Today, a look at the Chatt area of Liberty Township in 1950, from the 1950 census.
Liberty Township had two Enumeration Districts in 1950, 54-32 and 54-33, the western part of the township being 54-33. ED 54-33 is described as that part west of County Rd N. I am not sure what County Road N was, but it was likely in the middle of the township, running north and south. Probably Wabash Road.
Rosalie E. Brehm was the enumerator for Liberty Township in 1950 and she enumerated 577 persons. There were 198 men and 191 women 18 years and older, and 188 children under the age of 18. There were 159 dwelling units in the township.
This ED used the Multi-Family Census Form P1, which contained 30 lines, one person per line. The form had 20 questions at the top of the form, including questions about employment and the number of hours worked the week before, for those 14 years and older.
In 1950 the population of the U.S. was moving from farms to urban areas. Farm workers decreased by 23% between 1940 and 1950, but farming was still the main industry in Liberty Township. However, a number of people worked in other occupations, including a few women who worked outside the home. In general, jobs for mechanics and repairmen boomed, especially for those who could repair cars, airplanes, radios and TVs. I remember a time when we got our TV repaired instead of getting a new one.
Employment numbers reported in Liberty Township ED 54-33 in 1950:
MEN:
Farming: 113
Minister: 1
Grocery store salesman: 1
Truck driver: 2
Factory (including “rubber factory” & furniture factory): 24
Foundry: 5
Carpenter: 1
Mechanic: 6
Chiropractor: 2
Livestock buyer: 2
Grocery proprietor: 2
Restaurant proprietor: 2
Garage proprietor: 1
Garage manager: 1
Implement store proprietor: 2
Seed corn salesman: 1
Hardware salesman: 1
Rural mail carrier: 2
Livestock buyer: 1
Blacksmith: 1
Church janitor: 1
Timber cutter (one for a sawmill): 3
Bookkeeper: 2
Electrician: 1
Auctioneer/Real Estate: 1
Road work: 2
Poultry Dresser/Dealer: 1
Poultry Proprietor:1
Elevator manager: 1
Elevator mill work: 1
Women made up about 28% of the work force in 1950.
WOMEN:
Variety store clerk: 1
Factory: 2
Teacher: 2
Seamstress at garment factory: 3
Beautician: 1
Egg cleaner: 1
Bookkeeper: 2
Census enumerator: 1
Printing company: 1
Receptionist at hospital: 1
Sales at grocery: 1
Sales at department store: 1
Office clerk: 1
High school cook: 1
These are pretty much the occupations you would expect for a small rural town like Chatt. You can probably figure out what some of the businesses were if you remember Chatt in the 1950s and 1960s, and you can probably figure out who some of the people were. There was even a beautician.
There were 13 additional questions for 6 select individuals on Form P1, selected if their name was on a specific line. Those six individuals, amounting to 20%, were asked their earnings in 1949 (for persons 14 years and old), among other things. This is a very small group from which to gather information, but there is still some information there.
The census asked if the earnings were from being employed by another or from your own business, but I lumped those two categories together for this summary.
Below is a rough summary of the reported income for 1949 by the 20% selected adults. Most people reported that they worked 52 weeks in 1949, so this was their earnings for the whole year.
There were 16 individuals who reported farm or farm-related earnings, and their average reported income was just under $2000.
Garage mechanic: $900 & $2080
Garage manager: $1400 + $4700 (2 incomes in the family)
Beautician: $1682
Seamstress: $1600
Road work: $2500
Paint sprayer: $3380
Print company: $1664, $600
Truck driver/stockyard: $960
Truck driver: $2100
Poultry dresser and/or dealer: $1100 & $4471
Salesman (hardware): $940
Bookkeeper: $780 (26 weeks)
Receptionist (hospital): $1800
Factory: $3600
The annual income varied by occupation. The median annual income in the U.S. in 1950 was $3000 ($35,000 today). Farming families had a median income of $2000 ($23,600 today). Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals had a median income of $7400 and managers and officials $5200 in 1950.
Those incomes seem small today, but the median home value in 1950 was $7,354 ($87,000 today).
I still think of those years as the good old days. Things were certainly simpler then.
Karen thank you for sharing this. What to so many seem as small inconsequential moments in history need to be…
Thank you! I am happy to hear that. Thanks for writing!
Noticed the GAR symbols in a Quaker cemetery in Michigan. Your information was most helpful !
How interesting! The Gallman Bridge is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your connection to to bridge.
I am related to David H Morrison. He was my great grandfather on my mother’s side her name was Mary…