main

[hg]

I am a bit confused again it doesn't take a lot.

My ggrandmother Christina Main showing in the 1871 census living at 105 high street edinburgh, dob 1868 her brother Jonathan is also there, father Charles Main born 1838, mother Christina Main born 1849.
Yet in the 1881 census at the same address, Charles was born 1868, Christina's mother is Isabella??????? I know Isabella and Charles were married (the date escapes me) Christina's mother on her birth certificate is Isabella. So who is Christina?????? and why is Charles dob different?????

[AndrewP]

Hi hg,

Have you been looking at the images of the census enumeration books on ScotlandsPeople, or at transcriptions on Ancestry, FreeCen or the like? If you have been using transcriptions, it would be worth looking at the originals on ScotlandsPeople, so that you can see these ages for yourself.

All the best,

AndrewP

[HeatherH]

Perhaps Charles Married a second time . As for dates of birth a census is only good for a best guess.epending on who filled in the paerwork a birth year could be out a few years either way. My 3rd great grandparents ages do not go up in even incriments of 10 between census.
Andrew Queate
1881-41
1891-54
1901-63
1917-80

Janet Queate
1881-40
1891-55
1901-64
1929-84

However with a surname of Queate I know I have the right census and death details. All the Queates are mine. Sometimes a rare name is a blessing.
HeatherH

PS there is 3 years difference between their births. Andrew was born 1836 and Janet 1839. So the ages on the census are very misleading.

[hg]

Hi, Andrewp and HeatherH,

I found the information on Ancestry but then found ScotlandsPeople and checked. Charles Main's dob could be 1868 as it is not that clear on the written 1871 census, but Christina Main could not be mistaken. Charles and Isabella were married in 1867 so the other Christina could have been Charles sister???? Just a guess, I will do some research to see if he did have a sister Christina.

regards

Helen

[SarahND]

Hi Helen,

As far as Charles' age goes, I think it is a mistake or mis-transcription in the 1871 census, making him look older than he is. All the other censuses have his birth from 1848-49. It is also possible that the person copying the census information onto the form that we now see made a mistake and wrote Christina twice in a row, since they are next to each other on the census page. The thing that puzzles me is that in 1881 Isabella is supposed to have been born in England ... whereas in 1871 she (if it was she called Christina) was born in Edinburgh. And unfortunately, one can't see the original images of the 1881 census on Scotland's People yet. Perhaps her birthplace is written as Ednbr or something similar that could be mistaken for Engl.

All the best,
Sarah

[hg]

Hi Sarah,

Yes, you could be right about Charles dob, it does make sense.

As for Christina/Isabella, it is possible the information was wriiten down incorrectly. Charles married Isabella in 1867 and Christina (their daughter) was born in 1867 I have found their marriage certificate and Christina's birth certificate so there is no doubt about who her parents were. I am not sure about Isabella's place of birth, her m s is Smith. Not a very Scottish name though.