different ages on census

[yorkshirelass]

on 3 different census i have 3 different dates of birth for one person.

1871 census: Hannah HUDSON aged 68  (b.1803)

Highlow (Lordship) 1871 census :Hannah HUDSON aged 88 (b.1783)

1881 census: Hannah HUDSON aged 89 (b.1792)

Its definately the same lady, the grandmother of John HUDSON and lived in the same house throughout.

Just wondered if anybody had any ideas on this. Why its so messed up and if there's a way to find her correct d.o.b

[casalguidi]

Hi Yorkshirelass

You seem to have listed two entries for 1871

If it is the Hannah HUDSON at Lead Mills, Highlow Lo............ in 1871 - you can't see what it says properly as the first numeral has been crossed through! Something 8.  I would guess that it is 68 or 88 or even 98!

Probably tracking her back through the earlier census returns would sort it out.

Best wishes

Casalguidi

[yorkshirelass]

yeah thats the baby, on the actual census its a mess but if the look on the page before where it lists everything it says age 68. But..........if it does say 88 it still dont explain why she was 89, 10 years later lol

I found the highlow (lordship) 1871 census on a google search, that had her age as 88

[casalguidi]

The page before that lists everything is just a transcript ie. what somebody else (like me or you) thinks it says.  Likewise, your google search turned up another transcript and somebody elses guess.

Have you got her in 1861?

What about her death/burial?

You'll get there - just makes the puzzle all the more interesting?

Casalguidi

[yorkshirelass]

i'll guess her real age was 78 in 1871.

I havent found any births, marriage or death certificates cause i have such a big time span to cover lol

[yorkshirelass]

haven't got her in 1861 census but i already put a post up with full details hoping somebody could find it

[casalguidi]

I've just looked at that 1871 census transcipt on the following page:

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/Highlow/index.html

 .............. and see that it was transcribed by a lady called Frances HUDSON who would love to hear from anybody interested in her HUDSONs in the area.

Why not email her?  She might have all the informtion you want already and I'm sure she'd love to add another branch to her tree also.

Caslaguidi

[Little Nell]

Why is it always the ladies who don't seem to be able to get their age right?

There is no easy answer to this, especially since your Hannah was born pre-1837.  I have three gt-grandmothers of varying degrees of greatness who just do not seem to age consistently:

Amelia
1851: aged 59 (born 1791)
1861: aged 75 (born 1786)
1871: aged 87 (born 1784)
1876: aged 91 (on burial record and death certificate, born 1785)
To make matters worse, she was really Millicent.  I think she was actually born in 1788.

Elizabeth:
1861: aged 9 (born 1852)
1869: aged 19 (marriage certificate, born 1850)
1871: aged 20 (born 1851)
1881: aged 34 (born 1847)
1891: aged 40 (born 1851)
1899: aged 47 (death certificate, born 1852)
Her birthday according to the Family Bible was in March 1850 - the only two registrations I can find in the correct area (she couldn't be consistent about that either) don't make sense of a March birthday.  She wasn't with her parents for the 1851 census, so I'm going for 1852.

Margaret:
1875: of full age (marriage certificate, family story said she was 16!)
1881: aged 34 (born 1847)
1891: aged 33 (born 1858)
1901: aged 46 (born 1855)
She was born in Ireland so this one could be difficult to find out for certain.  She had her last child in 1895.

I don't think I'd mind being able to reduce my age by one year in ten, as Margaret did, but I think I'll pass on the eleven children. 

I hope you find an answer to your puzzle.

Nell

[Sylviaann]

Well I have george Hillman

1851 age 27
1861 age 37
1871 age 41 different wife
1881 age 43 Workhouse
1883 age 65  death

Birth place recorded as different places in Sussex, one of which doesn't exist.

probable birth found 1820

I think it was the wives who stated the age and got it a bit wrong.  I had terrible trouble finding him in 1881.  His wife was in the womens section of the workhouse and his daughter was in service and under another first name.

Sylviaann