Hood County, Texas was created and organized in 1866 from Johnson County, and named for Confederate General John B. Hood.

Thomas Ford, Assistant Marshal, enumerated 498 households on the first Federal Census of Hood County from September 11, 1870 to October 4, 1870.

The enumerator had a set of instructions from the federal government. However, he did not follow the instructions for the column entitled Profession, Occupation or Trade. This column had detailed instructions to be specific and to write out the Profession, Occupation or Trade. The enumerator created abbreviations for this column without writing down a legend to the abbreviations. Most area occupations were farmer (F), and wives were listed as kitchen help (KH). Other verifiable abbreviated Professions, Occupations or Trades listed are: field laborer (FL), day laborer (DL), minister of the gospel (MG), and one Campbellite preacher.

Birth states represented are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Birthplaces in foreign countries represented are: China, England, Ireland, Mexico, and Prussia.