The Dan Taylor Family in 1920 and 1930, by Connie Lenzen

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CONNIE LENZEN Certified Genealogist 10411 SW 41st Avenue Portland, OR 97219-6984 connielenzen@comcast.net 2 January 2018 TO: Taylor file SUBJECT: The Daniel Taylor family.

GOAL: Compare, contrast, and discuss information from the 1920 and 1930 censuses about the Daniel Taylor family of Cook County, Illinois. REPOSITORIES VISITED No repositories were visited.

1 CONNIE LENZEN Certified Genealogist SW 41st Avenue Portland, OR January 2018 TO: Taylor file SUBJECT: The Daniel Taylor family. Daniel Taylor married Vallie B. Hall in Chicago, Illinois, in Their daughter, Ella, was born in GOAL: Compare, contrast, and discuss information from the 1920 and 1930 censuses about the Daniel Taylor family of Cook County, Illinois. REPOSITORIES VISITED No repositories were visited. ONLINE RESOURCES USED Ancestry IPUMS-USA Prologue Magazine RESTRICTIONS/LIMITATIONS Ten hours research and reporting; no more than six pages. ITEMIZED RESEARCH FINDINGS 1920 Cook County, Illinois, Cicero Town, census In 1920, the Daniel H. Taylor family was living at th Avenue in the Township of Cicero in Cook County, Illinois. 1 The census date was 1 January 1920, and Mrs. Mamie Waska, the enumerator, stopped at the house on 9 January The Taylors were in the 123 rd dwelling that she had enumerated, and they were the 169 th family. The Aloes Pets family also lived at the same address. Pets owned the dwelling, and Taylor was renting. The 1920 census enumerator instructions define dwelling house and offer a clue as to what the dwelling looked like. 99. Dwelling house defined.-a dwelling house, for census purposes, is a place in which, at the time of the census, one or more persons regularly sleep. It U.S. census, Cook County, Illinois, population schedule, Cicero Town, Pct 6, ED 42, sheet 7B (penned), dwelling 123, family 169, Danial [sic] H. Taylor; digital image, Ancestry ( : accessed 2 January 2018), citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 359. Page 1 of 6

need not be a house in the usual sense of the word, but may be a room in a factory, store, or office building, a loft over a stable, a boat, a tent, a freight car, or the like.

2 need not be a house in the usual sense of the word, but may be a room in a factory, store, or office building, a loft over a stable, a boat, a tent, a freight car, or the like. A building like a tenement or apartment house counts as only one dwelling house, no matter how many persons or families live in it. A building with a partition wall through it and a front door for each of the two parts, however, counts as two dwelling houses. But a two-apartment house with one apartment over the other and a separate front door for each apartment counts as only one dwelling house. 2 With the way the dwelling was enumerated, the Taylor family may have been living on the first floor, and the Pets family may have been living on the second floor. See the image capture below with all the census information listed below the image. Daniel Taylor, age 37, was born in Illinois, and his parents were born in New York. Vallie B. Taylor, his wife, was 29 and born in Missouri. Her father was born in Nebraska, and her mother was born in Missouri. Ella I. Taylor, their daughter, was 4/12 th year-old and born in Illinois. Since the census date was 1 January 1920, Ella s birth month can be calculated as August Daniel was employed as a tool hardener in a steel works where he worked for wages. Both Daniel and Vallie could read and write. Neither attended school during the year. Facts about the neighbors The Taylor family listing is on the bottom of the census page. Therefore, the page after their entry was also analyzed in order to determine the character of the neighborhood. There were no other Taylors on the census page. Vallie s maiden name was Hall. There were no Halls on the census page. Dan Taylor s parents were born in Maine. No other person on the census page had parents born in Maine, suggesting none of the people were closely related to him. There were twenty-four families in fifteen dwellings on the two census pages. All of these dwellings were located on 59 th Avenue between 12 th and 13 th streets and were owner-occupied. Ten of the fifteen dwellings also had renters. A number in the last column, number on the farm schedule, indicated that six of the households also were on a farm. Of the twenty-four families on both pages, foreign-born males headed seven. The people born in another country spoke German, Polish, Czech, and Bohemian Census: Instructions to Enumerators, IPUMS USA ( : accessed 2 January 2018), citing Dwelling house defined. Page 2 of 6

3 The average age of the heads of household was forty-eight. Children ranged in age from several months to age thirty-two, and the average age of the children was fifteen. None of the wives worked, but all children over age sixteen were employed. Children under sixteen years of age attended school. A house decorator worked on his own account. All of the rest of the people worked for wages. Their occupations are listed below. As can be seen, the work ranged from common labor to skilled labor. Bill clerk for express company Buffer in electric company Caller at railroad Cashier in a brokers office Clerical Clerk in electric company Draftsman for electrical company Draftsman in tailor shop Engineer for the railroad Factory work for an electrical company Factory work for electrical Factory work in a machine shop Finisher in a clock company Foreman in an assembly company Gilter for frames Laborer for building Machinist in iron works Machinist in a tool company Machinist in laundry company Machinist in the iron works Marker for broker Office for mail order Office work for mail order house Office work in department store Office work in department store Office work in piano factory Office work in steel mills Packer in electrical company Presser in tailor shop Salesman for a heating plant Shop work in the iron works Stenographer in department store Page 3 of 6

4 The Dan Taylor Family in 1920 and 1930, by Connie Lenzen Stenographer in tailor shop Stonecutter in stone yard Tailor in shop Tailor in tailor shop Typist for mail order Summary about the neighborhood The Taylor family was living in a working-class neighborhood with a number of immigrants from Germany, Poland, and Bohemia. Daniel Taylor was working as a tool hardener, an occupation that required training perhaps an apprenticeship Cook County, Illinois In 1930, the Daniel H. Taylor family was living in Chicago City at 5516 Neenah Avenue. The cross streets were Bryn Mawr and Catalpa.3 The census image is difficult to read the census information is listed below the image. Daniel Taylor, aged forty-seven, was the head of a household that consisted of Vallie, age thirty-nine, and ten-year-old Ella. Daniel owned his residence, and the family had a radio. He was a tool hardener in a tool shop, the same occupation as what was listed in the 1920 census. He was born in Illinois, and his parents were born in Maine. Vallie was born in Missouri, her father was born in Nebraska, and her mother was born in Missouri. Ella was born in Illinois, her father was born in Illinois, and her mother was born in Missouri. This information agrees with the information on the 1920 census. In contrast to the 1920 census, where the family was living in a building that housed two families, the family was living on a street of mainly single-family, owner-occupied homes. Agnes Velthuyzen, the census enumerator, stopped by the Taylor house on 7 April. The census date was 1 April, and she had visited 124 households containing 130 families before she stopped at the Taylor house. The numbers suggest that most of the other dwellings were also singlefamily residences. A new census question was about the value of the home or the monthly rent if rented. The Taylor home was valued at $3,700. The other homes on the census sheet were valued at $3,000, $2,500, $5,000, $6,500, $3,500, $3,500, and $3,750. With the averabe price being $3,900, the U.S. census, Cook County, Illinois, Chicago City, population schedule, Ward 41, Block 250, ED , sheet 12A (penned), 164 (stamped), dwelling 125, family 131, Daniel H. Taylor; digital image, Ancestry ( : accessed 2 January 2018), citing NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 479. Page 4 of 6

5 Taylor home was a little below the median. Perhaps it was a smaller house than others in the neighborhood. The rental houses went for $35.00, $15.00, and $30,00. Facts about the neighbors There were no other Taylors or Halls on the census page. No other person on the census page had parents born in Maine, suggesting none of the people were closely related to Dan. Of the fifteen households on the census page, the majority of the people were born in the United States. This is different than the 1920 neighborhood where most of the people were from another country. John Christianson was born in Denmark, and he was a naturalized citizen. Rose Roman was born in Poland, and she was a naturalized citizen. Nellie Mauck was born in Poland. She was a naturalized citizen. Charles Hill was born in Sweden. He was a naturalized citizen. Prior to 1922, married women took on the citizenship of their husband. This was called derivative citizenship. 4 The age at first marriage information offers a clue as to whether Nellie and Rose applied for citizenship in their own name. Nellie was aged 32 and first married at age 22 (about 1919). Rose, aged fifty-five, was widowed. Her daughter Catharine was living with her. Catharine was aged twenty, suggesting a marriage before Thus, both women most likely took the citizenship of their husbands. Census column 28 asked for a yes or no answer to the question about whether actually at work yesterday (or the last regular working day.) The country was in a financial depression, and the answer to this question aided in determining unemployment. Sixteen people had occupations, and three had not been working. These included a building construction laborer, a painter, and a civil engineer. This was an 18% unemployment rate. The occupations are listed below. They include laborers, but most are skilled labor or professionals. Laborer in building construction Night watchman for an electrical company Chief Yeoman for the Navy Electrician for building construction Clerk in a bank Painter Truck driver for a furniture store Night foreman for a furniture store Tool laborer in a tool shop Salesmen for a barber supply Truck driver for a coal company Civil engineer for building construction 4 Marian L. Smith, Any woman who is now or may hereafter be married Women and Naturalization, ca , Prologue. Summer 1998, Vol. 30, No. 2. National Archives ( : accessed 2 January 2018). Page 5 of 6

6 Carpenter for building construction Truck driver for a laundry Credit man for an oil company Fire inspector for an insurance company There were a number of veterans on the page five World War I veterans and one Spanish- American War veteran. The average age of the head of household was thirty-eight a fairly young neighborhood. There were seventeen children ranging in age from one and a half to twenty years of age. All school-aged children attended school. A new question in 1930 was whether the family had a radio. Two of the households did not have a radio, but the rest did. The Taylors had a radio. Summary about the neighbors Their neighbors were native-born or recently naturalized. With a radio, the family could keep up with the news and also listen to entertainment without leaving the house. The Taylors and many of their neighbors appear to have obtained the American dream of owning their own home. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH FINDINGS The census informant is not known in either census. Therefore the reliability of the information cannot be positively determined. However, the Taylors all aged ten years between censuses, and the birth information remained consistent. It is likely that one of the family members provided the information perhaps Vallie Taylor. All of the ages and birthplaces should be verified with other information. In 1920, the Daniel H. Taylor household lived in a community where a number of recent immigrants were working at labor-type occupations. Families lived in multi-family rental dwellings. All of the people over age sixteen were working. In 1930, the Taylor family was living in a community where people were either born in the United States or were naturalized citizens. It was a younger neighborhood, and more people owned their homes than rented. The neighbors worked in more skilled occupations indicating the Taylors were moving up in status. The Great Depression had hit the 1930 neighborhood with a high unemployment rate that was mostly in the building construction area. It would be interesting to see Daniel s occupation in 1940 to see if the Depression affected the tool hardening business. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Locate the family on the 1940 census and analyze the change, if any, in their economic situation. Use Ancestry s census search for this. Ella Taylor was under a year of age when the 1920 census was enumerated. Is it possible to obtain a birth record for her? Use FamilySearchWiki to determine availability. Research the availability of Illinois and Missouri birth records for Daniel and Vallie. Use FamilySearchWiki to determine availability. Page 6 of 6

The Dan Taylor Family in 1920 and 1930, by Connie Lenzen

The Dan Taylor Family in 1920 and 1930, by Connie Lenzen CONNIE LENZEN Certified Genealogist SM 10411 SW 41st Avenue Portland, OR 97219-6984 connielenzen@comcast.net 31 August 2016 TO: Taylor file SUBJECT: The Daniel Taylor family. Daniel Taylor married Vallie