Once upon a time, Mary Jane Millikan (1833-1910) married William E. Baker (1833-1866) in 1854 Iowa.
They had eight children. Harry, the youngest, was born after his dad died in May of 1866.
I haven't yet found Harry's birth date. But the 1870 Federal Census indicates he is three years old.
That same census ALSO shows Harry with a disability. See where "Disability Condition" is indicated below with a "Y" to indicate "yes."
This is a wide view of that census page. Harry is on Line No. 28, in yellow:
He and his mother ("M.J. Baker") are living with her parents, John and Elizabeth Millikan. The recently-widowed Mary Jane works in their household.
Also with Harry are his older siblings, Frances Elizabeth and John K. Baker, on Lines No. 25 and 26. Luckily I know their names/ages from other records. If this was the only record I had on them, I'd go mad trying to guess their names. Crazy handwriting!
I am instead left with a one-word challenge. In the column asking what physical disability a citizen might have, is listed Harry's condition:
Help! Have you any idea what it might be?
BTW, Mary Jane Millikan Baker is my paternal 3x GGrandmother.
UPDATE: Two cousins found the answer. Poor little Harry was "idiotic." A term no longer used today to describe mentally challenged people. But it is a term often used in the 19th century--and specifically, the 1870 census. I've not found Harry in the next federal census of 1880.
But dear Harry, you are remembered here in the blogosphere. And thank you to Leah and Jaime for their keen grasp of cursive writing.