Hamilton's in County Monaghan Ireland

[aghadowey]

Alice may not have been living with her grandparents. Remember that the census is supposed to record the people in the household on one particular night.

[newyorkcollector]

I did not know that. Thank you. It would seem misleading to conduct a census in that manner. What were the reasons for doing so?

[aghadowey]

The purpose of any census is usually to count people and collate statistics- number of males & females, religion, birthplaces, number of married woman, age ranges, etc. By chosing a date for the census (31 March in 1901 for example) there was a better chance of getting more accurate figures. The family details are a bonus but not part of the original exercise.

[newyorkcollector]

It makes sense when you put it that way. I always thought that a census was gathering information about families and residence. I never thought of that as only a secondary benefit. Thanks again.

[aghadowey]

Many countries destroy the actual census records once the statistics have been collected from the material. This happened in Ireland around the time of World War I.