Error "made good" (for some!) in the 1871 census .

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LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Error "made good" (for some!) in the 1871 census .

Post by LesleyB » Mon Dec 12, 2005 11:01 pm

You know that feeling when you can't find someone in a census but you just KNOW they have to be in it somewhere??

I've just discovered why I wasn't finding a certain Janet Smellie m.s. Davie from Cardross in the 1871 who married James Smellie in 1840. Her husband died in 1866, so I only had her name to work with. However, just the other day I found some Smellie children :lol: so I tried a search for one of the children's names in the 1871 and one popped up no problem. On clicking the link and viewing the image all became clear:
Janet is in the census alright, but as Mrs James Smellie.....
Looks like the enumerator has absent mindedly written down James, then, rather than make a mess by crossing it out, he's popped in a "Mrs".
I'd never have thought of searching for that one!
Happy hunting :?
Lesley
Researching:
Midlothian & Fife - Goalen, Lawrie, Ewart, Nimmo, Jamieson, Dick, Ballingall.
Dunbartonshire- Mcnicol, Davy, Guy, McCunn, McKenzie.
Ayrshire- Lyon, Parker, Mitchell, Fraser.
Easter Ross- McCulloch, Smith, Ross, Duff, Rose.
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delmarco
Posts: 271
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:23 pm
Location: Central Florida

Post by delmarco » Mon Dec 12, 2005 11:09 pm

interesting....I guess you cant discount anything when searching eh?
thanks for the tip, i'll try that with some of my elusive females!
Karen
Make it a great day!

RESEARCHING:::MCMENEMY, MITCHELL (LKS), CAMPBELL, FEENEY, MCCALLUM, MCCULLOCH,
ROONEY, and many others......
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DavidWW
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Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:47 pm

Post by DavidWW » Tue Dec 13, 2005 11:52 am

Don't necessarily blame the poor enumerator :!:

If the Head of Household had filled in the household schedule, - as opposed to the enumerator doing it on his behalf, - then the enumerator may simply have transcribed what the Head had written on the schedule.

Let that be a lesson to everyone in terms of a failure to locate an entry based on one probable name in a household as regards not giving up, but moving on to look for other probable names.

Fortunately the usage Mrs [husband's given name] [Surname] is relatively uncommon in censuses in Scotland, but, witness this entry and a few others that I've seen, not unknown.

David
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LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:12 pm

Hi David
I suppose we'll never know exactly why she turned up thus - the head of the household was Janet, as husband James had died 4 years before this census (and Janet herself died in the August of the census year), so you'd think she'd just have put "Janet Smellie" if she was filling it in herself. (don't know if she could write - no evidence either way)

And the "Mrs" looks to me like an after-thought because its squashed in at the the left of "James" and is half in the "Uninhabited House or Building" column, whereas every other name on the page is in a neat column.

Does make you wonder though... they are all in there somewhere....just hiding!

Best wishes
Lesley
Researching:
Midlothian & Fife - Goalen, Lawrie, Ewart, Nimmo, Jamieson, Dick, Ballingall.
Dunbartonshire- Mcnicol, Davy, Guy, McCunn, McKenzie.
Ayrshire- Lyon, Parker, Mitchell, Fraser.
Easter Ross- McCulloch, Smith, Ross, Duff, Rose.
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sporran
Posts: 496
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 11:40 pm
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK

Re: Mrs on censuses

Post by sporran » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:14 pm

Hello Karen,


I have two on the same page in the 1891 Ayr census. Widow Jane Hill is indexed as M Hull (the writing is clearly Hull) and her lodger is indexed as Mrs Young.


Regards,

John
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Jack
Posts: 1808
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 5:34 pm
Location: Paisley

Mrs & Widow

Post by Jack » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:38 pm

Hi folks,
An example for all Lanarkshire 1861 census. Surprisingly more than i'd previously thought.
==
Mrs. only - 981
Mrs. + a forename or initial- 515
Total - 1496
--
Widow only - 69
Widow + a forename or initial - 10
Total - 79
==
Amongst these are a Widow (Female) Hanly, which seems very reasonable.
But worrying is the entry for Widow (Male) Reilly... :lol:
Jack
Last edited by Jack on Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sporran
Posts: 496
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 11:40 pm
Location: Leominster, Herefordshire, UK

Re: widows

Post by sporran » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:55 pm

Hello Jack,


please tell us that there was no Widow Twanky.


Regards,

John
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Jack
Posts: 1808
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2004 5:34 pm
Location: Paisley

Widow Twanky

Post by Jack » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:11 pm

Hi John,
Cannae see her! but maybe she's mistranscribed....
Or sunning it in Bermuda - is that no what they all do after Panto time?
Jack
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Andy
Posts: 735
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 8:06 am
Location: Gourock

Post by Andy » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:12 pm

The census wasn't taken during the Panto season :P
Searching for Keogh, Kelly, Fitzgerald, Riddell, Stewart, Wilson, McQuilkin, Lynch, Boyle, Cairney, Ross, King, McIlravey, McCurdy, Drennan and Woods (to name but a few).

Also looking for any information on Rathlin Island, County Antrim, Ireland.
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LesleyB
Posts: 8184
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 12:18 am
Location: Scotland

Post by LesleyB » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:15 pm

John
:lol: nice one! But there must be a Widow Twanky at this time of year!!

"Oh no, there isn't..."
"Oh yes, there is...." etc

Lesley
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