Prisoner 4099

Historical background

Census return (1881)

The census helped the government estimate how many men were available to go to war and to assess the health of the nation.

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Street	Name	Role	Status	Age	Job	Place of birth
3 1/2 George Street	William Towers	head	Married	42	Brick­layer	Chelsea Middx
	Mary Towers	wife	Married	39		Richmond Surrey
	William R. Towers	son	unm	20	Brick­layer	Richmond Surrey
	George Towers	son	unm	18	Grocer	Richmond
	Henry Towers	son	unm	16	Brick­layer	Richmond
	Edwin Towers	son	unm	14	Scholar	Richmond
	Thomas Towers	son	unm	13	Scholar	Richmond
	Jim H Towers	son	unm	11	Scholar	Richmond
	Arthur Towers	son	unm	9	Scholar	Richmond

What's interesting about this document?

Compare the ages of all the children shown here to the other census returns. Is there anything you find unusual? How could you explain that? Notice that the younger children are at school - but at what age do the children appear to start working full-time?