1930 Census question.....?

Question

In the 1930 cenus my relative Aaron Beer's kids are listed with ages of
5
3/12 what do these numbers means? Please explain. Thank you.
Most of my family are gone so this is the only info I have on these people.

That's what I thought. Does anyone know what month the cenus in NY was taken? Is the date somewhere on the form?

Answer 1

The 5 3/12 means that the child was five years three months old. The "cutoff" age where months are also specified varies, even in the same census. It is almost always used when the child hasn't yet reached their first birthday, but some census takers have added the "months" to much older children.

The date the particular entries in the census ON THAT PAGE were taken is found on the top of the page. If it is blank (and you have a service where you can easily step through pages), go the the prior page(s) until you see a date. Sometimes the census takers would only enter some field when it changes from the last time they put something in the field.

When you get information from a census, make sure you record all the information at the top of the page, including enumeration district, page, etc. This will make it easier to find later on if the source of your census data changes.

Answer 2

www.ancestry.com:

1930 United States Federal Census
Name: Aaron Beer
Home in 1930: Bronx, Bronx, New York
Age: 36
Estimated birth year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Poland
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Lena
Race: White
Occupation:

Education:

Military Service:

Rent/home value:

Age at first marriage:

Parents' birthplace:
Household Members: Name Age
Aaron Beer 36
Lena Beer 31
Milton Beer 5
(no name showing) 3/12
Irving Beer 3
(no name showing) 2/12
Annette Beer 4/12

(Note: on the page at ancestry.com, it showed an empty space between Milton and Irving, and Irving and Annette, so I am wondering if there were 2 children who did not survive past infancy, or if the 2 boys were indeed 5 yrs 3 mon, and 3yrs 2 mon. old. It also showed the date of the census as being taken in New York on APRIL 8, 1930.)

Answer 3

The date they spoke with the census taker is on the top of the page, usually in the center, with the location information, but they were supposed to report their family's information as it was on the official census date -- April 1, 1930.

Answer 4

Presumably they are 5 years old and 3 months old when the census was taken in 1930.