Chapter 10 EARNERS 10

The State Census of 1905 did not ask about the marital condition, but only stated relationships to the head of the family, so that the conjugal condition of women reported as heads of families, of lodgers, and of adult sons and daughters or other relatives in the family could not be ascertained. Therefore, no attempt was made to give statements about conjugal condition based on these returns. However, in the personal canvass of 326 individuals, fifteen years of age and over, the marital condition was obtained.

The small number of cases included in Table XV makes the figures and percentages presented valuable for pointing only to what a larger body of data would probably make certain. It is important, therefore, to note that 113 out of 159 males, or 71.1 per cent, and 106 out of 167 females, or 63.5 per cent, were single, excluding those unknown. This suggests what the age grouping would lead us to expect, viz., that the Negro group in New York City has a large proportion of unmarried persons. Table XV, which follows, indicates this conclusion:

Table XV. Marital Condition of 326 Negro Wage-earners, Fifteen Years of Age and Over, Manhattan, 1909.

Marital Condition Male. Female. Total.

No. Per cent No. Per cent No. Per cent

Married 26 16.3 30 17.9 56 17.2

Single 113 71.1 106 63.5 219 67.2

Widowed 9 5.7 27 16.2 36 11.0

Divorced 3 1.9 - - 3 0.9

Unknown 8 5.0 4 2.4 12 3,7

Total 159 100. 167 100. 326 100.

Now that the marital condition of the individuals has been indicated, we may profitably inquire into the composition of the families.