Help with wild card search 1921 census

[panda40]

Hi everyone and thank you for reading my post.
I am struggling to find my 2X great grandmother. I have tried every combination possible and spent a small fortune trying to locate her.
Her name is Caroline Nowers Matcham (maiden name Williams). Born Dover 1853. Died Dover 1935 so I know she was alive in 1921.
Her husband died in 1915 in Dover and I have accessed the record for the address they were living at in 1915. They have moved. I have also accessed the address that was given on her death certificate and she is not there.
I have tried searching on first name only as well as by surname but having no success. She is my only relative this far back in my tree who was still living on the 1921 census and I would like to find her.
Any suggestions on what combination to put in next would be very helpful.

Many thanks a very frustrated
Panda

[Tickettyboo]

I tried but can't see a likely entry.
Given that I have seen many, many index entries that have been mistranscribed (firstnames/ surnames/birthplaces) plus she may well have been visiting somewhere else on the night of the census its often difficult.

I eventually found someone I was looking for who wasn't at home with her family. Though her surname was mistranscribed I eventually found her on holiday in a neighbouring county.

Possible avenues:
 if her children had married and lived elsewhere, try searching for them and in the advanced search put in her first name ( and variants/ wildcards) as another person in the household.

as above but try her surname (and variants/wildcards)  as another person in the household

Good luck with it, but until this becomes part of a subscription and we can trawl though images there are going to be many people who will remain 'missing'.

Boo

[Milliepede]

This probably won't help as am sure you have tried everything but I looked and looked for one lady using various names/places and only found her when I took out her birth year +/- 5 years as her age was 10 years out.

Did she always use the name Caroline on the records you do have?

[Talacharn]

My great-grandmother remarried and I could not find them on the 2021 census. She had 3 daughters, the eldest I found with her husband. That left 2 daughters who were 9 and 14 years old. Knowing their birth years, I found both and getting the image, my great-grandmother and her husband were there at the same address. They were not offered as part of my search, which does not make any sense. Maybe she is with a child and not listed in the search.

[candleflame]

Have you located her on any electoral rolls especially 1920 or 1921 ? Some of them are online,  others you’d need to visit libraries or record offices/ archives?

[panda40]

Thank you everyone who has read and offered help and advice. It’s very reassuring that others have struggled to find her and it’s not only me.
Sadly I have moved out of Kent after living there all my life and can’t get back to view the electoral rolls at present.
I will follow up on the advance search for her children to see if she is with one of them. Otherwise it might be a case of waiting till we can search the indexes at least without a charge.
Thanks once again
Panda

[candleflame]

Find my past seems to have at least some of the Dover electoral rolls  online , though I couldn’t spot her .

[Talacharn]

You could contact Kent Archives and ask them if they could look. I asked my local service and they provided me with names and years. Considering her age, could she be in hospital? Is there a Will that could say where she was living?

Added: Caroline N Matcham . 81 . Jan-Mar 1935 . Dover . 2a . 1605
Do you have the death certificate that should say where she was living?

[cuffie81]

The marriage announcement of son Frederick George, in 1920, puts Caroline at 4 Clarendon Street. I couldn't find any possible matches at that address though in 1921.

Dover Express
18 Jun 1920
age 1
Marriages
Matcham-Litchfield
- On June 12th, 1920,
- at St James's Church, Dover,
- Frederick George  Matcham,
- youngest son of Mrs Matcham
- and the late Mr Matcham,
- of 4 Clarendon St., Dover,
- to Ruby Margaret Litchfield,
- only daughter to Mr and Mrs Litchfield,
- of 3 Trevanion Place, Dover


As an aside, in case you haven't seen them, there's quite a few newspaper items for the family, including for Caroline's death, husband Stephen's death, son William Henry's death (1940) and various items.