I received my census packet in the mail today. I filled it out and mailed it right back in, before I'd lose it or misplace it. I want to be counted.
I have used census data from the 19th and 20th century in my genealogy projects. It turns up some interesting facts: children that you didn't know existed (and probably died), relatives that moved to a town for a short while, or off to parts unknown. It tells a story of where a person was every ten years from birth to death.
I got to thinking about my own "footprint" on this Earth. Since I am a zero baby born in 1960 (we won't discuss the unpleasant event that's coming up this summer), it got me thinking where I was on each of those census years.
1960 - Not quite born yet
1970 - Single, living with parents, Harrison Twp, Boone County IN
1980 - Single, in college, ISU, Terre Haute IN
1990 - Single, living in a rented townhouse overlooking the Susquehanna River, Camp Hill PA (near Harrisburg)
2000 - Single, living in my own home, Tulsa OK
2010 - Single, living in my own home, Harrison Twp, Boone County IN (across the road from where I was in 1970)
How about you? What's your census footprint? Where where you on those zero years?
wow look at you....
50 not born yet
1960 I was 4 and who knows what was going through my head
1970 I was walkign around pretty high those days.. who knows what was goin on in my head
1980 I was a mother of one young married and who knows what was going on in my head
1990 I was married and fostering MANY children and who knwos what was going on im my head
2000 I was married and trying to get through the teens who knows what was goin in THEIR HEADS
2010 I am SINGLE AND STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN MY HEAD...
Hey thereowthe heck are ya, hope it is warming up out there...
Posted by: Just a mom | March 16, 2010 at 06:42 PM
1970 - one year old, living in West Virginia
1980 - eleven years old, living in Georgia
1990 - twenty-one years old, living in California and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life
2000 - thirty-one years old, again in Georgia, married with kids
2010 - forty-one years old, living in Arkansas and trying to find another job
Posted by: diamond dave | March 17, 2010 at 07:35 AM
Got mine and did the same thing.
1950 - Four years old and living with parents in Oak Ridge
1960 - Single, living with parents, Harriman, TN
1970 - Married, living with inlaws while in college, Harriman, TN
1980 - Married again, working at Oak Ridge, living in my own home, Harriman, TN
1990 - Married, living in same home, Harriman, TN
2000 - Married, living in a new home, Harriman, TN
2010 - Married, living in my paid for home, Harriman, TN
This sure doesn't reflect the 9 different schools between the 50th and 60th census. I lot can happen in a decade!
Posted by: Mushy | March 17, 2010 at 06:48 PM
1960 -- Not yet born
1970 -- Center Township, Clinton County Indiana (8 years old)
1980 -- Ditto
1990 -- Married living in Addison Township, Shelby County Indiana, two children
2000 -- Ditto, but with three chidren
2010 -- Ditto, but with one child at home (they said I could not count the one at college!) Oldest kid on her own now.
Future historians will find me boring.
Posted by: hoosierboy | March 18, 2010 at 08:07 AM
Gee, Jerry - would that "unpleasant event" you're referring to be your hitting the half-century mark? Believe me, it beats the alternative - we're glad to have you with us!
My census footprint:
1960 - Eight years old, living in Massapequa, NY with two parents and one brother.
1970 - Graduated high school; moved to Princeton, NJ to attend college.
1980 - Living in Hackettstown, NJ. Married, one child.
1990 - Living in Trumbull, CT. Still married, now with two children.
2000 - Living in Atlanta, GA. Still married; one child away at college, one still at home.
2010 - Still in Atlanta, GA... and still married. Both children off on their own.
Hey - I like this so much, I may just post it on my own blodge!
Posted by: Elisson | March 18, 2010 at 10:50 AM
.... okay.... I'll bite.....
1960 - Somewhere deep inside my father as he worked on a dairy farm outside Englewood, TN
1970 - A bit closer to the proverbial "surface" as he was now working in Sweetwater, Tennessee..... having barely survived the Tet Offensive of 1968 in Vietnam....
1980- Eight years old and being subjected to random perms during my mother's downtime as an amateur beautician... Englewood, TN
1990 - 18 years old and living on a moss-covered rock off the coast of Siberia as a US Marine......
2000 - Living in Montrose, Scotland and working for the British Department of Trade & Industry..... anxiously awaiting my Father's diagnosis of cancer....
2010 - Back in Tennessee once again..... full circle, I guess.......
Posted by: Eric | March 19, 2010 at 09:10 PM
1950 - Four years old. Living in Webster Groves, Missouri
1960 - 14 years old. Living in Webster Groves and in junior high
1970 - Out of the Navy and attending Meramec Community College in Kirkwood Missouri
1980 - Working for IBM as a large systems CE in St. Louis
1990 - Working in Atlanta as a programmer/software instructor for IBM
2000 - Working for IBM in Atlanta as a systems programmer.
2010 - Retired for 6 years. Still living in Atlanta.
Posted by: Denny | March 23, 2010 at 09:50 PM
1960 - not born yet.
1970 - nine years old and sitting in Mrs. Fletcher's classroom with Jerry, living in Worth Township, Boone County, Indiana
1980 - college, Purdue University, Indiana
1990 - restaurant manager, Cherry Hill, NJ, Burlington County
2000 - coffeehouse manager, Indianapolis, IN, Marion County
2010 - non-profit director, Indianapolis, IN, Marion County
It's too depressing typing "single" each time.
Posted by: Nora | April 13, 2010 at 07:42 PM