The Living Arrangements of Older People in the 1851 and 1891 Census Enumerators' Books for Hertfordshire

Abstract

This article examines the living arrangements of older people through digitised transcripts of the 1851 and 1891 census enumerators' books for eight Hertfordshire communities. The percentages of older people living with their offspring were higher than expected, especially in rural parishes. However, relationships between older people and their offspring were recorded in urban society through family business and strong ties to local industry. By 1891, co-residence between older people and their offspring generally declined when the older people migrated inwards to suburban and urban parishes and the offspring left parishes suffering from agricultural depression. The argument that familial support was more directed towards older women in the nineteenth century is not confirmed. The proportions of older men and women co-residing with offspring were found in 1851 and 1891 to be roughly in equal measure, and the proportions of older men co-residing with offspring increased by 1891. Even when adjustments were made to exclude almshouse residence and incorporate those living with extended kin only, a bias of familial support towards women was not universally reflected across each parish. The differences in living arrangements by geography and by gender can be explained by occupational structure, almshouse accommodation, social welfare changes, widowhood, and migratory habits, which reinforce the importance of familial support for older people in nineteenth century society.