2020-10 - Curator's Cabinet - Desktop/Laptop
Curator’s Cabinet Pick of the Month
Copies of the 1880, 1900 and 1920 Censuses for the Township of Ocean. A timely topic!
Provenance
The 1880 and 1900 Census copies were donated in 1992 by John Eickhorn of Colorado.
The 1920 Census copy was donated in 1992 by Susan Eickhorn O’Rourke of Neptune.
Description
These three census documents give us a snapshot of the people who lived and worked in Ocean Township in the eighteen and nineteen hundreds. Census takers or “enumerators” went from house to house to interview residents and record information about their family structure and lives. Well-known local names can be found on the rolls, such as Dangler, King, Mount, and Woolley.
Census Factoids
- Many people first learn about the census from the Christmas story which describes Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem to register for the census.
- The Congress of the United States instructed the government to conduct a census in 1790.
- Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, sent marshals out on horseback to find, question, and catalogue the population of the country The pay for the census enumerators did not exceed $1.00 for 50 people properly recorded on the rolls.
- There have been 22 censuses in the United States; one is taken every ten years.
- Census information becomes public 72 years after it is taken. In 2022 the 1950 census will be available to the public.
- The most recent census was conducted in April, 2020 and the next census will be in 2030.
- The census provides demographic and statistical information to determine how many House of Representative members there will be from each state, as well as how funds for services will be distributed throughout the nation (and much more).
- The censuses serve as prime sources for genealogical information and research.
