General Chat

Not only in census but also in other documents from the 1800s. I have a school register dated 1882. Against one girl's name is " deaf and imbecile" and against a boy's entry is "idiot".

Its easy to judge, but that was the way of the world then. There was no social security and schoolteachers had to manage a class of 50 or more in some places. It really was a case of "the fittest get first go at the trough".
The backward and the mentally ill took back place in the queue.

I just thank my lucky stars I was born in the 1900s.

Might be worth a look at this thread, Susan. Somebody found the definitions and posted them here. It's possible he could have had Down's syndrome - I think somebody defined as an "idiot" was capable of different things to an "imbecile", for instance.

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards.asp?wci=thread&tk=1136491

I have an ancestor who is recorded as being "idiot from birth" in the a couple of censuses. He lived till he was 30 but seemed to have an occupation as an AG LAB for at least 2 censuses so obviously was capable of some sort of work. What would the term "idiot from birth" actually cover? Could he have been a Down's? Is there anywhere I could find out about what these census terms mean?

Thanks