Genealogy Chat

Can anyone help? When I have an ancestor with a consistent age through most census returns, does anyone know why he 'might' (?) be 4 years older on 1837 online? Or have I got the wrong one? If I have, then I really have lost him as he is nowhere else that I have checked

Are you talking about a birth or death - death registrations are often out because the person registering the death often does not know the exact age of the person. nell

My G Grandfather is listed on all the census forms as having been born 1850 ish, I, and others, have looked for his birth on quite a few different sites and can only come up with one born abt 1846. Helen

Hi Helen My own mother did not know her own mother's year of birth correctly. My grandmother was 2 years older than either my mother or I believed (until I started this research). Either my grandmother had forgotten, or else she deliberately made herself out to be younger than she really was. Even quite young children appear on censuses with the wrong age. I think it was just not so important to people a hundred years ago. It probably only started to really matter when old age pensions were introduced. I think it quite possible that there could be a 4 year error. Tina

It's unlikely that a child of 4 or 5 is described as a 1yr old. What does the family structure look like in 1851? Is he the only child? Are the suspected parents a young couple or elderly? There ought to be clues on this census to suggest to you whether you have the right birth or not. Personally, I'd go with the idea of an elder sibling who died, while your ancestor simply didn't get registered. Most of my ancestors in the 1840s are not registered, though luckily their siblings are. B

Thank you to everybody for your help, certainly given me something to think about Helen