Genealogy Chat

Hi all is it common for some body to use a sibblins name on a census? steve

Hi Stephen, You have to be aware that the census is only as accurate as what the enumerator was told on the day of the census. Cerainly I have found instances of different siblings in my tree swaping dates of birth. In victorian times with large numbers of offspring it would not be surprising if mistakes happened. If you post the details, I am sure someone might be help you t sort this out. Sue

I've found that some of my people were recorded by their 2nd given name rather than the 1st. This is particularly so, when father and son have the same names eg. Father:- Edward Henry...shown as Edward H. Son: - Edward Henry ...shown as Henry I have not found people using siblings names. Can you tell us which census you are querying and what you already know, then we can take a look? Gwyn

in the 1901 census i have found a matilda western aged abt 34 her real name should be amelia emma western ( nee bird ) born 1866 in the 1881 census you will see her and she has a 5 year old sister called lol matilda i know this is the right family as i have spent a long time on this trying to find the matilda as it was a mystery why that name was showing on the 1901 census but i dont understand why she would use her sisters name ?? as if it was matilda she would be aged 25 they are from the st olaves london area steve

It does seem a bit weird. Just had a look at the 1881 census image, by the way, and Matilda is actually 2 on it, not 5. Do you know whether Matilda's name on her birth registration was actually Matilda? I'm just wondering whether her real name might have been something else and Matilda was a nickname which got used for more than one of the sisters, although I can't think of an obvious reason why it would. Kate.

kate that is strange i am looking at the ancestry site 1881 census and it says matilda is 5 born 1876 ???

Curioser and curioser: Have you seen this marriage Amelia Emma Bird and Albert John Western. St Olave Southwark, Surrey 1891 Oct-Dec 1d 558 Might be worth getting the birth certificates of one of the children to see which first name she is using on there. Sue

i have got my g/grand mothers edith sarah western 1 of the daughters and it says amelia emma now you can see why i am asking lol steve

Yes, Stephen, they have transcribed her age as 5 on ancestry and so it automatically calculates her year of birth as 'about 1876' (and don't get me started on that!) but if you view the image you will see that her age is very clearly written as 2. Also, there is a birth registration for Matilda Bird in the St. Olave district in the last quarter of 1878, which would indeed make her 2 when the 1881 census was taken and destroys my theory about Matilda being her nickname! Births Dec 1878 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bird Matilda St. Olave 1d 323 Kate.

i have asked my last living rellie if she can remember her nan being called matilda and she has said no never lol this is so strange it has had me going for weeks steve and oh yes kate sorry you are right

well the mystery contines lol thnk you all who tried to help me steve

The other Matilda also appears to be on the 1901 census. There is a marriage which appears to be hers: Matilda Bird and Joseph Burrell Apr-Jun 1898 St Olave, Southwark 1d 555. In the 1901 census they appear: Matilda Burrell Age 22 Estimated birth Year: abt 1879 Relation: Wife Spouse’s Name: Joseph M Where born: Rotherhithe Address 3 Moreton Terrace, Rotherhithe Living with daughter Doris aged 3 months Could Amelia or husband just have been having a senior moment when asked for wife's name in 1901? Sue

lol sue you never know it is looking more and more like it and thank you for your help steve

It could be she was one of those Victorians who were very suspicious about the census being taken (as many were back then, which is why there are so many false details given) and in order to 'trick' the system, used her sister's name.

ok thank you anthea and i have just had a P.M from a new member of this family he says his grand mother was mary and his gg/aunt was matilda so yippeee thank you all steve