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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Rainbow Quartz on Thursday 21 December 17 13:03 GMT (UK)

Title: Census dates
Post by: Rainbow Quartz on Thursday 21 December 17 13:03 GMT (UK)
Apologies in advance because I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times before, but asking RootsChatters directly is always the best way of finding things quickly and easily!
I want to know where I can find the actual dates when the 1891 Census was taken for Stoke Damerel, Devon, and Sunderland, County Durham. Thanks :)
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: rosie99 on Thursday 21 December 17 13:16 GMT (UK)
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Census

The dates would have been effective for the whole of England
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: arthurk on Thursday 21 December 17 13:19 GMT (UK)
Rosie beat me to it - I was going to mention other guides at

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/census-records/

and

http://www.sog.org.uk/learn/help-getting-started-with-genealogy/guide-four/
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: Rainbow Quartz on Thursday 21 December 17 14:31 GMT (UK)
Thank you both, I didn't realise that it was done on the same day for the whole of the country, of course that makes sense to avoid people being not recorded or recorded twice!
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: barryd on Thursday 21 December 17 16:12 GMT (UK)
The USA was very lax on its Census dates. When I was looking at a person who left one of the Eastern States and moved to New Mexico he was recorded on the Census in both states in the same year. Well at least that was an indication of when the move took place. Also the USA takes its Census at the end of the decade and the British (where the sun never sets) at the beginning of the decade. 

 Stoke Damerel, Devon, and Sunderland, County Durham Census taken same day. Different accent.
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: coombs on Thursday 21 December 17 16:16 GMT (UK)
I was trundling through the 1851 census for Dennington in Suffolk, taken 30th March 1851. One entry for an old man on the forms said "Died April 2nd". The census was taken on 30th March but the forms probably were collected a day or 2 later. Whoever is researching the Dennington old man need not buy the death cert now lol.
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: Milliepede on Friday 22 December 17 10:40 GMT (UK)
Little tip that I do - note the census years and dates down in a little notebook and keep it next to the computer so you can refer to it easily  :) 
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: shellyesq on Friday 22 December 17 15:36 GMT (UK)
The USA was very lax on its Census dates. When I was looking at a person who left one of the Eastern States and moved to New Mexico he was recorded on the Census in both states in the same year. Well at least that was an indication of when the move took place. Also the USA takes its Census at the end of the decade and the British (where the sun never sets) at the beginning of the decade. 

There were particular census dates for each US census.  https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Federal_Census_Dates  I think part of the issue is that people didn't always provide the correct information.  They were asked who was living there on a specific date, but I can see how that could get bungled if someone moved and the person asked wasn't entirely sure when.
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: mgeneas on Friday 22 December 17 18:05 GMT (UK)
And the 1851 Canadian census was taken in 1850
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: Berlin-Bob on Saturday 23 December 17 08:04 GMT (UK)
UK census dates:

http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/reflib-lexicon.php?letter=*

regards,
Bob
Title: Re: Census dates
Post by: Jon_ni on Thursday 28 December 17 17:52 GMT (UK)
Quote
I was trundling through the 1851 census for Dennington in Suffolk, taken 30th March 1851. One entry for an old man on the forms said "Died April 2nd". The census was taken on 30th March but the forms probably were collected a day or 2 later. Whoever is researching the Dennington old man need not buy the death cert now lol.

Few days ago I came across a distant relation correctly enumerated on the census who died a few days later, she had her death registered before the census form was collected.
In Ireland the 1901 and 1911 census took place on the same dates as the rest of the UK England, Wales & Scotland but additional forms are available online on the Irish National Archives that we don't see in England. Thus Form B1 the House and Building return or street summary has a column "Date on which Form A was collected" the householders return. For the random individual I opened in my tree in Lurgan: for the 2 Apr 1911 the form was collected on the 12th April and for 31 Mar 1901 it was collected on 20th April. So the Form was likely kicking about the house for over 3 weeks in the earlier case, it does not record hen the form was delivered. I'm sure our ancestors were as good at procrastinating as we are, nevertheless the deceased person was correctly enumerated by her son the head of the house.