Census Records Revealed: Breaking Down the 1920s Census
When I began my journey into genealogy, I needed more knowledge about census reports. While I had a general idea that they were recorded every 10 years, I was unaware of their significance and importance from a demographic and political perspective. This changed when I delved deeper into the 1920s census reports.
What are census reports?
The census, also known as the Population and Housing Census, in its simplest terms, is a record that provides population and demographic data as well as detailed information on the economy to the government. For genealogists and family historians, it provides us with locations, names of household members and their relation to the head of household, their place of origin, birth dates, employment, and education, plus much more.
It’s a genealogy resource gold mine. Imagine only knowing the names of your great-grandparents but having no knowledge of their parents and siblings. With a census record, you not only have their names and ages, but you also have their occupations and their place of origin. This could be when you discover your ancestor was born in Germany and worked as a brewer.
Let’s break the 1920s into sections
Before we do that, here are some key events to think about while evaluating the census. 1920s culture, fashion, art, and historical events can paint a bigger picture and bring your ancestor's lives back to life.
The Great War - Finally ended in 1918
Spanish Flu Epidemic - Killing 675,000 Americans in 1918
Prohibition - America became a dry country on Jan 17, 1920
Female Suffrage - Ratified on Aug 18, 1920. American women can now vote
The Revival of the KKK - Marched down Pennslyvania Ave in 1925 and would later exceed 4 million people
First Commercially Licensed Radio Station - Broadcasted on Nov 2, 1920, on KDKA during the Presidential Elections. There will be 600 commercial stations around the country in the next four years.
American literature - World-renowned authors such as Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway became quite popular.
The Harlem Renaissance - An explosion of black culture in literature, music, and art
The Negro National League - Formed on Feb 13, 1920, thanks to black baseball player Rube Foster
The Car Industry - Henry Ford would, along with General Motors and Chrysler, form the” Big Three.”
Telephones - Would evolve and become widely popular in America
Large migration from rural to urban cities
Flappers - Free-spirited and liberated young women who influenced 1920s culture and fashion
Charleston - A vibrant new dance craze that originated in Harlem
Jazz Age - A cultural mix of spiritual, blues, and ragtime music originating in New Orleans
Some changes to the 1920 census were:
Native Americans were not enumerated separately.
No Veteran status
No marital status
How many children were born or still living? omitted
The 1920 Census Question Categories
Place of abode
Street, ave, etc
House number or farm
Number of dwelling houses
Number of families (visitation order)
Name - of each person whose place of abode on Jan 1, 1920, was in this family
Relationship to head of household
Who shared their world? Spouse, children, extended family, or even boarders. Understanding the dynamics of their family structure can shed light on relationships, support systems, and potential hardships. This could include sons, daughters, in-laws, grandchildren, boarders, and hired help. I once saw a driver in this category.
Tenure
Home-owned or rented
If owned, free, or mortgaged
Personal Description
Color or race - Enumerators were to enter “W” for White, “B” for Black, “MU” for Mulato, “CH” for Chinese, “IN” for American Indian, and “OR” for Other. In 1910, the “OR” other categories included Korean, Filipino, and Asian Indian but by 1920 those races were recorded as separate categories, including Hindu.
Age at last birthday - Knowing the age of their last birthday gives a more accurate date of birth.
Single, married, widowed, or divorced- this category stayed the same and used “S” for single, “WD” for Widowd, “M1” for First Mariage, and “M2” for Second Mariage.
Sex - Simply listed as “M” for Male and “F” for Female
There were 4 fewer questions in the personal description section asked in the 1920 census than in the 1910 census. Singled/married/divorced, number of years present marriage, number of children born to this mother, and number of these children living. The relationship question got a separate section in 1920.
Here is a short situation I ran into while evaluating the personal description of one of my family members. My great-grandmother’s sister and their brother had a six-year age gap. Why was there such a large gap between the two siblings? That wasn’t very common at the time but there were some reasons why this can occur.
In this situation, I found a photo of my grandmother, her younger sister Lettitia, and another baby named Florence. She was not listed in the 1920 or 1930 census so where was she? Could she be their sister? I later found a death certificate of Florence White and noticed she died less than a year old so that would explain why she was not on either of those census. This filled that six-year gap. One question always leads to another and if you are patient, you can connect the dots and craft a story.
Citizenship
Year of immigration to the U.S
Naturalized or alien
If naturalized, the year of naturalization
The 1920s no longer listed the native language but now listed the year of naturalization, which gives us insight into how long our ancestors were in America before they were naturalized or filed a declaration of intention. Knowing the year of immigration can help a researcher locate the ship's passenger or arrival list. Knowing the year of naturalization can also help a researcher find the Naturalization records.
Education
Attended school anytime since Sept 1, 1919
Able to read
Able to write
This section can tell you a few things. This education level can be influenced by whether they live in a rural area or a suburban area. Did they live on a farm? Education was not as important as learning farming skills and helping on the farm. More people were moving to the cities. In the cities, children sometimes worked in mines and factories, selling newspapers and shining shoes.
There were certainly more opportunities. It wasn’t until 1938 that the federal government regulated the minimum employment age and hours of work. In 1920, it was required that children attend school from 8 to 14 years old, however, in the rural areas it was somewhat shorter. Also if they were in rural areas it was common for them to attend school in a one-room school. To this day it is still common for the Amish to leave school by 14.
Nativity and Mother Tongue
Person’s place of birth and mother tongue
Father's place of birth and mother tongue
Mother’s place of birth and mother tongue
This was the first time the census required the mother tongue, however, it was meant to understand the language of the foreigners. In the 1920s, the early enumerators often did not understand this section and either left it blank or wrote English if the person spoke English at the time of the enumeration, even if they came from a foreign-speaking country. Enumerators also entered a pseudo-language such as Mexican instead of Spanish, or Belgium instead of Flemish, so many corrections had to be made.
Here is a situation I had with a language and country of origin for one of my clients. My client's grandfather, according to his descendants, came over from Germany. Sometimes it was said to be Austria-Hungry. According to his 1910 census report, her grandfather's country of origin was Germany but as I looked harder I noticed Germany was written over what I believe was Austria-Hungry, so why did they change it?
On the 1920 census, his native tongue is German but his country of birth is listed as Austria and his mother’s is listed as Austria-Hungary Empire. On the 1930s census, he is listed as born in Romania. In 1950 it was again recorded as Austria.
To solve this confusion, further research was required but even though his place of origin was obscure, I believe his native tongue remained German. According to his passenger list, his last known residence was recorded as Hungary. According to his Baptism record, he was born and baptized in Romania. This leads to quite a few questions. Primarily, what did his place of origin look like in Europe? How did Austria-Hungary change over the course of time? Where exactly were he and his parents located? What language did they speak at that time?
As for the location in Romania, they resided in a small rural area in Transylvania. After further Googling, I learned that Transylvania was under Austria-Hungarian rule. Romania didn’t officially form until 1859. Transylvania would finally be absolved by Romania in the early 1900s, after the First World War. All of his siblings as well as his parents and grandparents all resided in the same location.
Germany was an ally of Austria-Hungry, so perhaps that is where some of the confusion came from. I guess, when the census was filled, the political and demographic changes in Central Europe at that particular time influenced their answers.
As I kept digging, I found out that Transylvania spoke primarily German. So once again, time and patience and some good old research can shed light on a confusing question.
In America in the early 1900s, German newspapers and German-speaking education were banned. Names for food, schools, streets, and towns were changed. Sometimes violence was inflicted on the German-Americans.
It would be expected they would eventually start speaking English by the second and third generation, but because of the pressure the German Americans were receiving to assimilate as what was believed to be “true Americans,” it may have progressed a bit sooner.
Occupation
Trade, the profession of a particular kind of work done - was a difficult and sometimes inaccurate category for the enumerators to fill.
Industry, business, or establishment in which at work
Employer, salary or wage worker, or working on own account
Number of farm schedules
Imagine discovering your great-grandfather wasn’t always a farmer, but a wheelmaker. Or your pie-baking grandmother worked in a factory. Were they blacksmiths, teachers, or adventurous homesteaders? Census records revealed professions, hinting at skills and social status.
But unlike earlier records, the 1920 census took it a step further. Instead of just listing your grandfather as a farmer, it now lists him as a fruit grower or orchard foreman. Was your ancestor a broker or insurance agent? Their occupation can shed light on the common industries of that era and their community.
A Personal Example
While searching for my ancestors during the 1920s, I discovered my grandfather, along with his brothers worked in the tanning industry. Further research revealed at least 20 other family members also were tanners. The next question I had was what did a tanner do and was the tanning industry prevalent in Wilmington, Delaware? Come to find out, tanning was the leading manufacturing industry in Delaware and Wilmington was one of the leading tanning cities in the country.
To paint a larger picture I wanted to know what they were tanning, what the leather was used for and where were they shipping it? My aunt, a Polish immigrant told me how the streets were so smelly that you had to keep your windows closed. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the spouses to experience when their husbands came home after a long and hot day of work? I am sure a shower was expected right away.
The skins early on were of goatskins but later you would find sheepskin. Most of the leather at that time was made for hardback book covers, ladies' gloves, and men’s shoes. Morocco kid skin was used for bookbinding and for the uppers on ladies’ shoes, and cowhide was used for belts. Heavier skins were sold locally for upholstery for carriages, steamboats, and rail cars. I would have never known that if it had not been for the 1920 census.
Another Story
I knew very little of my grandmother’s occupations other than she cleaned houses for the wealthy. As far as I was concerned, she baked birthday cakes her entire life. However, the 1920s census revealed that she was a winder. The cool thing about the 1920s census is that it listed the business or industry they worked for in addition to their position. She worked for a company called Jute Works.
Once again, it led me down a storytelling path. What was a winder? Thanks to the internet I learned it was a person or machine that fed yarn onto a bobbin for the making of Jute. What is Jute? It was a plant-based material used for making twine-like products such as burlap and hessian. Think of the old potato bags.
I learned that 75% of the workers in the late 1800s were girls. While this would now be a shock here in Delaware, in the Industrial Revolution, this was common and led to unfair wages and poor working conditions.
I then looked at newspaper archives on Newspapers.com and found the original and new locations of the mill. I pass that location quite frequently. I wonder how she commuted to the mill. Did she walk or ride a bus? I know according to family members she never drove. It is about 21 minutes to walk and 15 minutes for a bus or trolley. I also learned at another time that her father was a motorman for the same trollies she would have taken.
This is how a simple job title on a 1920 census can bring your family members to life and paint a larger picture of the community and culture.
For more information on the 1920 census and other census records see The United States Census Bureau.
My name is Patrick Huff and I am the founder and genealogist here at Branch Out Genealogy.
Through engaging research and captivating storytelling, we empower you to explore the past, branching beyond ancestors to create personalized genealogy experiences that foster family bonds and build lasting legacies.
