Of the McElroys whose literacy was recorded, 76.1% could both read and write, 5.5% could read but not write, and 18.4% could do neither. The figures were much the same for men and women. Bear in mind these figures include young children; the census itself only counted people aged nine and over when calculating illiteracy, on the grounds that it was unfair to label a child illiterate before they'd had a chance to learn.