Missing person on census

[patrish]

I think that about the most frustrating thing about FH when you absolutely know someone should be there in a previous or later census but they just aren't.

[kerryb]

Yes I agree, even more frustrating than getting back beyond 1837 and knowing you need to visit X number of record offices to go back further, particularly if Kent is your area of research 

Kerry

[loo]

I swear, some of them really are missing.
I found a census page a little while ago where the enumerator had conscientiously written in that the stableman had told him that X men and Y women had slept outdoors on the property the previous night.  No names, of course, and there were a lot of them - about 25 all told.  Presumably they were avoiding living in the workhouse.  When you think of how many people live on the streets today, and our hostels aren't nearly as draconian as the 19thC ones, then it's no wonder we're missing a lot of people.
The rich older ones could have been travelling - check the passport applications on one of the websites, I forget which ones.

[baz54]

Just a minor inconsistency as far as inconsistencies go but I can't find my Grandad on the 1901 census although Grandma and the kids are where they should be.

He did work on the railway as a porter so he could have been at work on the census night. Would they have conducted a census of men working at a particular railway station or goods shed, and if so where should I look for it?

The same goes for mums dad but as far as I know he didn't work at night, although I'm lead to believe that he was the sort of man who wouldn't have thought it was anyones business where he was bar his own, so I'm prepared to respect his wishes on that one.

[loo]

...and I suppose if someone happened to be in a brothel that night, the mistress of the establishment would be mum (so to speak!)     So many possibilities, so little time to track them all down!!

     Also work checking passenger lists at ancestry.com , which are free access to end of this month.  You can put in the month and year, which should reduce the hits.

     Don't forget the handy trick of interchanging first and last names in your search - some people have been found that way.

     Does anyone think that "stone mason" or "artificial stone worker" would be a mobile sort of occupation, if one normally lived in London?  My most frustrating missing person is one of those.

[patrish]

Hi Loo,

Personally I would imagine that living in London he would have been a journeyman Stone Mason but then again I am no expert ,it would have depended how much work there was in the actual vicinity, wouldn't it.?

[loo]

I think so too, but I have no idea what the employment prospects were.  Also, I can't really find anyone at all that seems to be him, anywhere, on that census.  Maybe HE was visiting some house of ill repute, or up all night with illegal gambling, or goodness knows what!!

[meles]

Oh, Loo - are you suggesting that my whole family was up to no good on census night? 

(I know you're not - but what a fascinating idea why there are some gaps!)

meles

[Meaglin]

I had spent fruitless searches for my great grandparents in the 1901 census I too imagined all sorts of circumstances that would taken them away from their home. I know its obvious I tried various spellings on their surname instead of Scahill they were down as Seahill, it was a definite eureka moment for me!!!!
I now take all documents with a pinch of salt.
Good luck with your search
Meaglin