Author Topic: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers  (Read 3956 times)

Offline secondgenIrish

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1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« on: Tuesday 08 July 14 14:47 BST (UK) »
Hi all,
Whilst trawling through the 1901 and 1911 Censuses for the townlands in Kerry where my great grandparents lived, I was intrigued by the numbering used by the enumerator.

I know for a fact that my grandparents and great grandparents lived in the same houses in both 1901 and 1911, and yet the house numbers are different in the censuses.

Obviously, new houses must have been built between the censuses, but trying to visualise where the new houses were on the ground is difficult.

So my questions are:
1. Did the enumerators work with maps of the areas that they marked off as they went around?
2. More importantly, did they survive?
3. Have they been digitised?
4. If the answers to 1, 2 and 3 are "Yes", where are they to be found?

Offline KGarrad

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Re: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 08 July 14 14:52 BST (UK) »
There are no house numbers on the Ireland censuses! ::) ;D

The numbering system is that used by the enumerator.
So house 1 in Main Street, for example, does NOT mean 1 Main Street!

Remember that censuses were used for population and statistical purposes, and were never intended for Family History research!  ;D

If you look at Page 2 of the census forms, you may see a house number?
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline secondgenIrish

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Re: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 08 July 14 17:05 BST (UK) »
Thanks, I've looked for additional pages for Form A in 1901, but there aren't any, and in 1911, Page 2 omits any house number at all.

I agree that rural addresses anywhere seldom have house numbers (New Zealand might be an exception, I'll grant you).

My point is that the enumerators in 1901 and 1911 in Ireland were policemen, and probably, they would enter a road, and go along the right hand side (because most were right handed, and they would be doing this census work after dark in April, and would want to see cyclists and carts approaching them), get to the end and turn around and then do the other side of the road. It did not matter to them which end of the townland they started from, they were just doing a job.

Also, townlands don't have boundaries marked on the road or on the map, and sometimes, it's a matter of debate and local knowledge where one ends and another begins.

So in 1901 Senior Constable O'Rourke went door to door with his stack of forms knowing that Townland A finished and Townland B began when he reached a particular bend in the road, but in 1911, Sergeant O'Rourke told a wet behind the ears probationer to get on with the job, and the probie did as he was told and recorded half of Townland B as being in Townland A.

Might be handy if we knew the beats patrolled by the police when they weren't being census enumerators.

Asking for the moon, I know!

Offline meath999

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Re: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 08 July 14 18:10 BST (UK) »
Hi, I actually worked on the 2006 Census here in Ireland, and believe it or not I think the same system as used in 1911 was still in use. i.e the Enumerator is given a detailed map of his/her area, showing all known dwellings. Then he/she plots a course around the area, numbering each Household as he goes. This may well be down the left hand side then back the right, however even what might sound like a simple exercise can be complicated by side roads, culdesacs, area boundaries etc.There may be new buildings, old buildings may be unoccupied or even demolished. no. 25 abbey road my be in Bedsits, each will get a seperate number. A granny flat similar. In Rural Ireland no house has a number on the door and also in the leafy suburbs, "Dunromin" or "The Willows" appear instead of a number on the door. .. the only imperative is that all households are covered.

And the bad news is that all the Working Maps, Enumerator Coverage sheets etc are not retained.  or at least when I inquired in the National Archives, they have no record of them.

Perhaps it will change in future.


Offline kingskerswell

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Re: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 08 July 14 18:52 BST (UK) »
meath999, an excellent explanation of how the system worked in 1901 and 1911 and it explains how the numbering system was entirely up to the enumerator.

Regards
Stewart, Irwin, Morrison, Haslett, Murrell - Dungiven area Co. Londonderry
Browne, Barrett -Co.Armagh
Neil, Smyth _Co. Antrim

Offline Sinann

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Re: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 08 July 14 21:26 BST (UK) »
The Enumerator missed my house in 2006 I had to ring on the Sunday morning to get a form, so lord knows what number we ended up with.
I wonder will they use this new post code that's coming (next year?) where each house will have it's own number. That would be very handy in the future.

Offline secondgenIrish

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Re: 1901/1911 Census Rural House Numbers
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 08 July 14 21:54 BST (UK) »
Thanks Meath999, you've confirmed my suspicions, but I suspect that those RIC constables in 1901 and 1911 did not have maps, as they would have been expected to know the district!