England Census: Difference between revisions

Instructions to the census taker were to list only those persons who spent the night in each household when the census was taken. Those traveling, staying at boarding schools, or working away from home were listed where they spent the night. For example, night watchmen are often listed under their employer’s business address rather than with their families. <br>Be aware of the date of each census for family members as that will help in determining the birth year for family members as it is reported. The date that each census was taken is as follows:  

<br>1841 – June 7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1851 – March 31<br>1861 – April 8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1871 – April 3<br>1881 – April 4&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1891 – April 6<br>1901 – April 1&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1911 – April 2

 

Name of each member of the household <br>Sex/gender <br>Age (for adults 15 and up, the age was rounded down to the lower multiple of 5) <br>Address <br>Occupation <br>Whether or not the individual was born in the county in which they were living on June 6, 1841. (If it is ‘yes’ , it is noted with “Y” and for ‘no’ it is noted with “N”.)<br>A column indicating if born out of the country, i.e. “S” for Scotland; “I” for Ireland<br>

 

 

Name of each member of the household<br>Sex/gender<br>Age – hopefully exact<br>Relationship to the head of the household<br>Condition – marital status <br>Occupation <br>Parish and county of birth (except foreign births, which usually gave country only) <br>

 

 

 

The 1891 census added the number of rooms (if less than 5) that the family occupied. It also listed whether the person was an employer or an employee. <br><br>See a detailed listing of the changes made to the census over the years starting in 1841. At the GENUKI website ([http://www.genuki.org.uk/ www.genuki.org.uk]) there is an excellent explanation of the census records and availability. (Examples of Census - 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871) NOTE: Many of the websites have not yet updated their pages to include the 1911 census.  

 

The census can also provide a good approximation of date and place of deaths and marriages. Census records are used in combination with church records and civil registration records in locating ancestors.<br>

 

The 1831 census was collated by the census office and the resulting Parish Register Abstracts form an important part of the published census material, because from it alone, the clergymen's manusript returns have survived. The records are held at The National Archives of the UK under 'Clergymen's returns of 1831' (HO71/1-HO71/124.) Detailed information on pre-1841 census records can be found in: <br>Chapman, Colin R., Pre-1841 Censuses and Population Listings in the British Isles. Dursley, Gloucestershire, England&nbsp;: Lochin Publishing, 1998 (5th ed). (Family History Library book ) <br>Pre-1841 censuses generally contain only numbers of individuals in a household, but some do contain individual names of the head-of-household. <br>

= <br>Finding and Using Census Indexes <br> =

Many repositories, including the Family History Library, hold a number of indexes to the census records. They may be:<br>• Original Census records from 1841-1891<br>• Surname Indexes<br>• Street Indexes<br>• Some remnants of 1801-1831 censuses that include names

=== Online  ===

Several websites have now published online many of the census records from 1841-1901; there is only one site that provides access to the 1911 census on the internet at the present time. The sites are as follows:

<br>[http://www.familysearch.org www.familysearch.org] - 1881 census free<br>[http://www.genuki.org.uk www.genuki.org.uk]&nbsp;– links to indexes<br>[http://www.ancestry.co.uk www.ancestry.co.uk] <br>[http://www.findmypast.co.uk www.findmypast.co.uk] &nbsp;<br>[http://www.thegenealogist.co.uk www.thegenealogist.co.uk]  

 

= &nbsp;<br>Finding and Using Census Records =

 

A number of items need to be considered while searching census records for family members:<br>1.&nbsp;&nbsp; Names may be misspelled – both Christian and surnames could have variant spellings.<br>2.&nbsp;&nbsp; Ages and birthplaces may not be accurate – consider who was reporting the information.<br>3.&nbsp;&nbsp; Relationships may not be expressed in terms understood today – regionally “in law” and “step” are

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; terms&nbsp;that have different meanings.<br>4.&nbsp;&nbsp; Jurisdictions changed – as population grew and shifted, jurisdictions changed.<br>5.&nbsp;&nbsp; People may not be where they are expected – a disaster or plague may have forced family to move.<br>6.&nbsp;&nbsp; Pages may be unreadable – use “zoom” and other enhancements on digital copiers.<br>

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