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Definition of Census Information

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AuntySherlock

AuntySherlock Report 29 Dec 2009 11:34

When the census collections were undertaken in England between 1841 and 1901 what was the "legal" requirement with regard to being counted during the census.

Did residents have to be physically present and seen during the census collection. Could a family member not have been present at the time that particular household was visited, but their name and details still recorded.

KathleenBell

KathleenBell Report 29 Dec 2009 11:42

It was virtually the same as it is now - it was supposed to be everyone who would be spending the night at a particular address that was recorded. However it all depended on what information the informant gave to the enumerator. Sometimes people are recorded twice if they were spending the night away from home and their parents also gave their name at their usual address because they thought they should record everyone who usually lived there.

Kath. x

AuntySherlock

AuntySherlock Report 29 Dec 2009 11:57

Thanks Kath, I'm trying to make sense of an entry on the 1891 census which shows the occupation as General Seaman and then /Seas is written next to it. Was wondering if the person could have been out of the country at the time of the census and his parents put in the info.

I need the silly man to be out of the country being married in 1890 and then back in the country again for the 1891 census. Which is of course feasible if he was a seaman. Oh well more looking to be done.

Madmeg

Madmeg Report 30 Dec 2009 00:25

I only learnt recently that the forms were given out a few days in advance. So they could have been filled in then, not knowing he was going away, or filled in expecting him to be back and he didn't make it in time. Or they could just have misunderstood the instructions.

+++DetEcTive+++

+++DetEcTive+++ Report 30 Dec 2009 00:36

It could depend on what questions were asked. ‘Who lives here?’ could then mean the seaman was listed, as that was his home. ‘Who slept here?’ would get a different response.

Even today we get in a muddle – take students for instance. Are they listed in ‘Halls of Residence’ or their home address? Ours in 2001 got listed twice as the enumerator couldn’t get definitive advice!

Researching:
Dormant member as from 20 Sep 2019 . Click on my board name to send a message

AuntySherlock

AuntySherlock Report 30 Dec 2009 05:32

Thank you all for that. For DET this is tied up with my "extraordinary surprising discovery". I am chasing up certificates which won't be available until after the middle of January. Right now nothing makes sense. I am almost prepared to say they are not the same person either that or he had a motorised row boat!!

InspectorGreenPen

InspectorGreenPen Report 30 Dec 2009 06:29

Have a look at theOfficial Instructions given to Enumerators on the GENUKI site for info on how it should have been done.....!

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Census.html

(Link is about 15 lines down)

AuntySherlock

AuntySherlock Report 30 Dec 2009 13:00

That is a very interesting web page. Enjoyed reading it. Makes the census images easier to understand with that informaiton. Thank you.