Census takers or family members may have estimated how old certain members of the household were, especially older members whose memory may not have been the best.
Ages that end in a “5” or a “0” may be approximate ages. Emphasis on the “may be.” If I find a person whose ages are relatively consistent except for that one when they are listed as 80, I tend to take that one with a grain of salt as possibly being an estimate.
3 Responses
Have you noticed that on the 1900 census, that FamilySearch gives the age according to the birthyear given, regardless of whether the month has come or not?
Since in my family experience, it was women and the ages rounded down, I didn’t blame the census taker.
I’ve got one where after the age of 40 or so, she ages about 7 years every 10.