The Description of Reading by William Stahle

Chapter II. The Census of Reading, taken at Different times since its first settlement, together with a List of Houses, number of Taxable Citizens, &c.

The first census of Reading of which we have any account, is the one mentioned in the preceding chapter, for the year 1751, when the number of inhabitants was 378. I have not been able to find a record of any subsequent census, previous to that of 1810; but judging from the number of taxable citizens returned for the year 1769—twenty years after the settlement of the place—the whole number of inhabitants must have been at that time about 1000 or 1200.

The census of 1840 is as follows—

There were, according to the census, nine revolutionary soldiers, pensioners, yet surviving in Reading, viz:

Michael Spatz, aged 78
Sebastian Allgaier, aged 83
Peter Stichter, aged 78
Aaron Wright, aged 76
Henry Styles, aged 84
Christian Miller, aged 85
William James, aged 79
Joseph Snablee, aged 84
John P. Nagle, aged 83

The number of taxable inhabitants of the borough of Reading, is 1795

They are divided as follows, viz:

In 1769, they stood thus—

It appears from this statement, that the proportion of married to single men in the borough, above twenty-one years of age, has changed materially since 1769. Then, the latter stood to the former in the ratio of about 1 to 13; now, they stand in the ratio of 1 to 3, nearly.

The following enumeration of Dwelling Houses in the borough showing their number, size, material, &c., may not be uninteresting, viz:

There are also several buildings occupied as offices.

Seventy-seven houses, included in the above number, were erected during the last year; one of which, built by Mr. Daniel H. Boas, goes by the name of the Forge Hammer, from its resemblance in shape to that fayorite implement of Vulcan. - When applied to by the builders for a plan, Mr. Boas sent them a forge hammer for their model. The result was a rather odd-looking, but very convenient house. It is a two-story frame building, situated at the canal landing.

[Handwritten at the bottom of the page: "One story—762; All others—603."]

It appears, on comparing the foregoing result with the number of inhabitants, that there is yet occasion for more dwelling houses in Reading, notwithstanding the great number which have been lately built. The proportion of inhabitants to the houses is unusually large—larger, probably than a strict regard for health and convenience would allow. These circumstances, however, furnish pretty sure evidence of the flourishing condition of the borough; and from the abundance of capital in the place, and the well known enterprise of our mechanics, there is very little doubt that, in future, the erection of houses will keep pace with the wants of our rapidly increasing population.

Remarks uporn the Census of 1810

It appears from the table at the beginning of the present chapter, that the chances of longevity are decidedly in favor of the female sex. I believe this has been usually observed to be the fact. It is variously accounted for,—as most remarkable phenomena are. Some ascribe it to the circumstance of their being less exposed to hardships, and severe exertion of body and mind. Others, to their temperate habits, and the greater freedom of their lives from exciting and corroding causes. There is one other hypothesis in regard to it, which I will just notice, in respect of the source from which it comes, although it appears to me to be highly ridiculous. It is the hypothesis, or rather, positive opinion, of an old companion and friend of mine, a physician, in pretty extensive practice among the ladies—having quite a number of fair patients for life, under his charge, upon whom he calls professionally at short stated intervals; and receives for his service a yearly salary from their fathers and husbands. He insists, that the more common longevity of females, is owing to their living in greater dependence upon medical advice and assistance, and plentiful use of nostrums:—or as he expresses it, "to their walking in the fear of the Doctor." He proves his theory, singularly enough, by what he calls the analogy of a lamp! Life, says he, goes on much upon the same principle as a lighted lamp gives out its illuminating particles. When the oil of the lamp is exhausted, the flame expires. So when the quantity of life-sustaining force and power allotted to an individual is expended, his breath ceases. And, as, the more you reduce and weaken the flame of your lamp, the longer it will continue to burn and shed its sickly light; so, the more languid and inefficient you render existence, the longer will you keep the faint breath of life in human nostrils.

The number of females, at the present time exceeds that of males, by about 350. This great inequality has principally grown up within the last ten years; as in 1830, the difference was only about fifty. The circumstance is a little surprising, when we consider that this has been the period of the greatest prosperity of our borough, so far as population is concerned. When the prosperity of a town begins to wane, and people are emigrating and moving away, instead of coming into it from other places, it is a common thing for the proportion of females to gain upon that of males; for single gentlemen, on account of their greater freedom from incumbrances, are usually the first to emigrate, leaving their female contemporaries behind. But here, there has been no such cause in operation, for the increase of population has been so great as to require the aid of considerable immigration.

In what may be called the middle age of life—between twenty or perhaps twenty-five and forty, the number of males little exceeds that of females. But above or below those ages, the account is greatly in favor of the latter. The greatest inequality takes place between the ages of fifteen and twenty—an inequality singularly great, amounting to considerable more than four females to three males.

It would be interesting to knock the number of unmarried males and females, within some of the periods noted in the table of the census,—say, from 15 years upwards. The number of the latter must be very large; and many of them would be left unprovided with husbands, even should the young men all make haste to get married betimes. This, however, seems by no means to be the fact with them judging from the great number of single men, taxed as noticed above, who are of course all more than twenty-one years old.

In 1769, there were only eighteen taxable single men in the borough. Matrimony flourished then. But the times are sadly changed now! The fault is not altogether with the young men; nor are the ladies to be rashly charged with unkindness. The truth is, that the expense of living, especially in the style of fashion, has become so extravagantly great, that a large portion of the more genteelly bred young men, are, from the insufficiency of their income, under the severe necessity of indefinitely postponing matrimony. A mutual consciousness of this necessity, occasions mutual forbearance between the sexes. Thus are luxury and false notions of gentility extinguishing the fires upon the altar which burned brightly in Reading in 1769.

It was my intention to give the number of births, marriages and deaths for the preceding year, but fiom the great difficulty of the undertaking, and the impossibility of accuracy, I was obliged to abandon the design. From the inquiries I made, however, it appears that while the number of marriages and deaths has been only moderate, that of births has been unusually large. It appears farther, that among the births there has been a surprising proportion of females. Some idle persons have taken it into their heads to account for this phenomenon. Here, as usual, a difference of opinion exists,—some maintaining that it is owing to its having been leap year,—others, more wildly still, ascribe it to the force of royal example.

Submitted by: Nancy.