People not with family

[tigces]

OK probably been covered dozens of times.  How can I make certain that Servants, inmates, lodgers, vistors etc generally people that aren't with their family are the people I am looking for?

[Ecneps]

Not certain, but it's a good idea to check for the same people in previous and later census, to see if they could be with different families, checking their ages, occupations and birthplaces

Barbara

[Necromancer]

Only by putting the name, DoB and Place of Birth in context with what you already know  ....

Take the old 'Newspaper Journalist's' approach:-

Ask yourself the Who, What, Why, When & Where and sometimes How ? questions .... take this example ..

looking for George Wilson from Driffield, East Yorkshire ... born 1843, possibly a Butcher

Who - how unique is the name ? .... in this case not at all unique .....
What - maybe apply this to the mooted occupation ...
Why ..... would he be a Servant (eg) at this stage ? Is it a form of apprenticeship or other route to eventual status..
When  .... in relation to age to and Census year, is he 'about right' and is the location related in any way ?
Where .... combined with when ...


Then link this to other known facts - where and when he married for example, birth years of kids etc

Also use other resources like Trade Directories, Voters Registers, Apprentice Records

At the end of the day theres no magic formula .... but you can eliminate and make deductions.

As Conan Doyle said ...


"When you've eliminated the impossible, whats left - no matter how improbable - has to be the answer in some form"

[phrishy]

I just did a bit of an exercise on a query by SuttonTrust searching for somebody in 1841, no guarantees that I have the right person at the end of it, but you will see how I tried to narrow down the search a bit.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/017a/

[tigces]

Wow you must have a lot of patience.  It sound complicated especially as birth dates can be 5 years out, place names seem to change (IE) Bitton Bristol seems to be Kingswood in later census or vice versa.  Thanks for the advice.