Old Age in the United States, 1900 (ICPSR 8428)

Version Date: Feb 14, 1993

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Principal Investigator(s):
Richard Jensen; Daniel Scott Smith; Mark W. Friedberger; Michel R. Dahlin; Janice Reiff

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08428.v1

Version V1

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Summary

This data collection describes the social conditions of the older population of the United States at the turn of the century. Detailed information, extracted from the 1900 United States Census manuscript schedules, is provided on household composition and family structure for each sampled older person. Ecological characteristics of the county of residence, e.g., the percentage of the county's population that is foreign born, are provided for most sampled older persons. In addition, occupational and ethnic characteristics of family heads appearing on the same sampled census page as the older person (on census pages grouped by street location) are reported.

Citation

Jensen, Richard, Smith, Daniel Scott, Friedberger, Mark W., Dahlin, Michel R., and Reiff, Janice. Old Age in the United States, 1900. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1993-02-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08428.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging (AG00350-02)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

State

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

1900

Date of Collection

1976 -- 1978

Data Collection Notes

  1. Age distribution: 55-64 (N is 2,002), 65-74 (N is 2,203), 75-84 (N is 690), 85 and older (N is 108). The values for the weighting variable "Weighting Factor II" are incorrect. The SPSS statements that will correctly weight the sample are given in the codebook.

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Study Design

The data were extracted, between 1976 and 1978, from the manuscript census schedules of the United States census for 1900, located in microfilm form in the Chicago regional branch of the national archives. A total of 5,003 persons aged 55 and older were sampled from the universe of non-institutionalized persons living in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia. All items from the 1900 census were utilized.

Sample

A multistage, stratified probability sample resulting in 100 primary sampling units (PSUs) was taken from the universe. Stratified sample of 56 counties (excluding cities with populations of 25,000 or more) and 44 urban Primary Sampling Units (PSUs). Cities with populations over 25,000 were triple-sampled. Sample members were drawn from clusters defined by manuscript census pages. Please refer to the codebook for details.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 55 and older in 1900.

Data Source

Manuscript census schedules from the United States Census for 1900

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

There are 163 variables on 5,003 cases. Variables include month and year of birth, sex, race, household status and composition, marital status, age, birthplace, occupation, and neighborhood information.

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Original Release Date

1985-12-20

Version History

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:

  • Jensen, Richard, Daniel Scott Smith, Mark W. Friedberger, Michel R. Dahlin, and Janice Reiff. Old Age in the United States, 1900. ICPSR08428-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1992. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08428.v1

1985-12-20 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Standardized missing values.
  • Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

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Weight

The urban and rural sample fractions and age category fractions were weighted based on the proportions in the population reported in the 1900 census. The variable "Weighting Factor II" (VAR0163) contains these weights, but the principal investigators reported that the weights were copied onto the tape incorrectly. Please refer to the codebook for details.

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • ICPSR usually offers files in multiple formats for researchers to be able to access data and documentation in formats that work well within their needs. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR’s Accessibility Center.

NACDA logo

This study is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), the aging program within ICPSR. NACDA is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Heath (NIH).

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