The U.S. Census Bureau is proud of its history of continually 

evolving to ensure an accurate count of the people of the United 

States. To accomplish this, the Census Bureau has long embraced 

the hiring of a diverse workforce representative of local 

communities and the people who were a part of the 

neighborhoods that they counted. For this reason, census work 

was often one of the few government jobs open to minorities. 

Beginning with the 1870 Census (the first after the abolition of 

slavery), the Census Bureau began hiring African Americans as 

enumerators and data processors. With the creation of a 

permanent Census Bureau in 1902, black workers and 

statisticians found an environment with an inclusiveness far 

greater than many contemporary institutions. 

William Jennifer was born in 1870 in Cambridge, Maryland. His parents, James and Henrietta, 

moved the family to the deep South while William was still a small child and he spent much of his 

childhood in Chotard, Mississippi. He entered African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church as a teen 

and was a devout and active member his whole life. William subsequently used a combination of 

church and teaching positions, which were frequently intertwined, to work his way up to principal 

of the Delhi, Louisiana, Normal School and 

Agricultural Institute in 1889. It was while 

working at Dehli that he met and married fellow 

teacher Syme Louisa Jones, herself a graduate of 

Mount Herman Seminary in her hometown of 

Clinton, MS. In addition to being a highly 

successful teacher and principal, William also 

briefly ran a newspaper in Dehli called The 

Planet.

With his increasingly notable profile a school in Milford, Texas, recruited William as principal, 

where his wife, Syme, would also teach. There he also became active in the Colored Teachers’

County Association and the Republican Party. William endeavored to use his political connections 

to get a job, such as postmaster in 1897, or ambassador to Haiti in 1900. However with the 

winding down of the patronage system and the increase in testing requirements for federal jobs, 

he traveled to New Orleans in 1900 to take the clerkship test for the Twelfth Census of the United 

States. He passed with a notably high average and secured the post. With his new job in hand, 

William and his family moved to Washington, D.C., where they

flourished in their new environment. Both Syme and William became 

highly active in the social fabric of the city as well as the civil rights 

movement, and frequently worked and socialized with some of the 

most notable names in the movement at the time, such as Booker T. 

Washington and Benjamin O. Davis Sr. The Census Bureau was also a 

natural fit for William, and within two years he was celebrated as one 

of the best clerks in the building.

Teacher, Statistician, Census Supervisor

The Colored American (Washington, DC) March 29, 1902.

William and his family’s 1910 Census.

The Washington Times

(Washington, DC) March 13, 1902.
Despite his successes, like the other clerks computing the data 

for the 1900 Census William’s temporary appointment ended in 

1902. However, upon learning of his pending dismissal, 

President Theodore Roosevelt intervened on his behalf to 

ensure that William became a part of the newly-established 

permanent Census Bureau. This was a testament to William’s 

skill as there were only 624 permanent employees.

As the Census Bureau responsibilities expanded beyond the 

decennial census, William worked on several surveys and 

topics. In both 1906 and 1916, William drew upon his own 

religious background while serving as a special agent for the 

Census Bureau’s Censuses of Religious Bodies, which counted 

congregations and the services they provided, not the 

religion(s) of individuals. William also worked on the 1910 

Census, and earned praise from all quarters for the 1915 

Bulletin #129 “Negroes in the United States,” which he 

compiled along with Charles E. Hall and Robert Pelham.

Contemporary statisticians and civil rights activists recognized 

the 1915 report as an important document for how it identified and attempted to address

inaccurate historical data on Black population, and for how the 

authors used statistics to show Black progress in agriculture, social 

outreach and population gains. Throughout his time at the Census 

Bureau William also continued his academic advancement. He joined

the medical department at Howard University in 1903, however his 

studies were interrupted after three years by his travels for the 1906 

Census of Religious Bodies. William later received an honorary Doctor 

of Philosophy from Paul Quinn College at Waco, Texas in 1907.

In addition to his important work as a statistician, William also broke 

barriers as one of the first black supervisors when he became a 

Section Chief in the Division of Revision and Results in 1914. In 1916, 

William transferred from the Census Bureau to the Department of 

Labor where he was assigned to supervise welfare and development in 

Michigan. Soon after the start of prohibition William transferred to the 

Internal Revenue Service where he worked as a Narcotic Squad Officer 

and Prohibition Officer. In 1920, William resigned from federal service 

and returned to Michigan where he worked in state and local 

government in Lansing and Detroit. William used statistics to identify 

and find the best ways to provide social and government outreach to underserved populations.

Throughout their entire lives, William and Syme dedicated themselves

towards the advancement of civil rights. In addition to their decades of 

work in the AME, which was a major force in the civil rights movement, 

William and Syme traveled throughout the United States giving talks at 

several social and religious organizations on various topics related to 

the advancement of the Black population. Later in her life, Syme also 

worked as a census clerk and helped her son found and run a business 

school aimed at preparing black students for government clerkships 

and secretarial work. Following his work in Michigan, William returned 

to the Washington, DC area where he passed away on March 25, 1939.

We are grateful for William’s service to the U.S. Census Bureau, our

nation, and his community.

A portrait of William in WEB DuBois’s 

bronze medal winning booth at the 1900 

Paris Exposition. DuBois, who also wrote 

a report for the 1900 Census, used 

statistics to show how Black Americans 

were achieving success despite setbacks 

and stereotypes.

Library of Congress, 

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.33932

Detroit Free Press (Detroit, MI) 

November 11, 1918.

Evening Star (Washington, DC) 

September 2, 1970.

HB-22-0001