The Census Links and Useful Info

We have compiled a list of sites that can be used to search the Census online. 

England & Wales Census:

http://www.freecen.org.uk/ - 1841 - 1901
http://www.ukcensusonline.com/ - links to 1841-1911
http://www.1911census.co.uk/ - 1911 census
www.ancestry.co.uk - 1841-1911
www.findmypast.com - 1841-1911
http://www.rootsuk.com/ - 1841-1901
http://www.1901censusonline.com/ - 1901
http://www.uk1901census.com/ - 1901
http://www.census1891.com/ - London 1891
http://www.essex1841.com - Various Essex 1841

Scotland

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - 1841-1911

Ireland

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ - 1901-1911


England and Wales Census Dates:

The census was taken on the following dates:

10 Mar		1801		No longer exists, with a few exceptions
27 May		1811		No longer exists, with a few exceptions
28 May		1821		No longer exists, with a few exceptions
30 May		1831		No longer exists, with a few exceptions
6 June		1841		Now available to the public
30 March		1851		Now available to the public
7 April		1861		Now available to the public
2 April		1871		Now available to the public
3 April		1881		Now available to the public
5 April		1891		Now available to the public
31 March		1901		Now available to the public
2 April		1911		Now available to the public
19 June		1921		Expected to be released by in January 2022
26 April		1931		Destroyed during WW2
29 September		1939		WW2 National Registration
8 April		1951
23 April		1961
25 April		1971
5 April		1981
21 April		1991
29 April		2001

The UK Census

Perhaps the genealogical resource most commonly used and the most informative is the Census.

The British Government have made these regular population counts every 10 years since 1801 with the only exception during the Second World War. Householders filled in a schedule that enumerators copied into books. Pre 1841 census returns were destroyed after they were completed and many more recent returns have been destroyed by fire, floods, bombing or to make storage space.

The precious returns that survive, contain a wealth of information, including householders names, ages, places of birth, occupation employment status, address and any disabilities. Using these census returns can enable a researcher to trace back their ancestors to the early 19th century in a relatively short space of time and gather vital incite into how and where they lived.

Finding the Census.

The census reports only become available to the public after 100 years has lapsed, the exception to this rule was the early release of the 1911 census. The best place to start is to choose a subscription or pay per view site, www.ancestry.co.uk or www.findmypast.com are two of the most popular and offer various packages to suit your budget. You may find that your local library or family history centre offer free use of one of these sites, check with your local library or FHS or visit the National Archives.

Ancestry.co.uk  holds census returns from 1841 to 1911 for England and Wales, the1911 census is not fully searchable currently and you will need to browse by county or parish, however you can search the 1911 summary books.

Findmypast.com  holds the 1841 through to 1911 census for England and Wales on a pay per view and subscription basis, searchable both by name or address.

The Scottish 1911 census has now been transcribed and available on pay per view from www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk although the images are the enumerators book entries as the original returns completed by householders on the 2nd April 1911 were destroyed.

www.census.nationalarchives.ie contains both the 1901 and 1911 census for the whole of Ireland and what is now Northern Ireland and can be accessed free of charge.

Other free sites that hold census information from the 19th century include, www.familysearch.org, the website of the Church of the Latter Day Saints which will provide information transcribed from the England and Wales Census when searching by name. www.freecen.org.uk also contains some free information transcribed from the 1841 to 1891 census of England and Wales.
There are various other free sites that make available information on a individual town or city, check www.cyndislist.com.

Census Search Tips:

The information is only as good as the person who transcribed it: it is important to remember the handwriting is not always easy to read and so errors have occurred when transcribing information from the census to search options. Vary your search input if you cannot locate someone, try searching for a different member of the same household.

Inaccuracies: In a time when many had very basic or no reading or writing skills, information can be notoriously inaccurate or vary from census to census, ages were often rounded up or down and name spelling can change. Use other reference points, members of the household to confirm the right people.

Missing Persons: if someone has disappeared from a household, there can be varying reasons, the individual could be:
                          In the military-- census returns were still completed for all members of the armed forces whether home or abroad, keep searching!
                         Domestic Service-- especially applies to young girls and women, many young girls and women would have entered into domestic service and may turn up as a cook, servant, or domestic with the household they worked for.
                        The Workhouse -- during the victorian era, those who found themselves down on their luck and poor could end up in the various workhouses. So again you may find them not living where you thought.
try if you can to vary the census sites you use, searching on one site may not locate the individual or family but may turn up with a simple search on another.

Vary name spellings: Check birth records, names appearing on the census may not be their birth name. Abbreviation, use of middle name can cause hours of searching to no avail.

Check marriage records, a female may have married and will now have a different surname. For males you may now have another member of the household to search for that might turn up trumps.

Good Luck With your journey!

UltraViolet Genealogy

The Medal Reunited Project - New Membership Offer!

NEW MEMBERSHIP OFFER!!!!!

Due to the ongoing success of The Medal Reunited Project and to ensure we are committed to the cause of reuniting British World War One service medals with family members and to maintain the fantastic support for Help for Heroes, we are pleased to announce we are reducing our membership fees.

To help make this project accessible to all we are now offering 1 years membership for only £7.00. The years membership will include:

 

 Unlimited access to the extensive list of sourced medals, currently standing at over 3000 and growing each week.

 

Unlimited submissions of "names of interest", so we can alert you as soon as any of these names are sourced.

 

The only request we make is that upon becoming a member that you make a donation of your choice to Help for Heroes!

 

So to  join today and discover your ancestors Medals or to find out more about the project visit: http://uvgenealogy.co.uk/29701.html

 

The Medal Reunited Project is also seeking potential sponsors to enable the project to continue to grow in strength and to keep supplying this service that you, the people have shown us is required and to keep supporting such a worthwhile cause.

 

If you would be interested in sponsoring The Medal Reunited Project please contact Nik Walker at nik@uvgenealogy.co.uk

    

Genealogy - Be Inspired

The 4th August is an important date in my life as a genealogist.  This was the date I gained my “inspiration”, the inspiration that would lead me to a career in Genealogy. 

When we begin our journey into researching our family history, it is important we have this inspiration.  In order to maintain the hours of research, late nights and long weekends spent trawling through archive and making endless notes on the findings we have uncovered that inevitably lie ahead,   we need to be able to stop and remember why we are doing this.  Whether as with myself it is to fulfil a promise to a loved one, a personal journey of discovery or to find answers to those family stories, there is always a trigger, a moment that leads you to begin your journey, your inspiration.

It is important to identify and reflect back on this inspiration throughout our journey into the past, it is this that gives us guidance and direction in our research.  It offers us motivation when we hit a brick wall or we are snowed under with all the fantastic things we have found.  Use your inspiration to identify and unlock the reasons why you began your journey. Write your inspiration on a board in your office, set a picture of your inspiration as a screen saver on your computer whatever you do  make it a focal point to remind you why you are doing this and to keep that motivation and passion strong

My Inspiration was my grandmother.  As a child I had many conversations with her about where she came from and who our ancestors were, what is was like living in the “olden days” or picking her brains for my history projects at school, only to discover that she knew very little about her family roots other than her direct family. The usual answer was that she came from an era where certain things were not talked about, but it had clearly not prevented her wanting to know the answers.  Many years after our initial conversations, on a visit for a cup of tea and a chat, we began talking about her ancestors again, this time I made a promise, I promised to find the answers to these questions and let her know all the things she wanted to know. One week after I made this promise she unfortunately passed away.  From this day, 4th August, I decided I will honour this promise and trace the family history and answer those questions she had wanted to know.

To this day my Grandmother is the first person I tell about any new discoveries and about the experiences I encounter in the best career I have ever had, the career she unknowingly inspired, unlocking the past for many others as a professional genealogist.