1920 Census
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Introduction
The 1920 census was the 14th Census of the United States. The data obtained in this census was mostly the same as 1910, though a few columns are rearranged. There were no major improvements. They removed some useful features that were included back in 1910 like the number of times a person had been married. They also removed the number of children each mother had given birth to and how many were still living.
The 1920 census was taken state by state, and county by county, and township by township. In 1920, the records were left in the original order the census taker visited each household, which is very useful to determine who a persons neighbors were. If you see three Grant families listed side by side, you can reasonably assume they are somehow related. Of course there are always cases where they appear to be "side by side," but were not close together at all, depending on how the census taker visited houses.
You can determine an approximate birth year for a person based on their age as given on this census. For example, someone reported as age 25 in 1920 was born ca 1894. You can also determine an approximate marriage year for a married couple listed in the 1920 census. The census was taken as of 1 Jan 1920, so you can narrow a persons approximate marriage date down to within one calendar year. If they were listed as married for 10 years in 1920, they were married sometime in the year 1909. It should be mentioned that the ages and marriage years given in 1920 and other census records are not always correct. This all depends on who gave the census taker the information.
Each person was listed by household including name, ages and other information for each person. I will explain what each column represents in detail below.
The census was as of 1 January 1920, meaning all data collected (even if collected months after that date) was supposed to reflect the family’s condition on 1 January 1920, meaning all ages were to be listed how they were back on January 1st, even if it was three months later when the census taker asked. It isn't known if the census taker adhered to this rule or not, but that is what they were supposed to do. The actual date he visited the households was included at the top of each page, so you can use that to determine whether the data was as of January 1st or a later date.
Each "page" of the 1920 census was actually two pages. The second page had no stamped number, and is usually designated by the page number of the previous page plus the letter "B," or "D.", (the page with the number was either A or C) for example, page 75A and 75B or 76C and 76D. The 1920 census pages also have a "sheet" number which starts over with each township.
The 1920 census had a header at the top of each page with information on the county, the district, the date and other information.
Page Number. Near the upper right is a stamped page number (on alternating pages).
State of: This is the State name.
County of: This is the County name.
Supervisor’s District No. This is a number showing the Census Supervisor’s District Number.
Enumeration District No. This is the "E.D." number that normally corresponds to a township or other county or city division.
Sheet No. This is like a page number which starts over with each new Enumeration District. The number is written under the heading, and not next to it as in other cases.
A, B. After the sheet number is a stamped letter that starts A on one page, B on the next, then it starts over. Use these in conjunction with the stamped page number for page number references.
Township or other division of county: Anything listed here indicates Township or District within the county.
Name of incorporated place. This is the name of the City, Town, Village, etc.
Ward of City:. If the city is divided into wards, the ward number or designation would be listed here.
Name of Institution:. This is for Schools, Prisons, Hospitals, Mental Institutions and other such places where numerous people would be found.
Enumerated by me on the __ day of ___, 1920. This is the date the census taker actually visited the households listed on this page. You can see that this date can be months after "1 Jan 1920" when the census was "as of."
Enumerator. This is the name of the person who took the census.
The columns for the 1920 census follow:
Place of Abode: Street, Avenue, Road, etc. If within a City or Town, the street name is given.
House Number or Farm. If within a City or Town, the house number is given. Otherwise if a Farm, Fm or something like that was listed.
Number of Dwelling-house in the order of visitation. This is what I refer to as the "Household Number." Each house was numbered consecutively. If more than one family group lived in the same house, the family number would be different, but the household number would be the same. (This is not a "House Number" like you would have on your door, but a number assigned by the census taker only for this census).
Number of Family in the order of visitation. This is what I refer to as the "Family Number." Each family was numbered consecutively. If more than one family group lived in the same house, each family would have a different family number (this isn't always true), but the household number would be the same.
Name of each Person whose place of abode on January 1, 1920 was in this family. This is the name of each individual living in this house or family. The family members are usually listed in this order: Husband, wife, all children by age, parents, brothers, sisters, etc. This isn't a rule, just a general way you find it.
Relationship of each person to the head of the family. This column gives the relationship of each person to the primary person (head of household). You will see Wife, Son, Daughter, Grandson, Granddaughter, Niece, Nephew, etc. If a person isn't related, it will either say None, or Hired, or Servant, or something like that. Sometimes it is left blank for those not related.
Tenure: Home Owned or Rented. Marked with O for owned, R for rented.
If Owned, Free or Mortgage. If owned, is it free of mortgage? If free, F is listed.
Sex. M=Male, F=Female.
Color or Race. The race of each person.
Age at last birthday. The age in years of each person as of January 1, 1920. If under 1, it is given in fractions of 12, as in 4/12, meaning 4 months.
Whether single, married, widowed or divorced. The marital status was listed here, (S, M, W, or D).
Year of Immigration to the United States. If the person is an immigrant, what year did they arrive here.
Naturalized or Alien. Is this person a naturalized citizen?
If Naturalized, give the year. The year the person became a citizen.
Education. Attended School anytime since September 1, 1919. Yes or no.
Education: Whether able to read. This column would be marked yes or no.
Education: Whether able to write. This column would be marked yes or no.
Place of Birth of this person. Place of birth of each person, usually just the state or country.
Mother Tongue: What is the native language of this person: English or whatever.
Place of Birth of the Father of this person. Place of birth of each person's father, usually just the state or country.
Mother Tongue: What is the native language of this person’s father: English or whatever.
Place of Birth of the Mother of this person. Place of birth of each person's mother, usually just the state or country.
Mother Tongue: What is the native language of this person’s mother: English or whatever.
Whether able to speak English. Yes or No would be entered here.
Occupation: Trade, Profession of, or particular kind of work done, as spinner, salesman, laborer, etc. Self explanatory.
Industry, business or establishment in which at work, as cotton mill, dry goods store, farm, etc. Self explanatory.
Employer, Salary or Wage earner, or working on own account. E=Employer, W=Wage Earner, OA=On own account.
Number of Farm Schedule. If this person listed Farm above, they are also listed on a separate farm schedule for the census. The number of their entry on that schedule is listed in this column.