SUSSEX-PLUS-L Archives

From: "Julie Cheesman" <>
Subject: Hints: Census lookups
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 18:58:49 +0100

Achieving good results from Census lookup requests requires some knowledge
of what is possible.

The 1901 UK census is not yet available. It will be released in January 2002
and should be available on the internet. Consulting the index is expected to
be free but you will have to pay to access the entries. Limited copies on
fiche should be available at the FRC and local Record Offices.

The 1891 census has very few indexes. Unless you have an exact street
address it is totally unreasonable to expect anyone else to search a town
for you without payment for their time and effort. Towns take days or weeks
of concentrated searching without an address. Even requesting a lookup in a
village is expecting a lot of a fellow researcher as even the simplest
search takes a lot of organising and time. The 1891 census can be searched
at LDS centres world-wide and at the Record Offices for individual counties.
Main libraries often have copies of the census for their immediate area.
Fiche of the 1891 census can be bought from the PRO or (at a 50% premium)
from a commercial website.

The 1881 census was fully indexed by members of local Family History
Societies and is available from LDS on CDs at a very reasonable price. Many
people have copies so for best results state the person's full name,
expected age and county they were thought to be living in. For common
surnames it's useful to state their probable birthplace and what town they
may have lived in. The CDs are a useful tool but it's always best to check
the actual entries as no index can ever be error free. The actual entries
also give descriptions of each enumeration district and the names of the
enumerators and the registrars. This information can often give you valuable
clues.

The 1871 and 1861 census have rarely been indexed. Search them at the same
places and with the same restrictions as the 1891 census. I'm not aware of
an easy way to buy them but believe it is possible.

The 1851 census has often been indexed by Family History Society volunteers.
Some counties have complete coverage but by no means all have been done.
Indexes vary considerably in content, some are full transcripts but others
may offer little more than a list of surnames with film and folio
references. The actual entries should be consulted as before.

The 1841 census offers less information than the later censuses so very few
attempts have been made to index them. Search them at the same places and
with the same restrictions as the 1891 census. Searching can be quicker than
with the later censuses as there's less information to look at and the
population was much less. Birthplaces are not stated, people were only asked
if they were born in the county they were living in. Many people didn't know
or lied as they thought they might be sent back where they came from. Ages
were supposed to be rounded down to the nearest five years except for
children under 15. These instructions weren't understood by all enumerators
so you will find examples of actual ages, ages rounded up to the nearest
five and occasionally rounding done to the nearest 10 years. Relationships
weren't stated so it's easy to get confused. Occupations were only usually
given for the head of the household so adult children's occupations often
don't appear. The returns were often made in pencil so films may be
difficult to read. It's still worth consulting them though, even if you must
use other types of records to complete the picture.

Censuses were taken in 1831, 1821, 1811 and 1801 but these have rarely
survived and are of very limited value. The government was only seeking a
population count but a few parishes asked a few extra questions. The most
that is available usually consists of the name of the head of the household,
possibly his occupation and the number of inhabitants of each house. Some of
these have been transcribed by members of Family History Societies.

See the separate email on specific guidelines for the individual Sussex-Plus
counties.

Julie, Sussex-Plus Listowner

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