What Is The 1910 Census Telling You About Your Ancestor?

The 1910 census provides the genealogy researcher with unique information about your ancestors. Are you recognizing all of the clues to be found?

Is it possible to have a favorite census?

If so, I am claiming the 1910 census as my favorite! There is just something about that particular record that really opens up the stories of my ancestors to me.

Today we are going to take a closer look at the 1910 census record and I’ll share with you some of my favorite bits.

But here is the important thing I want you to remember:

Look beyond the names and dates of birth.  What are all of those other columns of information telling you?

The PROCESS of analyzing the 1910 census is the same for censuses of other years.

Now, let’s get into my favorite parts of the 1910 census year!

In our first example, we are looking at the 1910 census record of Halifax County, VA family Joseph Merritt Talbot [enumerated as Merritt J Talbot]. Specifically we will look at Merritt and his wife Rose.

The location and date on the 1910 census

Take time to review the information at the top.  This will include the location (county and town/township) where your ancestor lived.  The date tells you when the census information was collected.

Here’s my favorite part – Look on the far left side.  The street where the family lived is written there!  Merritt and Rose can be placed on “Clarksville or River Rd” in Mecklenburg County, VA.

Years in this marriage

The marriage column gives you the number of years the couple has been married. This is important!  If you are struggling to determine an ancestor’s marriage date, you can get an estimate from the 1910 census marriage data.  Merritt and Rose had been married for 25 years indicating they married in 1885.  This is a great starting point to search for marriage record.

Children born and children living

We’ve talked about this in a previous post.  Rose gave birth to nine (9) children and only seven (7) are living by 1910.  This was new information to me and I can now attach 2 unknown children to her.

Ownership of home

Now turn your attention to the right hand columns. [Sometimes these can be a little hard to read.] Note whether your ancestor owned [O] or rented [R] his home.  If your ancestor owned his home, add a deed search to your research plan. Merrit J Talbot owned his own home.

Type of home

Merritt’s home is classified as a farm.  See the [F] in the photo above? Unfortunately, the 1910 farm schedule was destroyed by a congressional order. {Sigh…}

Type of Work/Worker

Did your ancestor work for himself [OA – Own Account] as Merritt did or was he a wage earner [W] as Merritt’s sons were.

Survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy

Was your ancestor a veteran of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy?  If indicated “yes” here, add Civil War military records to your future research plan.

Physical Handicap

Knowing if your ancestor had a handicap or not is an interesting tidbit. In 1910,  those who were deaf, dumb or blind in both eyes were noted. You will find this information in the last 2 columns on the right.

So what? What does all this mean to me as a Talbot[t] family researcher?

From my favorite 1910 census, I have learned a lot about Merritt J Talbot and his wife Rose.  They were married ~1885 and by 1910 had lost 2 children and were raising 7 others. The family owned a farm on Clarksville/River Road in the Bluestone District of Mecklenburg County, VA as of 11 May 1910. Because he owned his farm, I have added a deed search in Mecklenburg County, VA to my research “to-do” list.

I have also added their marriage record around 1885 in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties to my list, too. The Bluestone District of Mecklenburg County, VA is close to the NC/VA state line.  I will move my search to bordering NC counties if a marriage record in not found in VA.

With the loss of 2 children, a search for these two is also added to the research list.  Earlier census records and local cemeteries will be searched for mention of these children. Read more about finding children between census years.

Merritt farmed for himself and his sons who were wage earners, likely worked for their father. Unfortunately, since the farm schedule for 1910 was destroyed, more information about his farm is not known.

Merritt was not a veteran of the Civil War which makes sense as he is too young. Neither do he or Rose have a physical handicap such as deafness, mute or blindness in both eyes.

Can you see why I love the 1910 census? Of course, I really love all census records, 1910 is my favorite!

Other Posts You May Be Interested In

• Finding Children Between the Census Years
• How To Make Genealogy Sense of Census Records
• How To Pull the Stories From Your Ancestors

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