Using census records to research your family tree

1. Where do you come from? Census

2. Your Information Find it Yourself Known Relatives Information Ask them New relatives Information Genes Reunited BMD Information Census Information Parish Registers Information Other Sources Of Information

3. CENSUSES CIVIL BMD RECORDS About 1840 PARISH RECORDS GENES REUNITED GENUKI , FHS, GOONS, ETC GOOGLE, ROOTSWEB and OTHER LISTS Ancestry.co.uk LDS 1881 Findmypast.com FreeBMD Ancestry Findmypast.com Local BMD sites LDS Microfiche LDS IGI / BVRI

6. National Archives Reference for each Census 1841: HO107 1851: HO107 1861: RG9 1871: RG10 1881: RG11 1891: RG12 1901: RG13-

7. Census Records For the purpose of the census, the country was divided into registration and sub-registration districts, and the process generated enumeration books that covered districts of several hundred houses

10. 1841 Census Sample

14. Typical grid of a Census Form

16. Folio After binding, the books had the folio number stamped on the upper right corner of every sheet. (The back of the sheet was not stamped).

17. 1851 Census Record

18. 1861 Census sample

19. 1881 Census Example

22. Accuracy The process of enumerating the population created problems of accuracy long before modern researchers tried to interpret the information. In addition, enumerators would have found it difficult to read the poor hand writing of those who could write, which has created problems of transcription errors and spelling variations or even missing information

23. Accuracy Unfortunately, since the individual schedules do not survive for comparison, we will never know what exactly was recorded, whether our family member wrote the information themselves, whether they were able to spell, or even whether the enumerator missed information completely.

24. Literacy: Unfortunately the censuses were conducted at a time when up to half the adult population were illiterate or at best, semi-literate. Many people would have found it difficult to read and interpret the instructions on the pre-printed schedules and this would have led them to either record or verbally provide inaccurate and incomplete information

25. Household Addresses Identifying the address of a household is often a problem. In towns and urban areas, few houses were numbered until the end of the nineteenth century. In many areas street names and house numbers were periodically revised. In rural areas addresses are vague or not provided at all.

26. Reading the Census One of the greatest problems for researchers is trying to read the census enumerator's books. For example, in 1841, the books were completed in pencil. In later censuses cheap ink was used that has since bled and/or faded. The access to these books on microfilm only makes the challenge of reading the information greater.

27. Recording of Names Census records are no different than any other research tool containing poor writing coupled with mis-interpretations and mis-spellings of names. Surnames only very gradually became standardised after civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1837. Coupled with problems of illiteracy and poor hand writing, researchers must always use their imagination when searching for variant spellings of their surnames. Was the surname written recorded phonetically - that is, spelled as it sounded

28. Using Census Records As with all other types of research, start with more recent data and work backwards. Look across all censuses that could apply to pick up an individual error in a particular census. As with all systems with indexes, errors may have crept in, and thus it may be hard to locate ancestors if their names have been incorrectly transcribed in the various census indexes. In these instances you will have to conduct a manual trawl.

29. Understanding Relationships Although usually straightforward, the recording of relationships between members of a household can sometimes present problems when trying to identify stepchildren, relationships among lodgers, boarders and visitors For example, the term "Daughter-in-law" can sometimes mean a step-daughter as well as the more recognized meaning "son's wife"

30. Marital Status The marital status of householders is usually pretty clearly documented. The problem arises in trying to identify the spouse of a second marriage and common-law relationships. Yes, common law relationships did exist but are often hidden with relationship designations such as ‘visitor', 'servant' or 'lodger'.

31. How old? Rounding of ages was not always followed. When the age of consent was 21, it was not unusual to find people lying about their age in order to rent accommodation, get married or gain similar adult privileges. At the same time, the age of a child may be falsified if that child was a worker and did not want to loose his/her job.

32. How old? Rounding of ages was not always followed. When the age of consent was 21, it was not unusual to find people lying about their age in order to rent accommodation, get married or gain similar adult privileges. At the same time, the age of a child may be falsified if that child was a worker and did not want to loose his/her job.

33. Birth Place There are many examples where an individual gave a different place of birth in each census Usually, the place of birth information is fairly accurate, however, as with any sound research - only a preponderance of other evidence will determine for certain the accuracy of the birthplace recorded on the census

34. Using Census Records Always conduct simultaneous research in both census returns and bmd records, as you can use information from one search to help research in another. For example, age from census returns can be used to locate a marriage or birth; whilst addresses on certificates can narrow down where to look in the census records. Do bear in mind that census ages are not always accurate, so proceed with caution, searching a year or two either side of the probable date.

40. Using Census Records Careful manipulation of census and certificate data in tandem should enable you to not only work back towards ancestors who were born in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, but widen your family tree to include siblings of direct antecedents located through certificate searches.

41. Where do you come from?