1841 and 51 Look Up Please JOSEPH NICHOLSON

[Claire Bear]

Can someone find Joseph Nicholson born in Bampton in 1827 and married to Ann. He was probably a tailor and had moved to Birtley in Durham by the 1861 cencus but I can't find him before that and I'm stuck.

Many thanks

Claire

On the 71 census his birth place is down as Brampton in Westmorland.  I'm not from that neck of the woods but with the help of Google I think that Brampton is very close but actually in Cumberland...am I right?

[sue smith]

Hi Claire

there is actually both a Bampton and a Brampton in Cumbria.  The first was in Westmorland and the latter always in Cumberland  - they are about 30 miles apart.

Genuki has some good links and parish info:

http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WES/Bampton/index.htm & http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CUL/Brampton/index.html.

The 1841 for Bampton is available on-line at http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WES/Bampton/Bampton1841.htm - one possible but the age seems young?

I'm afraid I don't have the 1851 for either area - there is an on-line partial name index but unfortunately I don't think it covers your exact areas although does list a few possibles in neighbouring districts to Bampton http://homepages.tesco.net/~rolygrigg/.

Main problem with the 1851 for this area is that it is paperbased and in 71 volumes so availability is thin.  You can buy the different districts from Cumbria Family History Society   http://www.cumbriafhs.com/ for a reasonable price but I think the problem for you will be that Nicholson was a very common name and he could have been in a number of different districts meaning a lot of purchasing! 

Hope this is of help - even if it just rules some areas out!

Sue

[Claire Bear]

I was told by the moderator of the Kent board that for the 1841 census ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 which would mean that my Joseph born in 1827 would have been 13 or 14 at the time of the census so would have been rounded down to 10...or was that just a Kent thing??  I'm such a newbie

Update:- Looking a little closer I see most peoples ages end in a 5 or 0 but there are quite a few, especially children, that don't.  oh well, it was just a thought.

[sue smith]

Hi Claire

on the 1841 all adult ages were rounded down so anyone aged from 15 to 19 is listed as age 15, anyone from 20 to 24 is shown as 20, etc.  In addition:

The head of each household is not specifically identified, although he/she is normally the first person listed.
The relationship of each person to the head of the household is not stated.
Marital status is not shown.
Two small columns are used for place of birth instead of the one larger column in later censuses. The first states "Yes" or "No", often abbreviated to a single initial letter, to the question "Born in the same county?". The second indicates by an initial letter whether the person was "Born in Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts".

Kind Regards

Sue

[Claire Bear]

So would that mean that children aged 10-14 could be listed as aged 10 or would they have been classed as children and their age listed as it actually was?  Eg the Joseph I've seen as aged 10 could have been 10 or anything up to 14?  Sorry to be so thick, it's just he's the only Joseph listed in the right place and the 'mothers' name is the same as his eldest daughter all clues that help it's just his age that dosn't fit.
Claire

[sue smith]

Hi Claire

I always struggle with the 1841 too! 

Under 15 years of age you were considered a child and your actual age should have been recorded, so that would suggest this Joseph was actually 10.  But errors do happen - elsewhere on the page it lists a 21 year old and a 16 year old, both of whom should have been rounded down.  Then there could be transcription errors by the enumerator and any number of people who have copied the records since then.  I'm also suspicious about the sister who is also aged 10 - may be worth tracking her birth down to see if they were twins or if she was actually older than 10?

I don't think you can say you certainly have your Joseph but I wouldn't rule it out.  It may be worth writing to the record office and asking for a copy of the original enumaration entry to check this - if you give the folio details you normally only get charged for copying and postage. 

Another option would be to get the 1851 for the village from CFHS and hope that they are still there.  This will give you proper ages and relationships.

Sue

[Claire Bear]

Thanks Sue, you've been a great help

[annaandchester]

Do you still need this 1841 lookup?

[Claire Bear]

Hello,

I found an 1841 somewhere online which had a Joseph aged 10 living with his mother Eleanor b.1791 and brothers and sisters John b.1826, Margaret b.1826 and Racheal b.1831.  They were living in Bampton, Westmorland and I assume this is the right family but as it's such a common old name I can't really be 100% sure.

Claire