Genealogy Chat

The people behind the 1901 census - not the one on Ancestry - want to know what we think. The survey is free and only takes a few minutes. I told them I thought the site was overpriced and that the 48 hours time limit was ridiculous. The chances are that these people will be the ones organising the online 1911 census in a couple of years, so air your views and hope they take them on board.

Kate I've just told them what I thought and it was very therapeutic. apart from the ridiculous 48-hour time limit, the basic search does not give enough info to ascertain if you have the right person, and the transcriptions are very poor. I have about 30% of my relatives I have not been able to find, though they are there. The ones I have found are often badly mistranscribed - Lenorthey for Smoothy is a classic example! Helen

Hi Kate, Thanks for news of the survey. I find my worst complaint apart from badly transcribed names.. Ida Cowdrey as Julia Caudrey etc. is that there are so many people missing.I thought one of my rellies had died before 1901, as no sign on the census, only to find her at a convent school as a pupil boarder, on Ancestry 1901 Census. I shall certainly fill in the survey.

Thanks - I hadn't noticed it!

Just done it - I didn't know about it - just shows how useful that site has been to me! Abigail

Ive just taken the survey and agree with comments on pricing policy and the 48 hour rule which really bugs me as I have lost money a few times on that one. Hope they will listen to us, as I would love to use the site more, but wont unless the pricing policy changes.

After seeing this thread i have completed the on line form too, I agree that the 48 hour time limit is just not enough.At least with 1837online the time limit is quite lengthy, I have tried to use the address finder on several occasions and couldnt find anything,,,even houses that were occupied in 1901 by family members,!! Some of the transcribing has been blatently mis-typed...eg..one ancestor who was a mariner had his occupation changed to peeping tom,! Finally ,, i said that i hoped the next census released would be on time and not months later as was this one,

Taken the survey, they won't be very pleased. Moaned about prices, time limits, inability to find people and addresses and how dreadful the transcriptions and images are! Also said I hope the 1911 will be a vast improvement on what they currently offer. LOL. They probably won't ever let me on the site again!!! I do feel better for telling them though. :-) Viv

Viv - don't worry, it does say it's annonymous LOL. Just done my bit. As a novice found the site quite good really, but have to agree with you all about the restrictive time limit and the cost! Some sites only charge like 5p to view - here the prices vary so much for different viewings. I paid £15 in 48 hours, but never actually spent that much, cos there was always something like 25p left over that I couldn't use for what I wanted to look at! Shocking!! lol

Anything to stop them sending the 1911 census to Sri Lanka to be transcribed! It may be cheaper for the work to be done there but they are losing money in the long run because people can't find relatives! Crista

I have taken up the 1901 Census and i found the time limit very restricting ...apart from getting the full use out of it you have tobe an insomniac and all the infos not there cant even find me house that i need or the family and wonder where they lived lol no im most upset about 1901 just needed to vent Good Luck everyone Regards Carol

I have taken up the 1901 Census and i found the time limit very restricting ...apart from getting the full use out of it you have tobe an insomniac and all the infos not there cant even find me house that i need or the family and wonder where they lived lol no im most upset about 1901 just needed to vent Good Luck everyone Regards Carol

I haven't used the 1901 for ages due to the frustration I experienced trying to find people I knew to be there who I just couldn't find.I splashed out the money on ancestry and found some of them straight away. In fact I've just re checked 1901 and doing an advanced person search entering the details from the census image it still doesn't bring my grandfather up (or his mother, even with her full name) Now I am curious as to what they are transcribed as.

I didn't know until recently that you can do a place search so if you know exactly where they live , ie small village you can go through the place page by page, getting neighbours and everything and save it , may save you money in the long run , particulary if they are mis transcribed. ie just put in Thakeham, sussex or Cricklade wiltshire etc, and it goes through all the pages, obviously you have to pay for the image on the 1901 site but if you know your family were there you can find them. I went through worthing and found my "Dales" transcribed as "Dares" Kim

I didn't know that either Kim. The problem I had was I didn't know where my gfather was. I guessed his mother had probably re-married and that was why I couldn't find his surname. So I tried entering his first name, James, his age 14, and his place of birth,Hoxton. However, although he appears in the results, I would have to wade through 22 of them at a cost of 50 p each plus the 75p for the census image. Then, thats just one grandparent and I've got 2 living in England on 1901. The others were born post 1901 which means I had to look for their parents, mostly with mistranscribed names. The only people I have ever found with no effort were John and Caroline Cochrane on Scotlands People.(Fabulous site I recommend acquiring yourself some rellies from Scotland.Birth certificates give all the usual details and time of birth and when and where the parents married!) Anyway, I have filled in the survey now lets hope they take notice!

Oh dear, it doesn't look like there will be many happy bunnies at the PRO when the results are collected.