Censuses lend a helping hand

Published on Tuesday 4 July 2006 12:48

NATIONAL censuses give snapshots of your family throughout the 19th century and help you enormously to find out about your past.

Our Government has been counting our heads every ten years or so for more than two centuries. But in 1841, instead of just coming up with totals, it came up with listed individuals – a line for every single person in the nation.

For you the ancestor-hunter, that decision has produced the most mouth-watering treasure chest of all. It gives you basic genealogical information and background colour unmatched by any other. It covers the Censuses of 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. The information is readily available at New Register House Edinburgh, at libraries all over the country and at your fingertips on the web. (After 1901, confidentiality kicks in and the returns are not yet for public consumption.)

Quick tip:

Small children are best. Their ages are less likely to be distorted and they'll almost certainly be living with their family. You'll get lots of names with one strike.

So what do the Censuses give you?

Let's begin with the 1841 Census to start with. It was very basic, giving names and, apart from the children, only rounded down ages. A person's place of birth was given merely as in the county or not. Sometimes foreign origins would be indicated. No relations of the people living in the household were given although you can usually give a fairly informed guess. Even that bald line for an individual was manna from heaven compared with that was available before.

Quick tip:

Pay particular attention to that occupation space. Even if you know what Angus Ross did (from marriage certificate, family information etc) this entry often gives you additional details. Especially useful for women before their marriage – you sometimes find nothing on their marriage certificates.

1851 set a more promising pattern for things to come. It gave:

• the address, sometimes precisely, sometimes vague

• the name of each person, identifying one as the head of the household

• the relationship to that head, for example son, niece, lodger/boarder

• the marital status: married, unmarried or widowed

• the occupation

• the place of birth

Later Censuses added titbits as the Government wanted the answers to more social questions – how many rooms did the family live in (1861), was anyone deaf or blind or disabled (1881), who spoke Gaelic (1891)?

Now just imagine that information for every one of your ancestors alive at that moment in time. And it's yours for the asking.

Get prepared for it

You are going to be transcribing a lot of material so make it easy for yourself. Draw up in advance a proforma. Better still, go to Ancestry.com. There you will find blank sheets for every UK census available to you.

The benefits of the proforma are obvious:

• it is much more encouraging than a blank sheet of paper

• it is much quicker to fill in

• it will make sure you don't miss anything

Where do you go?

Transcripts of all the Censuses are held at New Register House at the west end of Princes Street. If you are searching there, your ticket will cover the censuses.

Quick tip:

You've invested time and money to get in front of that Census screen. Naturally you are focused on your own family, but why not take a little longer to look at their neighbours. It rounds off any family history to see the context of your ancestors' lives. The Census is a snapshot of a street or a village or a stair or a farm. You won't find all that anywhere else.

Many local libraries hold microfiche copies of the Censuses for their area only. This can be a very convenient way of working if your family has its roots in one clearly defined location.

Internet access to the censuses 1851-1901 is through Scotlands People. Charges are reasonable and could outweigh the cost of getting to Edinburgh or a local library.

What do you do when you get there?

So you are sitting in front of a screen (the days when you were allowed to get your mitts on the books are long gone), what happens next?

You will need to be very clear as to who it is you are looking for. As always in this business, the guys with funny names have it easy. Those of us whose names are more common, or perhaps the best word is more "popular", need to be careful. Addresses and first names and relationships you have sorted out earlier will help keep you on the right track.

Let's assume a typical beginner situation. Most of us can get back to 1901 without too much difficulty. Who do you know was around when Victoria popped her clogs? Look them up in the indexes and you are on your way.

Kind librarians will help you with the microfiches, the websites are well organised and used to beginners.

You should soon land up looking at the image of a handwritten page. Scroll down until you find your family. And start filling in that proforma.

The "Where Born" column is vital. It is a springboard back to the 1891 Census and beyond and it will help you with the Births, Marriages and Deaths indexes. It can often trace the movements of a family with itchy feet when you see the different places of birth for a succession of children.

By now your proforma is filled. Check that there are no blank spaces and you are ready to leap back ten years in a single bound.