Captain William A. Weaver

In 1840, William A. Weaver was appointed the first superintenent clerk of the census. The 1840 census was the first to include data on the purported extent of lunacy and developmental disability within the population. It gathered data by state, city, and race. However, the data grossly exaggerated the extent of illness within the black population and attributed its causation to their freedom and northern residency. The census was interpreted as offering biased support for slavery.