Introduction
1940 CENSUS BOMBSHELL: Elvis Presley’s Family Listed “TWO SONS” — So Who Was the Second Boy?
For decades, the story of Elvis Presley’s birth has been a cornerstone of music history and a source of profound tragedy. On January 8, 1935, Gladys Presley gave birth to a stillborn son named Jesse Garon Presley in a small shack in Tupelo, Mississippi. Thirty-five minutes later, his twin brother, Elvis Aaron, was born. While Elvis went on to become the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Jesse was reportedly buried in an unmarked grave the following day.
However, a historical document has reignited a firestorm of conspiracy theories: the 1940 U.S. Census.
The Document That Changed Everything
In the 1940 census records for Lee County, Mississippi, the household of Vernon and Gladys Presley contains a detail that seems to defy the established timeline. Under the column for “Children,” the enumerator recorded two sons. Even more baffling, both were listed as being five years old.
If Jesse Garon Presley died at birth in 1935, why would he appear on an official government document five years later? This “bombshell” discovery has led researchers and fans down a rabbit hole of questions that the official records have never fully addressed.
The Theories: Error or Cover-Up?
There are two primary ways to interpret this anomaly:
The Clerical Error: Skeptics and historians argue that census takers in the 1940s often relied on hearsay or quick conversations. It is possible Gladys, still grieving the loss of her twin, mentioned having “two boys” to the official, or the census taker simply misunderstood the family’s history.
The “Secret Twin” Theory: For those who love a mystery, the census is “smoking gun” evidence that Jesse Garon survived. Some speculate that because the Presleys were desperately poor, one twin may have been given away or raised by another family member to ensure both boys could be fed.
Why the Silence?
What makes this mystery more compelling is the lack of a death certificate for Jesse Garon. While it wasn’t uncommon for poor families in the rural South to bypass formal paperwork for stillbirths, the combination of a missing death record and a “double” appearance in the census creates a vacuum of information.
To this day, the Presley estate maintains the official history: Elvis was an only child who carried the ghost of his twin with him throughout his life. Yet, the 1940 Census remains a haunting piece of paper that suggests, for at least one day in the eyes of the law, the Presley household was a family of four.