The U.S. Census Bureau has always been ahead of the curve when 

it comes to employing women. Ever since 1880, when it started 

using professional enumerators rather than U.S. marshals, the 

Census Office has employed women in that role. With the advent 

of the Hollerith tabulating machine in 1890, women moved into 

the role of keypunchers. By 1909, 10 years before the 19th

amendment granted national women's suffrage, over 50 percent

of the Census Bureau’s 624 permanent employees were women.

As women proved themselves as capable as the men, and with the 

increasing number of women in the workforce, it became harder 

for the Census Bureau to justify assigning all supervisory positions 

to men. By 1920, the Census Bureau would once again push 

forward appointing the first five female supervisors, as well as the 

first three female expert chiefs of division.

One of the first female supervisors of enumerators in 1920 was 

Minnie P. Lindsay, of the first Texas district. Born April 26, 1873,

in Titus County, TX, to Samuel P. Pounders and Claudia Fairer, 

Minnie was the oldest of their five surviving daughters. Samuel 

Pounders had started out as a farmer in Alabama, but by the 

time of Minnie’s birth, he was a successful lawyer. He and his 

wife ensured that all of their daughters received higher 

education and work experience. Around 1904, Minnie married 

Robert Francis Lindsay, a Mount Pleasant banker. They had no 

children and remained married until his death in 1956.

In 1920, Minnie became one the first five women appointed as 

the census supervisor over a team of enumerators. The 

positions usually went to people with strong local ties, both 

personally and politically.

Like the other four women, 

Minnie had prior work and management experience—she had 

been a teacher, an insurance salesperson, and a soliciting 

agent for the railroad. Furthermore, her family was politically 

connected in Titus County, TX. Her husband, Robert, was a 

banker and her father was a lawyer and bank director, as was 

her brother-in-law, Milton Burford. Perhaps most importantly, 

another one of her brothers-in-law, C. L. Duncan, served two terms as Mayor of Mount Pleasant.

Add this to her knowledge of the area and Minnie perfectly fit the mold of a 1920 Census 

supervisor.

A Federal Woman in the Lone Star State

Photo courtesy of the Texas Federation 

of Women’s Clubs Alumni Book

Pounders Family 1880 Census

The Eagle (Bryan, TX); 10 Dec 1919
The most important part of the supervisor’s job is to ensure that 

enumerators cover every dwelling in the district without duplication.

In December 1919, Minnie and her assistant, C. B. Fullerton, set out 

across their district to map it and meet with the enumerators.

Immediately, Minnie encountered trouble. Census Day was a few 

short weeks away, on January 1, and not only were there not enough 

enumerators, but bad weather hampered their mapping. Despite a 

rough start, by January 20, Minnie had completed her second tour of 

the district and was guiding her enumerators through the return 

process for the census schedules and planning how to reach any 

uncounted people. By January 29, she told newspapers she felt that 

her enumerators completed the work “splendidly.”Her team, which 

counted 18,128 people in Titus County, finished with only a few days 

extension required.

Minnie Lindsay was not only interested in being a successful woman 

herself, she also invested her time ensuring all women had the same 

opportunities. As early as 1904, Minnie volunteered in the Texas 

State Federation of Women’s Clubs(TFWC), which began as a literary 

club in 1897 and soon moved 

into activism. Minnie worked 

her way through the organization, becoming president twice, 

once in 1922–1923 and once in 1929–1931. Her tenure saw 

improvements to Texas highway laws, development of a 

children’s hospital, and the building of a new TFWC 

headquarters in Austin called “The Mansion.” Minnie also 

used her influence with the TFWC to support minority 

women. Not only did she help establish an African-American 

girls’ school, but also worked closely with the Texas 

Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. In addition to her 

extensive work with the TFWC, Minnie supported the Red 

Cross, the Delta Kappa Gamma, a women’s professional 

organization, and the Order of the Eastern Star, a mixed 

gender Masonic society.

Following the successful 1920 Census, Minnie left 

the Census Bureau, but not the federal 

government. In 1934, Minnie became the deputy 

collector for the Internal Revenue Service, 

charged with assessing oil fields in East Texas.

Minnie continued to work for the Internal 

Revenue Service for 15 years, including time in 

Philadelphia where she lived apart from her 

husband. After a lifetime of service to her country 

and fellow women, Minnie Pounders Lindsay 

passed away at the age of 99 on May 4, 1972, in 

her lifelong hometown of Mount Pleasant, TX.

Lindsay Family 1920 Census 

The Houston Post (Houston, TX) 20 Feb 1922

Photo Courtesy of the Austin Public Library

TFWC members in front of their 

headquarters, “The Mansion,” in 

Austin, TX, circa 1920s–1930s. Minnie 

is in the top row, fourth from the 

right.

HB-17-0004