Exploring your canal ancestry: using census returns
Nicola Lisle continues her family history series with a look at the censuses.
YOU may have noticed the buzz of excitement among family historians recently as the 1921 census became available for the first time.
Released on January 6, this is the most detailed census to date and contains records for around 38 million people. So what exactly is the census, and how can it help with family research?
National censuses have been taken in Britain every 10 years since 1801 – with the exception of 1941 – to assess the size of the population and its make-up in terms of age, gender and occupation.
Every household was required to complete a census form (known as a ‘schedule’), which was then collected by a paid enumerator on census night. From 1841 onwards this information was entered into the enumerators’ books and it is these documents that are available for public research.
Each census captures a snapshot of entire households – including families, servants and any visitors on census night – giving a fascinating glimpse into our ancestors’ lives at a specific moment in time and helping to uncover or confirm family links, occupations and much more.
Census returns are not publicly available for 100 years, hence the excitement over the release of the 1921 census, with many no doubt hoping to glean new information to help piece together their family trees.
With no census in 1941 and the 1931 census sadly destroyed by fire during the war, the next census to become available will be the one for 1951 – in 30 years’ time!
The earliest censuses contain only the briefest of information, but from the mid-19th century they became increasingly informative. The 1841 census was the first to record the names of everyone in the household, together with their age, occupation and place of origin and every census since has asked for additional new details, making them of increasing value to family historians.
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Finding canal ancestors in the census
The transient nature of canal workers’ lives means that tracing them through the census returns can be tricky. Listings for those living on boats first appeared in the 1841 census, but the numbers on board were often estimated and many boats omitted altogether.
It was not until the 1871 census that boat owners were required to complete schedules, and these were collected by enumerators in the same way as those for householders. Information you might be able to glean from these later censuses includes:
• The name of the boat your ancestor worked on;
• Boat type;
• Fleet number;
• Location of the boat on census night;
• Name of the canal company;
• Details of all those on board on census night, including name, age and occupation.
The terminology used for canal workers’ occupations is often vague or inaccurate. Some terms you may come across include boatman, bargeman, tugman, canal worker, skipper and many more.
Where to search
Census returns can be freely searched online via www.ancestry.co.uk and www.findmypast.co.uk, but there are charges to view full search results and images. You can also search and view records free of charge at The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov. uk), at a Family Search centre (www. familysearch.org) or at your local library or record office, both of which may also have copies on microfiche or microfilm for that area. Family Search also offers free online searching of the census return indexes.
Any boat families living in a house at the time of the census should appear in the normal household schedules, while those living on board on census night will be found after the household schedules under a separate heading.
Searching tips
Although census returns can yield a wealth of useful information, it can be unreliable and should always be checked against other sources. Inaccuracies abound, particularly in the 19th century census returns, due to illiteracy among householders/boat owners or to enumerators misinterpreting handwriting. People also lied about their ages and occupations, sometimes simply because they objected to having to give out personal information.
It is also worth noting that canal families weren’t necessarily together on census night, with children sometimes living with grandparents if there was insufficient space on board.
Despite this, the census returns can give valuable clues about our ancestors’ lives. Checking all the census returns relating to a specific ancestor can build up a picture of his/her life, and information can be verified by checking birth, marriage and death certificates – which I will focus on next time.
Further reading
The National Archives has a very helpful guide to the census records, which includes summaries of what you can expect to find in each census, useful links and other advice.
www. nationalarchives. gov. uk/ helpwith- your- research/ research- guides/ census-records/