcher marked the 

family.

The Ottawa Daily Republic (Ottawa, KS) 

3 April 1903
After this first state visit, Pershing remained in constant contact 

with the Moros around Lake Lanao, trying to learn as much as 

possible about their communities. Pershing’s efforts paid off, and 

when Moros began causing problems in other areas of the island, 

Pershing received the appointment to run Moros affairs, 

effectively making him, as a captain, second in command of the 

island. 

With the end of the insurrection in July of 1902, the important 

tasks of governing and rebuilding came next. Thanks to the 1902 

Philippine Organic Act, the newly-elected Phillipine Assembly 

commenced a government reorganization. In order to properly 

elect a representational body, they needed a census. However, in 

the chaos of a former warzone that spread across hundreds of 

islands and people that spoke over 175 languages, the only 

people who had the knowledge to act as enumerators of the fledgling territory were U.S. soldiers.

In his position as a respected military commander, close friend of the Moros, and dedicated public 

servant who knew the area, Pershing perfectly fit the mold for a census enumerator in the 

backcountry of the Philippines in 1903.

Prior to the commencement of the census on March 2, 

1903, Pershing received his schedules and maps by mail 

from Manila. Aware of the deeply suspicious nature of the 

Moros, the first act of Pershing as enumerator was to meet 

with the local datos and sultans to establish a plan for the 

census. The local leaders agreed that since the Spanish had 

conducted previous censuses for tax reasons, an American 

style census would be ineffective and possibly dangerous for 

the enumerators. Instead, Pershing decided to survey the 

village heads and ask for their counts, after which he would 

make comparisons between different estimates. 

Additionally, Pershing surveyed a few select communities

that represented the population distribution of the district and used those numbers to create an 

estimate based on the total amount of settlements in the Lake Lanao district. Based on his 

extensive travels, campaigns and interviews, Pershing also added an additional 5,000 people for 

those that refused all contact with Americans and their allies. The combined total of the Moros 

for Lake Lanao and the neighboring district of Iligan was 95,893.

The 1903 Census was one of the last details Pershing attended 

to before he submitted his final report to General Samuel 

Sumner on May 15 and returned to the United States via Manila 

in June. He then served as assistant chief of staff in Oklahoma 

and an attaché to Tokyo before receiving a promotion to 

brigadier general in 1905 from President Theodore “Teddy”

Roosevelt—a controversial move that advanced him three ranks 

ahead of more than 800 senior officers. Pershing returned to 

the Philippines from 1909 to 1913 to quell another Moro 

uprising, before gaining further fame from chasing Pancho Villa 

in Mexico in 1916. In 1917, he commanded the American 

Expeditionary Forces during World War I. After the war, 

Pershing received promotion to General of the Armies, a 

lifetime position and the last to hold that specific title 

(considered senior to later 5-star Generals of the Army), and 

became Chief of Staff of the Army. Pershing passed away on 

July 15, 1948, after a lifetime of service that benefited not just the United States, but also the 

democracies of Europe and the fledgling country of the Philippines.

Pershing 1900 Census

Stationed in the Philippines

Pershing and Local Filipinos, c. 1900–1910

(Photo courtesy of Library of Congress)

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress

HB-17-0009