American AcornsRecords & photos · Family recollections
Family recollection: Irving Gilbert Oak's schooling and first job
Family data snapshot: 09-24-2026 Read-only collection from the Oak Family Tree. Research incorporated 09-25-2026 (revision d64a6582). Updated periodically.
Family recollection
About Irving Gilbert Oak 1901–1981.
Unconfirmed evidence: show why
- He left school when he was 12 or 13. The age comes from the recollection alone. The 1940 census's fifth grade fits an early end to his schooling but does not show the age at which he left, and his birth date is recorded as both 23 and 25 August 1901 in the tree and as 1902 in census indexes.
- He went to work as a cook in a logging camp. No record found so far names a camp, an employer, a place or a season, or shows whether he was the cook or a cook's helper. His 1920 job on the electric railway neither confirms nor rules out earlier camp work.
- He went to work to help his mother with the younger children. The reason is the recollection's. The 1920 census does show younger brothers and sisters at home, and both parents in the household in 1910 and 1920, so the account should not be read as saying his father had died or left.
All the evidence for this recollection · What the labels mean
Confirmed evidence: show why
Why: The 1910 census of Skowhegan lists Irving G., son, 8, in his parents' household, marked as attending school (census image read on 25 September 2026).
Records:
- 1910 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 237, sheet 12B, lines 56-62: Irving G. Oak, son, 8, attending school. NARA T624, roll 546, page 12B; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; evidence: image inspected when the research was incorporated.
Likely evidence: show why
Why: The 1940 census records the fifth grade as the highest he completed, with the informant mark beside his own name (census image read on 25 September 2026). It is a single census answer; no school record has been searched.
Records:
- 1940 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 13-61, sheet 18A, line 15: Irving Oak, 38, lineman; highest grade completed, 5. NARA T627, roll 1492, page 18A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; evidence: image inspected when the research was incorporated.
Confirmed evidence: show why
Why: The 1920 census of Skowhegan lists Irving, 18, son, not at school, occupation conductor, industry electric road (census image read on 25 September 2026). No employer is named.
Records:
- 1920 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 118, sheet 1A, lines 35-42: Irving Oak, son, 18, conductor, electric road. NARA T625, roll 648, page 1A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; evidence: image inspected when the research was incorporated.
About this recollection 6 statements: 2 Confirmed, 1 Likely, 3 Unconfirmed
Where it comes from: A family member's recollection, written down in 2026. Who first told the story, and whether it came from the person it describes, is not recorded.
- Remembered He left school when he was 12 or 13.
Unconfirmed evidence: show why
Why: The age comes from the recollection alone. The 1940 census's fifth grade fits an early end to his schooling but does not show the age at which he left, and his birth date is recorded as both 23 and 25 August 1901 in the tree and as 1902 in census indexes.
Records:
- Family recollection: Irving Gilbert Oak's schooling and first job
- 1940 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 13-61, sheet 18A, line 15: Irving Oak, 38, lineman; highest grade completed, 5. NARA T627, roll 1492, page 18A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry) (context)
- 1910 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 237, sheet 12B, lines 56-62: Irving G. Oak, son, 8, attending school. NARA T624, roll 546, page 12B; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry) (context)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; no supporting record yet.
- Remembered He went to work as a cook in a logging camp.
Unconfirmed evidence: show why
Why: No record found so far names a camp, an employer, a place or a season, or shows whether he was the cook or a cook's helper. His 1920 job on the electric railway neither confirms nor rules out earlier camp work.
Records:
- Family recollection: Irving Gilbert Oak's schooling and first job
- 1920 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 118, sheet 1A, lines 35-42: Irving Oak, son, 18, conductor, electric road. NARA T625, roll 648, page 1A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry) (context)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; no supporting record yet.
- Remembered He went to work to help his mother with the younger children.
Unconfirmed evidence: show why
Why: The reason is the recollection's. The 1920 census does show younger brothers and sisters at home, and both parents in the household in 1910 and 1920, so the account should not be read as saying his father had died or left.
Records:
- Family recollection: Irving Gilbert Oak's schooling and first job
- 1910 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 237, sheet 12B, lines 56-62: Irving G. Oak, son, 8, attending school. NARA T624, roll 546, page 12B; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry) (context)
- 1920 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 118, sheet 1A, lines 35-42: Irving Oak, son, 18, conductor, electric road. NARA T625, roll 648, page 1A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry) (context)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; no supporting record yet.
- Records In 1910, aged eight, he was attending school.
Confirmed evidence: show why
Why: The 1910 census of Skowhegan lists Irving G., son, 8, in his parents' household, marked as attending school (census image read on 25 September 2026).
Records:
- 1910 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 237, sheet 12B, lines 56-62: Irving G. Oak, son, 8, attending school. NARA T624, roll 546, page 12B; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; evidence: image inspected when the research was incorporated.
- Records His formal schooling ended at about the fifth grade.
Likely evidence: show why
Why: The 1940 census records the fifth grade as the highest he completed, with the informant mark beside his own name (census image read on 25 September 2026). It is a single census answer; no school record has been searched.
Records:
- 1940 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 13-61, sheet 18A, line 15: Irving Oak, 38, lineman; highest grade completed, 5. NARA T627, roll 1492, page 18A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; evidence: image inspected when the research was incorporated.
- Records In 1920, aged 18, he was a conductor on the electric railway.
Confirmed evidence: show why
Why: The 1920 census of Skowhegan lists Irving, 18, son, not at school, occupation conductor, industry electric road (census image read on 25 September 2026). No employer is named.
Records:
- 1920 U.S. census, Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine, ED 118, sheet 1A, lines 35-42: Irving Oak, son, 18, conductor, electric road. NARA T625, roll 648, page 1A; image held with the family tree (record page · view at Ancestry)
Review: assessed 09-25-2026; evidence: image inspected when the research was incorporated.
Each statement has its own label. New research updates the labels, not the remembered words.
Statements that use this recollection
- He left school when he was 12 or 13. (Irving Gilbert Oak 1901–1981; remembered in a family recollection) Unconfirmed
- He went to work as a cook in a logging camp. (Irving Gilbert Oak 1901–1981; remembered in a family recollection) Unconfirmed
- He went to work to help his mother with the younger children. (Irving Gilbert Oak 1901–1981; remembered in a family recollection) Unconfirmed
A family recollection: a remembered account, kept privately in the words it was given. Who gave it is not shown here. What the labels mean.