1911 census transcripts - waste of money ?

[Nick29]

A while ago, I downloaded a transcript of the 1911 census return of my grandfather's sister, to confirm the names of her children.  Not only had FindMyPast got her name wrong - the page title was Ellen Phillips, and her name was Eliza, but they had also transcribed her son as being born when she was 13 years old.  I thought maybe the son may have been from his father's previous marriage, at the time I wasn't too interested in spending any more time/money to find out.

Very recently I have made contact with the descendant of one of Eliza's children, so I decided to purchase the image of the 1911 census return, to see if it revealed anything about children who may have died.  When I got the image, I found that her son was not 35, as shown on the transcript, but quite clearly 25.  I was also able to see the number of children born & surviving.

In future, I am not going to bother to purchase transcriptions, because they are so innaccurate, that I have do end up spending another 30 credits to get the proper information, so I might as well get the images to start with, and save myself 10 credits on the deal.  I'm really looking forward to the 1911 census going on Ancestry, because then maybe we'll get some decent transcriptions !

[~Rachel~]

I made the mistake of purchasing the transcripts at first - shame as it was a bit of a waste of money.

The most interesting info for me in many cases was definitely the number of children born/survived, from that found out a few who had missed being on previous census altogether - so obviously ended up buying both transcript and then the original when I realised what it included!

My fault though - I was so keen to get going I didn't read the info properly and just charged ahead. 

Haven't noticed any transcription errors yet, I suppose there's bound to be quite a few lurking around.

[charlotteCH]

Nick and Rachel, You're not the only ones saying this... I haven't bought any 1911 stuff yet but the general reaction to the transcripts has warned me off. 
The age being shown wrongly is inexcusable- and would have sent you off on a useless search Nick.
charlotte

[Nick29]

There are loads of mis-transcriptions.  I only found the entry for my great-aunt by finding one of her other children, because her name was wrongly transcribed, and her son's age was 10 years out.  I (and many others) have tried to make FindMyPast change the transcription errors, but they don't want to know.  I think FindMyPast must have hired some pretty dim people to transcribe the entries, because the errors are basic and stupid.  Ancestry have transcription errors too, but at least they take notice of what people tell them, and they add alternative transcriptions to the ones they originally provided in the 1841 to 1901 censuses.

I won't stop downloading the actual 1911 pages from FindMyPast, because there's no alternative source right now, but I won't be wasting any more credits on useless transcripts.

[O1dgobbo]

I'm really looking forward to the 1911 census going on Ancestry, because then maybe we'll get some decent transcriptions !

Good heavens - are FindMyPast really worse than A******y when it comes to transcription errors?

It will be better when 1911 is offered on subscription because then if you open a sheet as a result of a transcription error you won't be so angry about the cost- it's only cost you time.

All the best

Gobbo

P.S. I hope that you are all reporting these errors to FindMyPast so that they can be corrected before I get round to spending my money!

[ricky1]

Hi Nick

You might have a long wait for the 1911 census on Ancestry, cos this is the reply I got earlier this year



Thank you for your email.

We don't currently have plans to purchase the 1911 census early. We are currently focusing on sourcing historical records that go further back in history and will soon be launching the London Metropolitan Archives collection, which includes pre-1837 parish registers
ricky

[nanny jan]

Just to remind everyone;  if you can get to the National Archives at Kew then acess to 1911 census is free.  There are 60 dedicated "1911" computers, you can book a 1 hour session, and only pay for any printing.



Nanny Jan

[Nick29]

I think the contract between FindMyPast and the National Archives runs until 2011, so Ancestry won't be doing it until then.    I'm not sure what the "normal" quality of FindMyPast census documents are like, because I've never had a subscription with them.  

[Necromancer]

I previously posted a link to a FOI request (deleted for some reason) about FindMyPast / BrightSolids contract with the National Archives & 'exclusivity' - basically, the Nat Archives dont enter into such arrangements, and when BS complete and return the raw data, 1911 is up for grabs for other commercial parties....

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/contract_with_find_my_past_limit


as Ricky shows in his correspondence with Ancestry, they have other priorities at present - so only time will tell ....