Hi Pam
Thanks for that information. Can you tell me where you found that information then also tell me how to input that information on the system so i can have a look at it.
Please and i am thanking you in advanced.
I use
www.Ancestry.co.uk, and entered
Catherine, birth year 1790 +/- 10 years, county of birth Cambridgeshire.
I searched on this basis because:
1. The less information you put in, the less information there is for the computer to find a mistranscription or error in.
2. The older someone is the more they 'stand out' in the case of a mistranscription.
3. Had Catherine not worked then I would have tried Catharine and Cathrine.
Other useful search tips:
Transpose the names, e.g. put Benton as the first name.
If you're searching for George, also search for Goerge - You'll find hundreds, if not thousands, of them.
If searching for a very common name search on one year of birth at a time, otherwise I always put +/- 2 years as a minimum.
There are other companies which offer census indexes/images, but I'm not sure how complete they are in their coverage. And some are far more accurate in their transcriptions than others.
http://www.origins.net/ have the complete 1841 and 1861, and partial 1871.
http://www.findmypast.com/home.jsp have the complete 1841, partial 1871 (not Cambs!), and probably most if not all of 1861 and 1891. You have to check the counties available from the drop-down list.
With them all there is a charge, but with some you can pay a small amount for a few hours/days/records access. The important thing to remember in all cases is that you
must look at the actual image. If you don't you might miss out on valuable clues about the family. I found Mary living in Sheffield, 2 doors away from her brother. Hardly earth-shattering news, except that I found her with her
married name and from there it was easy to find her marriage on FreeBMD.
There are other companies too but I don't know the actual names of them, and therefore can't even give a URL.
Going back to the 'how I did it' on Ancestry:
Entered details, pressed search, Catherine was second entry. Clicked on '.' on right hand side, and was then presented with a choice of options. If you elect for the free trial (for which you must have a credit/debit card) make sure that you print out a copy of the cancellation instructions and make sure that you cancel in plenty of time. i.e. at least the day before, and again keep a copy of anything that you can print/save. Once you've made your payment/choice, it should then return to either the page you were on, or go straight to the image.
By the way, with most companies you can search the indexes as many times as you like, it's only the images you are charged to view.
Pam
