1841 Census Check .....

[Rab]

Hi all,

If someone has access to the 1841 Census images for Lanark could they please check something for me. A while back I found a family in 1841 I was looking for on the FreeCen Search page. I've since learned that the place of birth is wrong for the mother of the household and I am now wondering whether the place of birth for the father of the household could be wrong too. It may have been wrongly enumerated in the first place in which case I'll never know but there is the possibilty that it was transcribed wrongly by one of the FreeCen transcribers.

The father of the household died around 1842 so I can't check his place of birth anywhere else. Here are the names, age and place of birth of the parents (I left the children out) in the 1841 census:

1841 Barony, Lanark- St Marks (622) Folio: 24 Page: 10
Address: Piccadilly Street

Hugh Marr, 40, born in Lanarkshire
Mary Marr, 35, born in Lanarkshire

Mary should have been "born outside census county". I'm wondering if Hugh should have been the same. Their 1822 marriage certificate states that both were residing in Dunfermline when they married. I know that doesn't mean Hugh was not born in Lanark but I thought it worth noting.

Thanks to Jack I was able to get Census info for 1851 and 1861. Mary Bradbrook (formerly Marr) was born in Dunfermline, Fife according to the 1851 census and born in Masterton, Fife according to the 1861 census. Before she died in 1885 the 1871 and 1881 censuses also confirm she was born in Masterton.

Cheers

Rab

[Jack]

Hi Rab,
Leave it with me and i'll have a look - pity you hadn't said last night, i was up at the Mitchell this morning!
Jack

[Rab]

Hi Rab,
Leave it with me and i'll have a look - pity you hadn't said last night, i was up at the Mitchell this morning!
Jack

Cheers Jack, that would be great. I've actually been thinking about it on and off for the last but true to form when I get on the PC my mind goes blank- until tonight.

[Jack]

Hi Rab,

They were ALL as born LKS. But as you know censuses aren't always just right....
Maybe Hugh was, and Janet just got jotted down as the same - i'm sure that did happen fairly often; especially on early censuses.

Jack

[Rab]

Thanks for checking Jack. I think that must be the the case but I just wanted to make sure it hadn't been transcribed wrongly on Freecen.

Cheers

Rab

[StewL]

Hello Rab

Just a comment on transcribers for FreeCen and FreeBMD, I have done thousands of entries for FreeBMD and there is a "golden rule" of TWYS, Type What You See. Of course this is not to say people dont make errors, I have made a couple of errors myself and wondered how I made that mistake
As there is the old human foible of knowing that an entry is incorrect, but not being able to change it I have seen this a few times and it is frustrating not being able to change it. Unfortunately a lot of the data to be transcribed is a copy in itself, not the original So we are obliged to type what we see.

This is not posted to say your information is wrong, far from it, just that the data the transcribers use may be wrong, but there is nothing that can be done about it by the transcriber.

[Rab]

Hi Stew,

I understand. I've done quite a few transcriptions for FreeCen too so with guys like me doing it I know there will be mistakes. Luckily the The two stages after the transcription stage ensure that the majority, if not all, of the errors are picked up so it wasn't a slight on the work done there. The free service and time spent by people, even me, is much appreciated.

As this was the 1841 census from memory the birth column is a Y or an N for born in that county or not. That's why I thought there was a possible chance for error that may have eluded the check. As it turned out the Freecen data was spot on. It would appear though that the original enumerator made a mistake.

Cheers

Rab

[StewL]

Hi Rab

I didn't think you were casting any aspersions on us transcribers
I am currently a wee bit behind on my transcriptions (by my usual standard that is) due to a stomach virus. Actually it has put me behind with a few things
As I said it can be frustrating when you can see an error, but cant change it. Although I recently had a request for a change to an entry, but declined to change it as I firmly believe I had it right. I always have a negative image on my desktop when transcribing as it usually helps clear up any "smudged" data

All the best

[Rab]

I didn't think you were casting any aspersions on us transcribers

LOL, I tried but it almost crashed the Matrix.

I am currently a wee bit behind on my transcriptions (by my usual standard that is) due to a stomach virus. Actually it has put me behind with a few things

Not being funny but I was whacked down just before Christmas with similar thing- me and the wife. The two kids were fine and dandy. The oldest, 2.5y, was bouncing on anything or anybody she could. Not a good time so you have my sympathies. I hope I am not giving away too much detail in saying the majority of the time I saw my wife in a two day period was passing in the hall from the living room to the toilet.

As I said it can be frustrating when you can see an error, but cant change it. Although I recently had a request for a change to an entry, but declined to change it as I firmly believe I had it right. I always have a negative image on my desktop when transcribing as it usually helps clear up any "smudged" data

All the best

I'll put my hands up now and say I have typed some stuff as I thought it should be. It's probably been picked up after but sometime it's very difficult not too.

All the best too.

[StewL]

Rab

I know what you mean by only seeing your wife in passing to toilet. A wain bouncing on yer belly, oh not good [-o< for mercy. I am on my own so I didnt have any traffic problems [-o<

At one stage I thought of moving my bed and computer into said wee house, but then I wouldnae have been able to get in there

Oh I wont say that I havent transcribed what I thought either, but so far not been picked up