Can the term "Boarder" in a census return turn out to be a family member

[LizzieW]

In one census i have a 2 year old listed as visitor it turns out she is the niece of the wife (wouldn't she be the husbands niece also?)

I think it depends how you define niece.  The niece you mentioned was presumably the child of one of the wife's siblings, so technically not the niece of the husband.  In the same way that my husband's sister in law is married to his brother not mine, so as far as I'm concerned she's not my sister in law. My sister in law is the person who married my brother.

[BushInn1746]

Hello

'Boarder' or 'Visitor' may be related, or may not be related, to someone in the residence household.

On my Mother's side of my family, I have a 'Visitor' aged 8, in the 1841 Census and her surname is the same as the maiden surname of the Wife of the Head of the household, so likely related.

Orphan
Also seen a 'Boarder' who had been orphaned and living with relatives.

Religion
Also seen a 'Boarder' living in a family linked with the same religion.

Although my family were not Quakers, they had business links with Quakers in the 1830s onward and I have got a later 'Boarder' relative apparently living with a Quaker family.

You may ask what use is the same religion with 'Boarder' and his residence family? However, if one side of your family are untraceable circa 1780 - 1841, it may suggest Nonconformism and these may be vital clues for the family historian, to investigate and probe in greater detail.

Nonconformism is a great nuisance when tracing your family history, because it is my belief that probably as many as 35 to 50% of Nonconformist (NC) Chapel Birth / Baptism records were not kept 18th Century or have not survived.

We can often prove a NC, Independent (later Congregational), Dissenters, Baptist, or Presbyterian (some became Unitarian) Chapels existed, but there are no surviving Birth records.

Works at Same Workplace or Apprenticed to Head or Household Family Member
There sometimes seem to be an occupation link, between the 'Boarder' and a member of the Residence Family.

Mark

[Regorian]

I have one example. Marked as 'lodger' rather than father in 1871 Census aged 92. He was living with a sons family. He died 1871 and had been married to a sister of my gggrandfather.

[iluleah]

Hi and welcome to rootschat

Short answer is yes, the enumerator wrote down what they were told, by the adult of the household, by a child who answered the door, by a neighbour and sometimes just write what they thought they knew without asking anyone.

In one census my great grandfather is written as grandson ( living with his grandparents) two other children were written as visitors and an adult was written as a lodger, after research the two visitors were my great grandfathers full  siblings ( great grandfather was using his maternal grandparents surname so his name was different to his siblings)  the adult was a sibling to my great great grandmother

[brigidmac]

Very interested in this question and am hopping on board to ask another linked query

So my grandmother was a boarder age 1 in a family related to her birth parents by profession in Birkenhead

Boarder does imply payments

Her father was ordered to pay a weekly amount to birth mother
 an affiliation order til child would be 13 years old

The single mother left to work   was in Manchester 2 years later

Would the father have paid the host family directly

When such orders were made how did the single mothers obtain their payments

Did they have to collect at equivalent of benefits office

Did the named fathers have to take the weekly payments directly
Was there some kind of payment system via post office

Wonder if my grandmother knew payments were made for her....did her father manage to fulfil court ordered maintenance til she was 13

In cases where single mothers married but child stayed in boarding house would payments still be legally binding

[iolaus]

By visitor they may just have meant she's only visiting - ie she's staying tonight (so correctly marked on the census as here) but going home in the morning

I have one on a census as boarder - technically he's not related to the head of the house - but they took in their orphaned niece (his brother's child) and the 'boarder' is the little girl's grandfather (her mother's father)

I'm sure I read somewhere that boarder meant they had meals etc as part of the family, whereas Lodgers rented a room but made own arrangements for food etc

[bevj]

I have a case in my own tree where son, daughter-in-law and two children are recorded as boarders in the household of the son's parents.

Bev

[dinny]

England Wales Census 1881

Under the occupants of a house besides the Head and the Wife of the head (property owners?)
There were two other entries entitled  “Boarder Head”.  In each instance both parties had a wife and one included a son (separate family units?) .

What does the term “Boarder Head” mean, please.   Does it mean the “Head” and his wife owned a property containing two extra units occupied separately by “Boarder Heads”  or some other explanation?    There was nothing on the record to explain the possibility of extra separate dwelling space within the residence.   Thanks for any explanations offered.  Regards – Dinny.         

[brigidmac]

My grandmother was a toddler boarding in 1901 but by 1911 she was down as adoptive daughter of head of house so maybe the birth parends  had stopped paying. Her mother got married respectably in 1903 and her birth father had court cases to pay in 1906