Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Census Enumerators

The following is a reprint of a blog posting made to the Sherburne History Center blog on March 19, 2012.

While surfing through microfilm pages of the Sherburne County Times newspapers, I encountered two interesting articles, published in two consecutive weeks. The first reported:

“Miss Emily J. Mosford has been appointed census enumerator for this district which comprises the towns of Clear Lake and Haven, also the village of Clear Lake.
The work of taking the census of the country will begin on the 15th of April. It is a government census and the aim of the department is to make it as thorough and complete as possible. Don’t hesitate to answer the questions the enumerator ask you; they are for statistical use only, and, more over the federal government require that you answer them, severe penalties being imposed upon all who refuse to do so. So, make it pleasant as you can for the enumerator and thereby give your locality a good showing.”


This article appeared on 31 March 1910. In the next issue, 7 April 1910, the full list of enumerators for the county appeared:

“Following are the enumerators for this county:
Baldwin and Blue Hill, H B Pratt
Becker town and village, Edwin Winterborne
Big Lake town and village, John Nordin
Clear Lake town and village and Haven exclusive
of E. St. Cloud, Emil J Mosford
Elk River town, Elk River village, Burns F. Plummer
Livonia and Orrock, Melvin C. Enger
Palmer and Santiago, S T Packard”


This is all interesting, I don’t know that I have ever seen a local newspaper publish the names of the enumerators as part of the campaign to promote participation in the census.