Mexican-American Families in Los Angeles, 1844-1880

This data collection contains two data files created from manuscript census returns. Part 1 is an aggregation of social characteristics of Spanish-surnamed and Mexican-born families in the city of Los Angeles from 1844-1880. The data were used to study family composition and socioeconomic mobility. Data items include real property held by head of household (1844, 1850, and 1880 missing), number of children in household, number of adults who were literate in household (no data for 1844), last name of head of household, place of birth of head of household, and occupational category (i.e., rancher or farmer, professional, mercantile, clerk, skilled, and unskilled). Part 2 is composed of data used to study the socioeconomic development of the Mexican-American community in Los Angeles. The main emphasis was on an analysis of literacy, occupational mobility, schooling, family structure, demographic changes, and property mobility. Data items include last name, first name, age, sex, occupational code, real property, personal property, place of birth, literacy, race, head of household, wife of head, child of head, parent of head, sibling of head, and common law spouse. Definitions of family types and discussion of the methodology and rationale used to generate the data in both files can be found in Appendix A of del Castillo, Richard Griswold. "La Raza Hispano Americana: The Emergence of an Urban Culture Among the Spanish Speaking of Los Angeles, 1850-1880." Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 1974.