Occupation: Woman
The year 1850 was also a time when one large life insurance company's records showed its first policy issued to a female, reports the American Council of Life Insurance. She was one Caroline Ingraham, 36, of Madison, N.J. The policy register of November 19th, which contains the entry of Miss Ingraham's policy, lists her occupation as "Woman."
Dixon Evening Telegraph - Nov 19, 1976
Comments
I’m assuming that’s a typo that a typical woman’s life insurance policy was written for $5.42 in 1968.
Posted by Brian on 07/19/20 at 10:00 PM
And it was a full-time occupation at that! 😊
Brian, I looked close at the article, and it is a comma, not a period, between the 5 and the 4. Most likely the last digit is missing, and the amount of the policy was in the five thousands. That was not an unreasonable amount at the time, as many life insurance policies were little more than "burial insurance" - enough to pay funeral expenses, but not really lost wages and earnings.
Brian, I looked close at the article, and it is a comma, not a period, between the 5 and the 4. Most likely the last digit is missing, and the amount of the policy was in the five thousands. That was not an unreasonable amount at the time, as many life insurance policies were little more than "burial insurance" - enough to pay funeral expenses, but not really lost wages and earnings.
Posted by Patrick on 07/21/20 at 08:29 AM
If you make it $5,420, the math works: $10,440 is a rise of 93%. Also, there's extra space where the missing digit should be.
Posted by ges on 07/22/20 at 03:21 PM
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Category: Jobs and Occupations | Gender | Women | Nineteenth Century