Daily AncestorInmate
Inmate in older censuses meant anyone living in a household or institution, such as a lodger or a patient, not necessarily a prisoner.
Older usage gave inmate a broad meaning: a person sharing a dwelling. The 1850 census instructions speak of the resident inmates of a hotel, jail or hospital and list other inmates, lodgers and boarders after the family.
In later censuses, inmate was the usual label for residents of asylums, poorhouses, hospitals and prisons. Check the institution name at the top of the page to see which kind it was.
As seen in a recordRelationship to head column, 1900 or 1910 census
St. Mary's Orphan Asylum: Kate Doyle, Inmate, F, 9, Ireland
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Inmate." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/relationships/inmate. Last checked 2026-10-01.