Record Masterclass
Emma Jolly shares her advice on census records from workhouses, asylums and other institutions
Make the most of institutional census records
Census records from a variety of institutions, including asylums, barracks, hospitals, orphanages and workhouses, exist for all of the English, Welsh and Scottish censuses from 1841 to 1911. For the date of the 1851 census, public institutions were given separate enumeration books to record their entries.
A wide range of census resources is available online. All of the major subscription databases offer coverage of the 1841–1911 censuses with indexes and images for England and Wales and Scottish indexes up to 1901 on ancestry.co.uk and findmypast.co.uk. For full Scottish coverage, including images up to 1911, you should visit scotlandspeople. gov.uk. In terms of the free websites, FreeCEN ( freecen. org.uk) aims to transcribe the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1891 England, Scotland and Wales censuses for online searching, and FamilySearch ( familysearch.org) has a complete index, with some images available on the site and others through partner subscription websites.
Using the census to research the lives of those in institutions varies in difficulty, depending on the year and the practices of the resident officials. A common problem is that inmates of prisons, workhouses, hospitals or lunatic asylums are often recorded by initials only, in order to anonymise their residents. Another common difficulty is that inmates may be recorded only with a general birthplace, such as “Scotland” or “London”, rather than a specific parish. There can also be inaccuracies over age.
TRACING YOUR ANCESTOR
Statistically, it is likely that at least one of your relations was recorded in an institution; 10 per cent of the population of England and Wales were so recorded on the 1881 census. So if you cannot find a relation in the family home, they might well have been institutionalised. Look out for various clues to guide your search. For example, you may have the death certificate of an ancestor who died in a hospital or asylum. Use the details to search a census database for the entry of the institution. Where the name of the institution is recorded inaccurately (or has changed over time), typing in the street address can help you to locate it.
Otherwise, look at whether your forebear was an orphan, or had one parent who died. In this case, they may have been sent to an orphanage or industrial school. Boys whose fathers had a maritime connection may be found in nautical training schools. If you know that a child has not been recorded with
ADDRESS
Look closely at the address to note the name of the institution (if recorded), as well as the precise number and road name.
SISTERS
It’s interesting to note that the two matrons running the orphanage, Ada J and Marcella Baggs, were sisters. In the 1881 census they were both recorded at Mount Hermon as orphans.
RELATION
Check the information in the “Relation to Head of Family” column, and compare with that of the occupation. In this case, the matrons and the governess are described the same in both.
VISITOR
As Sarah Cecil is only described as a visitor, it would be worth finding out more to learn why she was in the orphanage on census night.
BIRTHPLACE
The range of birthplaces is interesting. Although most of the orphans are from the London area, near Willesden, others were born in Berkshire, Wales and Scotland.
DISABILITY
None of the orphans has been recorded as having a disability. The notes in this column are counties, amended from the birthplace entries.
family members on census night, but cannot find him or her by name, try searching databases with keywords such as ‘inmate’ or ‘orphan’ alongside the correct age and birthplace. As with any census search, if your ancestor was born in a small village or hamlet, you may find them easy to locate via their birthplace.
Reversal Of Fortune
Remember to be open to the possibility of your ancestor having a more eventful life than you imagine. Many pillars of the community in later life had brushes with the law in their youth. It is always worth searching a newspaper archive (eg britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) to see if your ancestor is mentioned. If you cannot find them on the 1871 census, for example, they may be in prison – search newspaper articles between 1861 to 1871 for any crime reports or similar. Newspaper reports and directory listings can also reveal more about a particular institution.
Another clue as to whether an individual was sent to an institution in later life can be found in the disability column of the preceding censuses, and if your ancestor was homeless, you may find them recorded in a hostel, as a temporary lodger, or in a refuge for the destitute. You should also look for a bankruptcy record in the London Gazette: thegazette.co.uk.
In the instances where you can identify an institution, you should be able to identify your forebears even when they are recorded by their initials only. Check the age and the birthplace, and (where relevant) marital status and occupation. Usually you will be in luck, but if the age and birthplace are inaccurately recorded, the next step is to examine any surviving admission or discharge register for the relevant institution – The National Archives’ online catalogue Discovery can help you locate them: discovery. nationalarchives. gov.uk.
A number of websites provide useful information about such institutions as asylums, workhouses, children’s homes, industrial schools, reformatories and orphanages, including
childrenshomes.org.uk and
workhouses.org.uk. Also, Jeffrey Knaggs has a website dedicated to institutions on the 1901 census: jefferyknaggs. com/Instuts.html.
‘Sometimes age and birthplace are inaccurately recorded’
EMMA JOLLY is a genealogist who lives in London, and author of four books about family history