Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy: The definitive reference guide to tracing your family history

• Rank, profession or occupation: What the occupation of the individual was. Children at school would be noted down as ‘scholars’.

From 1891 to 1901: Employer, employed or neither: This was intended to establish statistical information on the nature of Britain’s working population. You will often see the number of employees that worked for an employer noted here.

From 1901: Whether the individual was working at home: New information to ascertain how many people still worked at home, and the numbers who regularly went to a place of work.

• Where born: People were required to note down exactly where they were born, usually stating the parish of birth. This information enables current researchers to find the birth or baptism details of those born prior to the onset of civil registration in 1837 and, therefore, to trace back the family tree further still.

• Whether blind or deaf and dumb: Such physical disabilities were to be noted.

From 1871 to 1901: Imbecile, idiot or lunatic: Additional disabilities were to be included.

• From 1891: Language: Anyone in Wales or Monmouthshire was required to state whether they spoke English only, Welsh only, or English and Welsh (listed as ‘both’).

From 1901: Language: The language spoken section was extended to the Isle of Man census.

As well as information on people living in households across the country, people in various residential institutions – schools, prisons, workhouses, hospitals and asylums – were also noted, though to preserve the anonymity of some of these categories, initials only were used instead of full names, making it tricky to identify a relative who you feel might be away from home. Data on the crews of ships docked in British ports are also included in the returns, as are soldiers in barracks and sailors in naval bases, establishments and ships in port.

Archive References for the 1851–1901 Censuses

1.1851 census

The same prefix code as the 1841 census is used, HO 107 (a National Archives reference). Registration districts were now used and were further divided into smaller sub-districts. The returns were organized by registration district. Each sub-district was given a piece number to follow on from HO 107. The first piece numbers were for the London area and then they were organized on a rough south-to-north basis. After all of England had been allocated piece numbers, subsequent ones were allocated for Wales and then the Isle of Man and, lastly, the Channel Islands. Each county, depending on its size, could include numerous piece numbers.

There was also a folio and page numbering system similar to the one mentioned for 1841. Once a new enumeration district started within a sub-district the page numbers would start from number 1 again. The reference slip is now on the bottom of a page and an example of a reference would be HO 107/2036. HO 107 is the standard reference and 2036 would be the piece number for the registration district of Stourbridge in Worcestershire. To find the exact page you need the folio and page number, although this is not be found on the reference slip itself, but on the top of the census return page. The folio page was stamped on every other page and the page number was printed on every page.

2.1861 census

From 1861 onwards the TNA prefix is different. Instead of ‘HO 107’, each census return is prefixed with ‘RG’ (Registrar General) and, depending on the year of the census, an appropriate number. Hence, for 1861, each census return has the initial prefix RG 9, the number 9 signifying the year 1861.

Other than that, the numbering system is similar to that of 1851. Each registration district was given a unique piece number and these numbers were organized on a similar geographical basis as those of 1851 (with the returns for London coming first). The reference slip is found at the side of the page; a typical one would be RG 9/602 where RG 9 would signify the 1861 census and 602 would represent registration district 85 for Brighton. Again for a complete reference you would need the appropriate folio and page number (described above).

3.1871 census

The referencing system is the same as that used in 1861. The only difference is the first prefix is now RG 10, signifying it is the 1871 census.

4.1881 census

Again, the referencing system is the same as used in the previous three censuses. The TNA prefix is now RG 11, as it is the 1881 census.

The 1881 census for England, Wales, Scotland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man was fully transcribed by the Church of Latter Day Saints in the 1980s. The Church has made access to this census in particular free of charge on its website, www.familysearch.org.

5.1891 census

The referencing system is the same as the previous censuses, RG 12 being the appropriate prefix code for this series.

The request for information about the employment status of individuals, where appropriate, was first made in this census. Additionally a column has been added detailing the number of rooms that were occupied in the dwelling house if less than five.

6.1901 census

This is the last publicly available census until the release of the majority of the information in the 1911 census in 2009. The appropriate prefix for this collection is RG 13.

Accessing Census Collections for England and Wales

As already mentioned, the original householders’ schedule forms were destroyed for 1841 to 1901. The original enumerator books, which form the census returns, are held at TNA for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The census returns for Scotland and Ireland (discussed below) are held at their appropriate record offices.

The census returns for 1841 to 1901 have all been microfilmed and it is these microfilmed versions that are available to view. However, a far easier way to access and view census returns is via the Internet, as the records have been digitized by different commercial websites that offer access to them for a fee. Below are details of the many different ways you can access the censuses.

The National Archives

All census returns from 1841 to 1901 are available, free of charge, at TNA in its reading rooms at Kew, South West London, on microfilm or microfiche. Reference guides, leaflets and indexes are available to help you locate the relevant TNA reference. Online access to the returns for 1841–91 via TNA’s commercial partner Ancestry is also available in the reading rooms for free, though you have to pay for any copies you make. You can also search the 1901 census database for free, though access to the actual digital images still costs money. The 1881 census has been fully transcribed, and an index is available in the reading rooms. Parts of the 1851 census have been indexed by family history societies, and these indexes are also available.

Local Record Offices and Archives

As the censuses were microfilmed, many local libraries, record offices, family history societies and archives were able to purchase copies that cover the local vicinity. Most of these institutions will only have information for the relevant county or place, but they will also have useful local indexes that might not be available nationally, particularly if they were prepared by a family history society. These will include many local projects to catalogue and index the 1851 census, as well as the complete 1881 census index. Some indexes for the 1841 census are also available, and some companies have produced CD ROMs for local census returns for 1861 and 1871, and for 1891 as well. Additionally, staff will have specialized knowledge of the census for their area and can inform you of any missing areas. They will usually be available on microfiche or film and may suit people who are not IT literate.

‘Local record offices will have useful local indexes that might not be available nationally.’

Online

There are many commercial genealogical websites on the market, most of which have indexes and digital copies of the census online, although they are seldom free of charge. Here is a list of the most complete collections:

• www.ancestry.co.uk This is one of the largest genealogical websites, with numerous databases, including a comprehensive census collection for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man from 1841 to 1901. It is a payable service, either by a monthly/annual subscription or a pay-per-view system. Each census has an index and hence it is possible to do simple name searches (including various other details if required) when conducting a search. It is possible to search the index for free, although viewing the entire entry can only be done at a cost. Additionally, the index for the 1881 census can be searched in its entirety without cost as it has been previously transcribed (see above). It is through Ancestry that TNA provides access to the census records onsite. Another useful aspect of the census collection of Ancestry is that it details missing or incomplete registration districts for the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses. Hence, if you think you know where your ancestor should have been living, you can run a check against the list if you are having difficulties finding the individuals.

• www.1901censusonline.com This was the first website to offer a census online in collaboration with TNA. It was a joint venture to release the 1901 census for England and Wales in January 2002 (after the 100 years closure period). However, the website now offers searches for all other censuses apart from 1881. The index is free to search although payment is required to view the original record. You can search by name and the website also offers other useful search functions. For example you can search by address, vessel (Royal Naval ships amongst other things) or institution (such as a hospital or prison). To view the original images you will have to purchase pay-per-view vouchers from the website.

• www.findmypast.com Formerly concerned with providing access to birth, marriage and death indexes, Find My Past has a growing collection of censuses. At the time of going to print it was possible to search the 1841, 1861, 1871 and 1891 censuses for England and Wales free of charge, although viewing the transcriptions or the originals costs a number of units which have to be purchased in advance.

• www.origins.net This is another large commercial genealogical website, with a number of databases, including census collections for England and Wales. Its census collection is not complete, however. At the time of print it covered 1841 and 1861 in their entirety, but its database for the 1871 census was incomplete, only covering certain counties (listed individually on the website). Again it is a payable service and it is only possible to do a very simple search without first subscribing.

• www.rootsweb.ancestry.com This is the sister site to www. freebmd.org.uk that provides transcriptions of the national GRO birth, marriage and death indexes for free, and this site for census returns works on the same principle. It is run by a team of volunteers who are transcribing various parts of the census free in an attempt to make as much information available on the website without cost to the researcher. It is an ongoing project working on particular counties of England, Scotland and Wales for all censuses from 1841 to 1891. No census has been completely transcribed but the website does provide a graph showing which counties are covered for each census, along with the percentage of coverage for each county. The project is constantly recruiting volunteers to assist with the process.

Troubleshooting: What to Do If You Can’t Find Your Ancestor

It can be difficult trying to find your ancestor on the appropriate census, even if you’re pretty certain that they should be there. Here are a few reasons why you may experience problems and solutions to help you overcome these.

Data Wrongly Indexed or Transcribed

This is by far the most common reason for difficulties in locating an ancestor. It could be that, in cases of illiteracy, the enumerator at the time had to interpret and record the information given to him by the head of the household. There was no other way of verifying this data and therefore inaccuracies would not have been picked up.

Additionally, most of the websites listed above have created their own name indexes and searchable databases for the census returns, and errors may have crept in whilst compiling these resources. There are several reasons why this might have happened, ranging from the poor condition of the original returns to the difficulty that the modern transcriber faces in reading nineteenth-century handwriting. Bear in mind all possible variant spellings of forenames and surnames and how easily some letters can be confused for each other. For example, if your ancestor’s surname was ‘Parker’, it could easily have been indexed as ‘Barker’, ‘Darker’ or even ‘Porker’. Lateral thinking is often needed in overcoming such mis-indexing.

CASE STUDY

Bill Oddie pt 1

Bill Oddie’s family tree was examined for the first series of Who Do You Think You Are? The story primarily focused on his search for information about his mother, and why she disappeared from his life when he was a child. However, another part of the programme examined conditions facing other members of his family as they grew up in the industrial North West. Key to this storyline was Bill’s grandfather, Wilkinson Oddie, who was born in 1864 and worked in cotton mills for most of his life. His marriage certificate of 1907 was tracked down, when his age was given as 42 and he was described as a widower. This information permitted a search of the 1901 census, based on the fact that he would have been 36 at the time and possibly living with his first wife, in the hope of finding out more about his background.

The search concentrated on census returns in or around Rochdale, where he was living in 1907 at the time of his second marriage to Emily Hawksworth. Initially, no reference to Wilkinson Oddie could be found; however, there was a Wilkinson Oddy of the right age in the right place, and further investigation of earlier census returns in 1891, along with a check of relevant civil registration documents for his birth and first marriage, showed that this was indeed the correct person. Clearly, the census enumerator had written down a phonetic version of his name, transcribing Oddie as Oddy. This highlights one of the most common pitfalls when working with census records – you can’t rely solely on a surname, but have to incorporate all sorts of other data such as age, place of birth and occupation.