Author Topic: Census dates please explain - infant deaths  (Read 2766 times)

Offline Bidr

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Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« on: Wednesday 30 October 19 21:43 GMT (UK) »
Hi All,
This may seem a silly question to all you experienced researchers but are the census dates out by some margin and if so by how much?
I have been looking for possible infant deaths because they are on the 1871 census but not on 1881.
When searching the free births and deaths I have found possible deaths but the dates are wrong, what am I doing wrong?


1871 CENSUS 
J C JACKSON Age 42 1829
Ellen JACKSON Age 33 1838
Ellen JACKSON  Age 13 1858
Emma JACKSON Age 9 1862
John JACKSON dob Age 7 1864   Possible Infant Death ?
Charles JACKSON Age 5 1866
Henry JACKSON Age 4 1867
Caroline/Cordelia JACKSON Age 1 1870
Emma  JACKSON 2/1   Possible Infant Death ?


1881 CENSUS
J.E. Jackson Age 50  1831
Ellen Jackson Age 43 1838
Emma Jackson Age 19 1862
Charles Jackson Age 15 1866
Henry Jackson Age 13 1868
Cordelia Jackson Age 10 1871
Fred Jackson Age 7 1874
Alfred Jackson Age 5 1876
Ada Jackson Age 6  1875
Rose Jackson Age 3 1878


JACKSON,  JOHN   dob 1963    age 5   GRO Reference: 1868  J Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 176

JACKSON, EMMA  MARIA      0   
GRO Reference: 1873  D Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 274

JACKSON, EMMA        2   
GRO Reference: 1877  S Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 174

Thank you
Barbara




Offline KGarrad

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 21:48 GMT (UK) »
The actual census forms do not show years of birth - simply an age as at the date of the census.

People like Ancestry add an ESTIMATED year of birth, which can be a year out, depending on the actual birthday of the person concerned (I.E. before census day, or after census day?)
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline JenB

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:11 GMT (UK) »
Remember that the age shown on census was supposed to be the age at the persons last birthday.
So that a child who was, say, a week off their 2nd birthday should have been entered as aged 1.
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Online Dundee

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:15 GMT (UK) »
This death:
JACKSON, EMMA  MARIA  (age) 0   
GRO Reference: 1873  D Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 274

...probably corresponds with this birth:

JACKSON, EMMA  MARIA
Mother's maiden surname: AYRES     
GRO Reference: 1873  M Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 399

Hard to tell with the other Emma as she could have been born anywhere and it is a common name, but your John wouldn't have died in 1868 if he was on the 1871 census.

Debra  :)



Offline Bidr

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #4 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:16 GMT (UK) »
I worked out the date of births taking away their age from the census, is this right? By working out the dob's I can get my head around all the dates.

Offline CaroleW

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #5 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:17 GMT (UK) »
Here's an example of the difference

Born in September 1865 so aged 5yrs December 1870

Census taken March 1871.  Deduct 5 from 1871 and you get a birth year of 1866 on the census

Same applies to a death.  If the above example were to die in (say) April 1884 they would be 18yrs old as at September 1883.  Birth year would be 1884 - 18 = 1866
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Offline Bidr

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #6 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:22 GMT (UK) »
This death:
JACKSON, EMMA  MARIA  (age) 0   
GRO Reference: 1873  D Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 274

...probably corresponds with this birth:

JACKSON, EMMA  MARIA
Mother's maiden surname: AYRES     
GRO Reference: 1873  M Quarter in ISLINGTON  Volume 01B  Page 399

Hard to tell with the other Emma as she could have been born anywhere and it is a common name, but your John wouldn't have died in 1868 if he was on the 1871 census.

Debra  :)

AYRES another maiden name for this family... 'The Jacksons' are doing my head in  :'(

I thought if looked for the infant deaths I might get lucky to find more info on the Pencil Maker,lol

Barbara

Online Dundee

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:25 GMT (UK) »
Emma  JACKSON 2/1   Possible Infant Death ?

This is not correct.  The daughter Emma is aged 9 in 1871 and 19 in 1881 so she is still alive.  The other Emma with them in 1871 is sister to the head of the family and her age looks like 21.  Her occupation is 'assistant'.

Debra  :)

Offline JenB

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Re: Census dates please explain - infant deaths
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 30 October 19 22:26 GMT (UK) »
I worked out the date of births taking away their age from the census, is this right? By working out the dob's I can get my head around all the dates.

Not necessarily right. See reply#2. You might think that someone aged 1 in the 1871 census was born in 1861. But if they were actually approaching their second birthday in 1871 they could actually have been born in 1860.
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