1018            BULLETIN  OF THE  BUREAU  OF  LABOR.

or 95 per cent.   For women of the same period, in Xenia, 122 out of
125, or 9.8 per cent, were or had been married, while in Farmville and
Sandy Spring every woman of this age period was or had been married.
Of those 50 years of age or over, there  were in Xenia 8 single men
out of 179 men (9 of ages unknown not included), and 2 single women
out of 180 women  (6 of ages unknown  not included).   In Farmville
there were of this same age period 3 men and no women who had
not been  married, and in Sandy Spring 1 man and 2 women.   From
these comparisons no definite conclusion as to the extent of  post-
ponement of marriage ought or could  be drawn.    Yet in the main
it can be said with respect to the Xenia population, as was observed
regarding Farmville, that there is clearly seen a tendency to migrate
in order to better their condition, and the excess of unmarried over
married men between 20 and 30 years of age, though small, may not
show, in the words of the Sandy Spring study, "anything more than
the usual excess of city over country communities in the number of
young unmarried men."  This excess is due also to the postponement
of marriage largely for economic reasons, and this postponement will
be greater as the  migrations from  country to city increase.  As to
the question of postponement in rural districts, this study has no
suggestion.
  The following table compares the conjugal condition of the Negroes
of Xenia with that of the Farmville and Sandy Spring Negroes, and
with that of the populations of various foreign countries:
CONJUGAL CONDITION OF THE NEGROES OF XENIA, OF FARMVILLE, OF SANDY SPRING,
       AND OF THE POPULATIONS OF VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES, BY SEX.
[The per cents for Xenia, Farmville, and Sandy Spring are computed from schedules; those for for-
 eign countries are taken from Mayo-Smith's Statistics and Sociology. The figures for divorced are
 not shown for foreign countries.]
                              Per cent of males 15 years of   Per cent of females 15 years
    Civil division.                 age or over.                  of age or over.
                              Single. Married. Widowed.        Single. Married. Widowed.
Xenia ......................   31.6    57.4     a 7.4           25.1    51.0    b 18.3
Farmville ..................   41.9    50.7     c 4.0           32.1    45.4    d 19.4
Sandy Spring ...............   32.5    61.2     e 3.4           25.1    60.9    f 11.9
France .....................   36.0    56.5       7.5           30.0    55.3      14.7
Germany  ...................   40.9    53.7       5.3           36.5    50.8      12.4
Great Britain ..............   39.5    54.9       5.6           37.3    50.9      11.8
Hungary  ...................   31.5    63.7       4.7           22.0    62.8      15.0
Ireland  ...................   49.3    44.8       5.9           43.5    42.1      14.4
Italy ......................   40.9    53.1       6.0           33.2    53.2      13.6

                 a Also 3.1 per cent separated and 0.5 per cent divorced.
                 b Also 4.6 per cent separated and 1 per cent divorced.
                 c Also 3.4 per cent separated.
                 d Also 3.1 per cent separated.
                 e Also 2.9 per cent separated.
                 f Also 2.1 per cent separated.




			

OHS Archives/Library Pamphlet Collection

"The Negroes of Xenia, Ohio: A Social Study (1830-1900)." Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor

R.

Issue Number:  48