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

www.findmypast.com

This is another commercial genealogical website. It has placed the GRO indexes on its website in a similar fashion to Ancestry, by digitally scanning each page of every quarter for the entire civil registration period. Again, due to the digitization process you still need to search through each quarter as not every entry has been individually scanned. It is not free of charge but runs a pay-per-view service.

www.familyrelatives.com

Family Relatives have also provided online access to digitized GRO indexes. There are fully transcribed searchable indexes for the periods 1866–1920 and 1984–2005, whilst it is possible to search the periods 1837–65 and 1921–83 by surname and browse the GRO index images. To use this service, you need to register as a user, log in and buy credits.

Along with placing the GRO indexes online, certain local archives and record offices are investing in placing their local registrar indexes online too. There are websites such as www.ukbmd.org.uk, which lists which local indexes have been transcribed or placed online.

Civil Registration of Britons Overseas

Millions of Britons have worked overseas in the armed forces, as civil servants in one of the colonial administrations that comprised the British Empire, or on board a vessel travelling between foreign parts. Although they were not incorporated in the main national or local civil registration indexes, attempts were made to register as many of these people as possible, and the records are analysed here.

Overseas registers have been kept by the GRO and duplicate certificates can be purchased via the links on the GRO website www.gro.gov.uk once you’ve found the correct registration reference. There are indexes available on microfiche at The National Archives at Kew and other archives, or online at www.findmypast.com. These are broken down by period and type, covering:

• General indexes from 1966

• Colonial and ex-colonial indexes, 1940–81

• Civilian indexes 1849–1965, consular registers of births, marriages and deaths

• Civilian indexes 1837–1965, marine registers of births and deaths

• Civilian indexes 1947–65, air registers of births and deaths

• Civilian indexes, various foreign registers

• Military indexes 1761–1924 regimental births

• Military indexes 1796–1880 chaplains’ returns of births, marriages and deaths

• Military indexes 1881–1955 army births, marriages and deaths

• Military indexes 1956–65 army, navy, RAF births and marriages

• War deaths 1899–1948

In addition, there are separate consular records for people who were baptized or married or whose death was recorded at a British embassy or consulate. These records are predominantly held at The National Archives in a variety of record series. For a full list of countries covered, and where the records are stored, you should consult The British Overseas: a guide to records of their births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials available in the United Kingdom (3rd edition, 1994) published by Guildhall Library. Further information is likely to be held in consular correspondence, which is also held at The National Archives in series FO 83 and FO 97, with an index available in document FO 802/239. Records of non-statutory registers, many of which relate to births overseas and on board ships, can be found in the collected archives of the Registrar General at The National Archives in series RG 32–36.

Civil Registration in Scotland

Scotland has its own civil registration process, and the records are known as Statutory Registers. Civil registration was begun slightly later than in England and Wales, in 1855, but the certificates are more detailed then their counterparts across the border. Indeed, the earliest ones in 1855 are particularly detailed, though the sheer amount of information requested proved very difficult to record and thereafter the list of questions was simplified somewhat.

Additionally, the civil registration records are held in the same place as the parish records, in the General Register Office of Scotland (GROS) in Edinburgh. It is therefore possible to conduct a large amount of your genealogical research in the same place, which can simplify things greatly. The GROS levies charges for anybody using their services. These charges vary depending on whether you wish to visit the office for one day, one week or annually. At time of going to print the daily rate is £17 and the weekly rate £65. It is also advisable to book an appointment before visiting as there are only a limited number of spaces and the office may be fully booked.

Another advantage that the Scottish records have is that the indexes are fully computerized, which means you can search for a specific entry by name across the entire period. The computer database contains summaries of microfiche registers that contain the entire entry, and this latter entry is the one required for ordering copies of the certificates at GROS.

Birth Certificates

Birth indexes include the mother’s maiden name from 1929 onwards. The certificates themselves are similar to the English and Welsh certificates in giving the full name, the child’s sex, when and where (including time) they were born, the father’s full name and occupation along with the mother’s name (and maiden name), and similar details are provided relating to the registration details. However, where Scottish birth certificates differ is that they provide the details (time and place) of the marriage of the parents, including any other married names. In 1855 the certificates also stated the birth details of the parents along with details of other siblings, but this was quickly deemed too much information and was not given from 1856 onwards. The years 1856 to 1860 do not give marriage details of the parents either.

Marriage Certificates

Indexes are arranged separately by bride and groom. However, from 1855 to 1863 and then from 1929 you can find entries for brides in both their maiden names and their married names. The certificates themselves also note where and when the marriage took place, the type of marriage ceremony, full names, ages, marital status and occupation of the bride and groom. The additional details peculiar to Scottish certificates are the occupation and maiden names of the mother of each party. In 1855 only the certificates also state where the bride and groom were born and any previous marriage (along with names of any other children from the previous marriage).

Death Certificates

The indexes for these certificates are arranged thus:

• Age at death is provided from 1866 onwards

• The maiden name of the deceased’s mother from 1974 onwards

• Deceased married women are indexed by their married and maiden name after 1858

The registers themselves detail the name, age, exact time and location of death, the person’s occupation and their marital status. Medical causes of death are also provided. Scottish certificates give the name of the deceased’s spouse from 1861 (and in 1855) and the names of the deceased’s parents (including the mother’s maiden name). The earliest certificates of 1855 state where the deceased was born and how long they lived there, along with the details of any children (their ages and if they were still alive). From 1855 to 1860 burial details of the deceased are also provided.

Other Hints

There is a central website – www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk – that allows you to search by name the statutory registers of births (1855–1906), marriages (1855–1931) and deaths (1855–1956), as well as the old parish registers (which are covered in Chapter 7). You can search and download images of these registers for this period without needing to travel to the GROS in Edinburgh, although the website does charge to access this information.

The Society of Genealogists holds copies of indexes for Scottish statutory registers for the years 1855 to 1920. You may also be able to find indexes at various local family history societies.

Civil Registration in Ireland

Although civil registration for Protestant marriages began from 1 April 1845, the comprehensive civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was introduced to Ireland later, on 1 January 1864, on a similar model to that of England and Wales. These events would be recorded locally at the district registrar’s office and then copies passed on to the General Register Office in Dublin. However, in 1922 the country was partitioned and divided into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Subsequently, civil registration was also divided between those two territories and a separate office was opened in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Republic of Ireland General Register Office

The General Register Office of Ireland (GROI) is located in Dublin and houses the national indexes along with microfilm copies of the originals for the entire country from 1 January 1864 until 31 December 1921. It also has the copies of all the early Protestant marriages, which were recorded from 1 April 1845. From 1 January 1922 the office records all events that occurred in the Republic of Ireland. You will be charged to search through the indexes and a further charge will be incurred for ordering any certified copies of the registers.

‘Comprehensive civil registration was only introduced in Ireland in 1864.’

Birth Indexes

The indexes are arranged alphabetically by the child’s surname and then forename. After 1902 the mother’s maiden name is included in the indexes. The actual date of birth of the child can be found in the indexes from 1903 to 1927.

Marriage Indexes

The indexes are arranged by name of both the bride and groom. The registers themselves contain the same information as to be found on the English and Welsh certificates.

Death Indexes

The age of the deceased is included in the indexes. There is no date of birth of the deceased in the modern registers. All other details tally with the information found on English and Welsh certificates.

General Register Office of Northern Ireland

Civil registration records are housed in the General Register Office of Northern Ireland (GRONI), Belfast, for all events in the six counties of Northern Ireland since 1922. The original registers for births and deaths from 1864 can also be found here.

Birth Indexes

Births are indexed in this office. From 1903 to 1921 the date of birth of the child is also provided. They are arranged in a similar manner to those for England and Wales.

Marriage Indexes

Marriages are only to be found from 1922 onwards. Prior to that, if you are searching for a marriage in the six counties you may be able to find it in the applicable district registrar’s office.

Death Indexes

You can find records covering the entire period since 1864, and they are arranged in a similar manner to those for England and Wales.

CHAPTER 6

Census Returns

Along with civil registration certificates, census returns are the other vital genealogical source for tracing people in the nineteenth century. Since they cover an entire household at a time, they enable you to extend and broaden your family tree to include the extended family. This chapter will explain what census records are, what they contain, how to find them and extract their information, and various ways of using this data to start other lines of research.

Although there had been sporadic population surveys at various times in this country (such as the Domesday Book, commissioned in the late eleventh century by William the Conqueror), it was not until the introduction of the census in the early nineteenth century that collecting detailed information about the size and nature of the country’s population became a regular event. Censuses are of vital importance to a genealogist because they provide snapshots of entire families at a particular moment in time, linking relatives and different generations together in the same household as well as providing information about where they lived, their social status and their line of work.

The first census was conducted for England, Wales, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and Scotland in 1801 and there have been censuses conducted every 10 years since that date (except in 1941 due to the Second World War). Censuses started in Ireland a bit later, from 1821. The decision to collect the information followed much debate and controversy in Parliament, as many people feared the process could infringe individual freedoms and liberties. The surveys were not intended for family history purposes and their usefulness in this sphere was realized only later.

‘Censuses provide snapshots of entire families at a particular moment in time.’

The censuses for 1801 to 1831 were simple headcounts, which were used to produce accurate population figures and trends for the country. Indeed, the census for 1801 was primarily conducted in response to the threat of invasion during the Napoleonic Wars as an attempt by the government to ascertain how many potential soldiers would be available for conscription. Interestingly, however, the census returns for 1821 and 1831 for a very small minority of places contain more detailed information other than simple headcounts, with the names of the head of each household included, as happened in Hackney, London, for example. This was for no other reason than the enthusiasm of the people who went round collecting the information – little-known men such as Richard Stopher, who lived in the Suffolk village of Saxmundham most of his life and added notes to his census returns based on his local knowledge of the village’s occupants.

In 1840 the responsibility for collecting census information became part of the remit of the General Register Office (GRO) and subsequent censuses contain more details. From 1841 the censuses started listing the names of everyone in each household, and after 1851 even more detailed information was provided, including exact place of birth (providing researchers with the vital clue to trace these people further back in time). For reasons of privacy, censuses are not released into the public domain for 100 years. Hence, it is currently possible to view all returns only up until 1901.

The census for 1911 was released to the public in its entirety on 3 January 2012. However, due to the passing of the Freedom of Information Act (2000), the Information Commissioner ruled in 2006 that people were entitled to view parts of the census information now upon request. Currently The National Archives (TNA) holds all census returns, and will answer specific requests relating to particular addresses (it is not possible to do a name search) using its paid research service. TNA also hopes to offer a comprehensive searchable service for the census from 2009 onwards. However, this will exclude certain personal information (such as mental deficiencies or handicaps) until 2012.

Ireland has also released its censuses for 1901 and 1911. Unfortunately, however, no full censuses exist for Ireland prior to 1901 as they were destroyed in 1922 by a fire in the General Register Office in Dublin during the Irish Civil War. Those wishing to trace their Irish ancestors will have to rely on other sources for the nineteenth century, such as the Griffiths’ Valuation.

How Census Information was Collected

Censuses record all residents living in a particular property on one specific night (which varied depending on which census is being viewed – see below). A week or sometimes a couple of days prior to the given date, census enumerators would deliver census forms to each household within their enumeration district. The head of the household was obliged to fill in the required information as accurately as possible and the enumerator would then collect the forms the day after census night. As illiteracy levels were high in the nineteenth century, the enumerator would often assist the head of the household in filling out the forms.

Making the Most of Census Returns

Most census returns show us the names of everybody in a household, usually including how they are related to one another, their ages, occupations, places of birth and where they lived. Combining this material with that of civil registration certificates and parish registers gives you a fuller picture of your family’s background, so that you can see how their occupations changed over time, how they migrated around the country, as well as giving you a better idea of how each generation interacted as a family. You might want to use the information gathered from these sources to locate the addresses where your ancestors lived and see if their houses still stand.

Research hints

The data found on census returns can be used to narrow down searches using other records:

1. If you know from your great-grandfather’s birth certificate that his parents must have married before 1899, you can immediately reduce the number of years you have to search for their marriage if you find the family on the 1901 census and work out that their eldest child was born around 1892. You can then start searching for their marriage back from 1892 rather than 1899.

2. Deaths can also be traced with the help of census returns. If you find a couple living together on one census but on a census return taken ten years later one spouse is missing and the other is listed as a widow or widower, you will know to conduct a ten-year death search for that period.

3. Use the details given on the census returns to corroborate information found on certificates. Check the addresses, ages and relationships on the returns to see if they match those given on civil registration certificates of a similar date. Equally, if you find part of your family living in a particular town on the census returns, you should find out what civil registration district that town was covered by so that you can look out for that place when locating those ancestors in the birth, marriage and death indexes.

The next step would be for the enumerator to use these ‘schedules’ and transfer the gathered information into his ‘enumerator’s book’. He would also record which houses lay uninhabited within his district. These completed books would be checked by a supervisor and then sent to London to allow the statisticians to compile the information they wished. It is these enumeration books that form the census records now available for the general public to view. Unfortunately, the original forms completed by each household were destroyed.

As the records are handwritten, the returns often have the enumerator’s notes alongside the entries, sometimes obscuring the actual information. An important notation to bear in mind is the practice of separating each household by slashes on the top left corner of the head of the household’s name. A single slash on top of the name would indicate a separate household within the same property and a double slash separate households in different properties. These slashes are particularly useful when individual house numbers have not been noted.

The information on the census was organized by distinct registration districts for England, Wales and Scotland. These were initially identical to the registration districts created in 1837 for civil registration purposes, based on existing Poor Law Unions that had been set up in 1834. Each registration district was a subdivision of a county and its size was dependent on population. These registration districts would be divided into smaller sub-districts and the sub-districts would be further divided into individual enumeration districts. The size of the enumeration district was an estimate of how many houses the enumerator could visit in one day. Inevitably, enumeration districts would be geographically larger in rural areas where the population was less dense. Additionally, each enumeration district book would have a cover page giving in detail the area and exact roads included in the district, along with parish, hamlet, village, town or county details.

These enumeration districts were roughly the same for the years 1841 to 1891 in order to make valid comparisons of data collected on specific censuses. However, the large increase in population and the industrialization of urban areas meant it was not always possible to adhere to this. Any such alteration would be recorded in the summaries of the returns, so it is worth looking at these cover pages if you want to find out more about the area in which your family lived – an important part of your work, if you remember the advice about historical context from Section One!

‘Census returns add real colour, as they provide additional information besides biographical data which allows you to investigate the social history surrounding your ancestors’ lives.’

England and Wales: Census Returns 1841–1901

Information Contained on the 1841 Census

The first detailed census was taken on Sunday, 6 June 1841, and recorded every individual that spent the night in a property; therefore family visitors and boarders would be recorded as living in that property, and not at their permanent place of residence. The format of the form was a two-sided columned page, with information running across the top of the page that stated the hamlet, village or borough plus parish details on the right-hand side. Both pages would have the following columns recording information about:

• Place: This would usually be the street, with occasionally the house name or number. However, house numbers were rarely recorded.

• Houses: Uninhabited or building / inhabited: The enumerator would mark each new house on the street. He was also expected to indicate where a house was uninhabited.

• Names of each person who abode there the preceding night: It was common for middle names to be unrecorded. As stated above, each person who had slept in the property on that night had to be accounted for. No relationship to the head of the household was given and it is not always possible to work out family relationships.

• Age and sex: Ages of children up to the age of 15 years were recorded accurately. However, adults’ ages above 15 were usually rounded down to the nearest five years. Hence, an individual whose given age appears as 40 could, in fact, be aged anything from 40 to 44 years old.

• Profession, trade, employment or of independent means: This could be misleading as in the nineteenth century people would often have more than one occupation and not every job was noted. The abbreviation ‘M.S.’ or ‘F. S.’ was for male or female servants.

• Born: whether born in the same county? Whether born in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts: This is the closest information relating to place of birth provided. It would simply state whether an individual was born in the same county as the one they lived in, or in Scotland, Ireland or ‘foreign parts’. These would be abbreviated as ‘S.’, ‘I.’ or ‘F.’ accordingly. The abbreviation ‘NK’ may also be used for ‘not known’. Although in rural areas people tended to be living in the parish of birth, this would by no means be universal (especially in urban areas), and hence finding a birth or baptism record would be difficult from the information provided here.