Just recently my oldest son, Aaron, found and forwarded the page above taken from the 1901 Census in Gateshead, England. The red box sets off the names of Abraham Cowan, my great-grandfather on my father’s side, and his wife, Rachel. (You may not be able to see it, but in the upper right hand corner there are number keys for enumerating people who are (1) blind, (2) deaf & dumb, (3) lunatic, and (4) imbecile or feeble-minded. Obviously Political Correctness had not yet reached Northern England in 1901.)
The census also includes my great-grandparents’ address from over 100 years ago. 200 Askew Road West, Gateshead, England. That information, a bit of web research and Google Maps led me to something pretty interesting about my family’s past.