Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society Chorley Branch Education Group Talk Handout First Steps Census Part 2
How to use the Census Every census has its own number e.g. 1881 RG11 Enumerator the person who walked round his area, called an Enumeration District, and took the details of the different households Several Enumeration Districts make up an area called a piece, which has its own number e.g. 4131 Every right hand page is hand stamped with a number in the margin this is the folio number, which covers the back of the page also e.g. 108 This stamping was done when the census was microfilmed. If you combine these numbers with the Census reference number e.g. RG 11- you can pinpoint to within two pages where the information you have gathered is printed Full reference number RG 11 / 4131 / 108
No other part of the Census has this reference number it is unique to those two pages. FindMyPast also allows you to search with the page number and combined with piece number and folio ties it down to an individual page. RG 11 / 4131 / 108 / 49 Houses were given schedule numbers, which pinpoints a residence even more accurately. RG 11 / 4131 / 108 / 49 / 250. To avoid confusion with the numbers Ron writes it down as RG11/4131/F108/P49/S250. The Folio refers to two pages and Ancestry and FindMyPast might display the page in which the stamp does not appear. To find out what it is you either have to look at the transcript or the previous page as well. (Not the next.) The full reference number allows you to go back easily and check your work in the future and the same is said for anyone who might wish to continue your work in the future. Look in the neighbourhood for relatives, friends of the family, people from the same village there were lots of little nucleated settlements within towns and cities and even streets Don t worry if you can t find the family in a long street streets were often split into several Enumeration Districts Don t rely on information given that Great Uncle Fred always lived in that house. People moved around a lot more than you think they did upwardly or downwardly mobile, going to live nearer relatives, doing a moonlight flit
Here is an example of how mixed up census areas can be. Distribution of Middlesbrough Census Pieces 4004 to 4014. The areas are then sub-divided into Enumerators walks. (Not shown) Notice how the piece numbers are sometime split up. For example piece numbers 4009 and 4011.
We can use a sequence of censuses to build up how a family expands, decreases, moves house, changes jobs and partners, and trace its evolvement and sometimes its disintegration
Where can I view the Census? The local Reference Library Some Record Offices The Family History Centres of the LDS You can buy them on CD-Roms Local Family History Societies The LFHHS Chorley Research Centre at Astley Hall Farmhouse
Using www.ancestry.co.uk to look at the censuses.
From previous research we have discovered was born in 1835 in Hadleigh We wish to find him in every Census (1911-1841) in Ancestry
Keep the amount of information you put in to a minimum. If you get too many hits then add further data. None found Where did we go wrong? For one thing we used the exact option too freely. Rather than go back we can use the sliders. Adjust the Jacob slider to Exact or similar. Click the orange Update Button. We get the same result. Adjust the Willis slider to Exact or similar. Click the orange Update Button. We get the same result. As we said last week people for one reason or another they entered their ages incorrectly. Adjust the DOB slider to +/- 5. Click the orange Update Button. - We get the same result. We might have the place wrong. Adjust the Place slider to County. This adjust the search to anywhere in the county. Click the orange Update Button.
Again none found - Why can t we find him? This man is proving elusive. I can tell you that all of the information given to you is correct. When typing Hadleigh into Ancestry it suggested o Hadleigh, Essex, England o And o Hadleigh Heath, Suffolk, England These are the only two places Ancestry suggested Neither of these is correct! There are two Hadleigh s some 50 miles apart. One in Essex and one in Suffolk The one we want is in Suffolk. Hadleigh Heath, Suffolk is not the same as Hadleigh, Suffolk I adjusted the Place slider from County to County and Adjacent County and got a result!
1911 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Hadleigh Suffolk England abt 1832 Residence Hadleigh Suffolk England 02 Apr 1911 1911 England Census Jacob George Willis Spouse Harriett Willis Stoke By Nayland Suffolk England abt 1839 Marriage 1881 Residence Stoke by Nayland Suffolk England 02 Apr 1911 1901 England Census Spouse Emily Willis abt 1830 Lindsey, Suffolk, England Residence Hadleigh Suffolk England 1901 1891 England Census 1834 Lindrey Suffolk England Residence 1891 Hadleigh Hadleigh Suffolk England 1881 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Children Mary A. Willis abt 1832 Lindsey Suffolk England Residence 1881 Hadleigh Suffolk England 1871 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Children Mary Ann abt 1834 Lindsey Suffolk England Residence 1871 Hadleigh Suffolk England 1871 England Census Spouse Edward Willis Children Mary abt 1830 St Pancras Middlesex England Residence 1871 St Pancras London England 1851 England Census Jacob Wilkas abt 1834 Lindsey, Suffolk, England Residence Hadleigh Suffolk 1851 England Census Mother Harriet Willis Father Joseph Willis Sibling Jonah abt 1839 Stoke, Suffolk, England Residence Polstead Suffolk 1841 England Census Jacob Welles abt 1834 Suffolk England Residence Hadleigh Hadleigh Suffolk England 1841 England Census abt 1839 Suffolk England Residence Polstead Polstead Suffolk England
Can you see the ones we might reject? We are not certain if Hadleigh is the place he was born or it was where he lived in later life. We need to familiarise ourselves with the local geography. But the modern couple living in St. Pancras don t seem to fit. The locations the rest of them lived or where born are Hadleigh Suffolk England Stoke By Nayland Suffolk England Lindsey, Suffolk, England Lindrey Suffolk England Stoke, Suffolk, England Polstead Suffolk Polstead Polstead Suffolk England Let s plot these places on a map.
Distances They are quite close to one another. (Max 7.4 Miles) Polstead to Lindsey 6.4 Miles Polstead to Stoke by Nayland 1.5 Miles Polstead to Hadleigh 4.9 Miles Lindsey to Stoke by Nayland 7.4 Miles Lindsey to Hadleigh 4.1 Miles Stoke by Nayland to Hadleigh 6.3 Miles But where is he in 1861? We shall not do it here but after much searching, and increasing the age range, and setting the birth county and the where lived to Suffolk did we find it. Here is the revised list. 1911 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Hadleigh Suffolk England abt 1832 Residence Hadleigh Suffolk England 02 Apr 1911 1911 England Census Jacob George Willis Spouse Harriett Willis Stoke By Nayland Suffolk England abt 1839 Marriage 1881 Residence Stoke by Nayland Suffolk England 02 Apr 1911 1901 England Census Spouse Emily Willis abt 1830 Lindsey, Suffolk, England Residence Hadleigh Suffolk England 1901 1891 England Census 1834 Lindrey Suffolk England Residence 1891 Hadleigh Hadleigh Suffolk England 1881 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Children Mary A. Willis abt 1832 Lindsey Suffolk England Residence 1881 Hadleigh Suffolk England 1871 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Children Mary Ann abt 1834 Lindsey Suffolk England Residence 1871 Hadleigh Suffolk England 1861 England Census Mother Harriet Willis Father Joseph Willis abt 1840 Stoke, Suffolk, England Residence Polstead Suffolk 1851 England Census Jacob Wilkas abt 1834 Lindsey, Suffolk, England Residence Hadleigh Suffolk 1851 England Census Mother Harriet Willis Father Joseph Willis Sibling Jonah abt 1839 Stoke, Suffolk, England
Residence 1841 England Census Residence 1841 England Census Residence Polstead Suffolk Jacob Welles abt 1834 Suffolk England Hadleigh Hadleigh Suffolk England abt 1839 Suffolk England Polstead Polstead Suffolk England But all of these cannot be correct. How do we separate them? Our man is thought to have had a link to Hadleigh. If we split the list into two. One list with a link to Hadleigh and the other with no link. And here they are 1911 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Hadleigh Suffolk England abt 1832 Residence Hadleigh Suffolk England 02 Apr 1911 1901 England Census Spouse Emily Willis abt 1830 Lindsey, Suffolk, England Residence Hadleigh Suffolk England 1901 1891 England Census 1834 Lindrey Suffolk England Residence 1891 Hadleigh Hadleigh Suffolk England 1881 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Children Mary A. Willis abt 1832 Lindsey Suffolk England Residence 1881 Hadleigh Suffolk England 1871 England Census Spouse Emily Willis Children Mary Ann abt 1834 Lindsey Suffolk England Residence 1871 Hadleigh Suffolk England 1851 England Census Jacob Wilkas abt 1834 Lindsey, Suffolk, England Residence Hadleigh Suffolk 1841 England Census Jacob Welles abt 1834 Suffolk England Residence Hadleigh Hadleigh Suffolk England
1911 England Census Jacob George Willis Spouse Harriett Willis Stoke By Nayland Suffolk England abt 1839 Marriage 1881 Residence Stoke by Nayland Suffolk England 02 Apr 1911 1861 England Census Mother Harriet Willis Father Joseph Willis abt 184 Stoke, Suffolk, England Residence Polstead Suffolk 1851 England Census Mother Harriet Willis Father Joseph Willis Sibling Jonah abt 1839 Stoke, Suffolk, England Residence Polstead Suffolk 1841 England Census abt 1839 Suffolk England Residence Polstead Polstead Suffolk England We seem to have the right man, but we have lost him again - WHERE IS HE IN 1861 In 1841 & 1851 Jacob (b. 1834) is with his Stepfather Thomas Beaumont (b.1816), mother Susan (Willis) (b. 1808) and Sister Elizabeth Willis (b. 1831) plus Sarah Beaumont (b.1841), James Beaumont (b. 1847) and John Willis (Grandson) (b. 1850)
Since we cannot find Jacob himself we look for the other family members In 1861 Thomas Beaumont, Susan his wife, Sarah and James are all together, but no Jacob!
So let s look for Elizabeth Willis, Jacob s elder Sister. In 1858 she married John Thomas Betts and in 1861 Elizabeth is with John Thomas Betts and her SIX children The eldest child was John who was 10 years old. This is the John Willis, grandson aged 1 on the 1851 census That s all family members other than Jacob himself accounted for.
Where do we go from here? Search for just Jacob without a surname, place Suffolk, date of birth 1834 +/- 5 years. This takes into account the misspelling of the surname Several possibilities including a Jacob Ellis but none fitted A possible solution came if we look closely at the 1871 census. We said last week that is was very important to look at the original image.
Jacob is a Pensioner. Pensions were only normally given to those injured on military service The 1871 census tells us that Jacob lost 1 foot His eldest child was 10 years old, so Jacob was on military service between 1851 and 1865/6. The main wars in this period are the Crimean and the second Opium war but there were others.
Enumerators Walk on ancestry.
Read the Enumerators walk in conjunction with a map.
Enumerators walk 1911 You cannot look at the enumerators walk on Ancestry but it can be found on FindMyPast. First get to the image of the census you are interested in. In the bottom right hand corner you see related images. From the drop down menu select Description
1939 Register on FindMyPast The 1939 Register, taken on 29 September 1939, provides a snapshot of the civilian population of England and Wales just after the outbreak of the Second World War. Details of around 40 million people were recorded in the record series RG 101. The information was to produce Identity Cards and, once rationing was introduced in January 1940, to facilitate the issuing of ration books. Information in the Register was also used to administer conscription and division of labour. It was later used in the setting up of the National Health Service. The 1939 Register is a useful resource for family, social and local historians. As the 1931 census for England and Wales was destroyed by fire during the Second World War and no census was taken in 1941, the 1939 Register provides the most complete survey of the population of England and Wales between 1921 and 1951. While the 1939 Register is not a census, it is arranged along similar lines and includes similar, if less detailed, information. It does, however, show exact dates of birth, while census returns simply give a person s age. The register covers Great Britain and Norther Ireland Records of people younger than 100 and still alive, or who died after 1991 are officially closed Serving military people, even if they are at home are not included in this register
1939 Registration additional features
Other online sources At home you will have to pay of the commercial companies to see the 1841-1871 and 1891-1911 censuses complete with images. 1881 is free on Ancestry and FindMyPast. The censuses are free on Family Search and FreeCen but they are without images of the original documents. FreeCen is not complete, but certainly worth looking at. They have 1841-1891 but not for all areas. See if your county of interest is covered at https://www.freecen.org.uk/statistics.html Some Problems that you might like to Solve. All are in the 1881 cenus so are free 1. How many people had the same first name and surname as you? 2. How many people with the same surname as you lived in the same county as you were born? 3. How many Sheila s in the 1881 (Exact spelling) 4. My Chapman s moved fron Yorkshire to Darlington before 1840. Can you find any in Darlington that were born before 1840. 5. Do something similar with your family. 6. Find Winston Churchill? 7. Find Karl Marks, author and political economist from Germany? 8. Find Queen Victoria? Have fun! Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society Chorley Research Centre at Astley Hall Farmhouse Opening times First & Third Saturdays Noon 4:00pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday 10:00am 4:00pm Last appointment 3:00pm Booking advisable Tel. 01257 231 600 (When centre is open), Tel 01257 262 028 (When centre is closed) or Book on line at - Chorley Family History Research Centre Website www.cfhrc.com Research Enquires - chorleyresearch@lffhs.org.uk Chorley BranchWebsite - www.lfhhschorleybranch.com LFHHS President Society Website www.lfhhs.org.uk Reg. Charity Number - 513437