Page 3 | The 1921 Census results have been published

tectonicplates · 2022-01-06T21:17:20+00:00

Interesting stuff! [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59879470]] Lots of women were widowed after the First World War. Several people gave their opinions on divorce. And I love that one of the census workers complained that children had used the form to play noughts and crosses.

DameAlyson · 08/01/2022 00:12

Outrageous profiteering. I'm very cross, this is pure exploitation.

It cost money to clean and digitise the records and produce the indexes. Who do you think should pay for all the staff and equipment needed to do that?

Family history is a hobby, like golf, cycling, swimming, running, knitting, gardening, playing an instrument, gaming, etc etc. Hobbies cost money. Family history is cheap compared with some hobbies.

StarbucksSmarterSister · 08/01/2022 00:16

My dad is on there, aged 8 months. I've only looked up both sets of grandparents although I have several others to look at. I have a rolling subscription but still have to pay on top of that, unlike the last time one was published. I'm not impressed.

onlychildhamster · 08/01/2022 03:10

I can't find any records of my DH's great grandfather's marriage. Maybe jewish marriages were not registered at that time though I definitely remember reading that they would have been by the early 1900s (DH's grandpa was born in 1929). I can find all other subsequent marriages in the family.

On a separate note, while searching records of births and marriages in findmypast.co.uk; I do notice that with most people I know (I am late 20s living in London), they still seem to be living in the same area that their parents have always lived in (their parents were born nearby and also had their children). my impression from mumsnet is that people always seem to be moving away esp when they have children in London. Is this more common nowadays?

On a separate note, I have found out who lived in my flat when it was first built in the 1939 census. She was a 21 year telephonist civil servant.

Appleseesaw · 08/01/2022 08:43

@SpookyScarySkeletons

Thankyou so much *@Appleseesaw* that's really helpful!

Yes I am totally new to it, just started looking this morning after seeing this thread and found it so incredibly interesting. So far (while I'm meant to be working) I have tracked back to great great great great grandparents.

I really want to find my great great grandma's cousin who went to prison for murdering her neighbour with a shovel after finding out she was having an affair with her husband!!

A bit more unsolicited advice, and I hope I don’t sound patronising, but it’s what I wish I had been told when I started… take your time, check carefully, and don’t rely on other people’s trees. I made so many errors when I started! I would speak to as many family members as possible to find out what they know. Family stories can often be inaccurate but there’s frequently more than a grain of truth. And make a note of your sources! So frustrating when you can’t remember where you find something.

Family history is very very addictive. For your great great grandmother’s cousin, if you dont know the name, I would keep building out the tree. I would be searching on the National Archives website and the British newspaper archives or find my past newspapers.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 08/01/2022 09:06

@SammyScrounge

Thank you. I am lucky in that I have all the original documents regarding his war work and his death. I know exactly where he was buried and the events surrounding his death.

However I have paid another £2.50 (I know) to find the occupants of my house and that was very interesting. Something I didn’t know about.

Appleseesaw · 08/01/2022 09:14

@onlychildhamster - I’ve found civil records for all the Jewish marriages in my tree. Have you tried also looking on the united synagogue website? They have some marriage authorisations on there. You have to pay, but they are very interesting!

llansanan · 08/01/2022 09:15

@Twitchynose Paris and much of France I expect has released up to and including 1946. Whilst none of my family still live at the same address as then, it would be quite possible. A family friend who died in 2019 was living in his childhood home inherited from his mum, so he lived in the same place then as in 1946.

I've found the 1921 census interesting, pity the next one available will be the 1951 one (1931 records destroyed by fire, no 1941). Solved a mystery about one of my ancestors.

Darbs76 · 08/01/2022 09:16

I paid to see my Nana’s family record - nice to see the original. Will send it to my mum. Where in London can I go to see the records for free? I’m not far from London, might be an interesting day off for me!

HesGotHisTrombole · 08/01/2022 09:32

I have found my Nan as a 6 month old. The best bit is she is still alive aged 101 so I will go and show her a copy in a few weeks!

onlychildhamster · 08/01/2022 11:19

@Appleseesaw yes I thought of that but my DH's Grandma's funeral was officiated by an adath Israel rabbi (ultra orthodox) and she is buried in a cemetery belonging to that movement even though they are not religious at all. I think it's because they started paying into an ultra orthodox burial society from their time in the east end so maybe its the same for marriages too. United shul only covers the marriages done by their rabbis/under the auspices of their synagogues so no ultra orthodox marriages...

SammyScrounge · 08/01/2022 12:54

[quote DobbyTheHouseElk]@SammyScrounge

Thank you. I am lucky in that I have all the original documents regarding his war work and his death. I know exactly where he was buried and the events surrounding his death.

However I have paid another £2.50 (I know) to find the occupants of my house and that was very interesting. Something I didn’t know about.[/quote]
It is fascinating to research. I had a woman contact me from Australia who turned out to be a descendant of my my grandfather's brother. She e-mailed me photographs going back to 1870. Then one photograph of my great-great--grandmother stunned me. It was my daughter's face looking back at me. They are the mirror image of one another. I love finding things like that although that one was a touch spooky!

Appleseesaw · 08/01/2022 13:02

[quote onlychildhamster]@Appleseesaw yes I thought of that but my DH's Grandma's funeral was officiated by an adath Israel rabbi (ultra orthodox) and she is buried in a cemetery belonging to that movement even though they are not religious at all. I think it's because they started paying into an ultra orthodox burial society from their time in the east end so maybe its the same for marriages too. United shul only covers the marriages done by their rabbis/under the auspices of their synagogues so no ultra orthodox marriages...[/quote]
That’s frustrating for you! Have you tried asking on Facebook groups? There are various groups specialising in Jewish genealogy, including one that’s for London Jewish genealogy.

Tomeeornottomee · 08/01/2022 22:52

I’m hoping that between now and when the next census is released (2051😱) that at least one of my family members takes an interest in our tree....

IHopeYouStepOnALegPiece · 08/01/2022 23:04

Thank you so much for this. I found my Nan, it has her age listed as “under one month” so she just made it in!

It’s really lovely to see her name on paper agin x

Clawdy · 09/01/2022 08:44

We have a complete dead end when it comes to my grandma 's family tree. She was born in a workhouse, abandoned there by her mother. Her birth certificate has her mother's name on it but no father listed. And her mother's name was a very common name so impossible to research and no birthdate for her. I tried to find workhouse records some years ago, but apparently they were mostly destroyed when the workhouse became a hospital.

LIZS · 09/01/2022 08:59

@Clawdy

We have a complete dead end when it comes to my grandma 's family tree. She was born in a workhouse, abandoned there by her mother. Her birth certificate has her mother's name on it but no father listed. And her mother's name was a very common name so impossible to research and no birthdate for her. I tried to find workhouse records some years ago, but apparently they were mostly destroyed when the workhouse became a hospital.

Are there any parish records or mention of the family in Newspaper Archives? Presumably her mother was local herself.

Appleseesaw · 09/01/2022 09:10

@Clawdy

We have a complete dead end when it comes to my grandma 's family tree. She was born in a workhouse, abandoned there by her mother. Her birth certificate has her mother's name on it but no father listed. And her mother's name was a very common name so impossible to research and no birthdate for her. I tried to find workhouse records some years ago, but apparently they were mostly destroyed when the workhouse became a hospital.

Sounds to me like it could be worth trying DNA. I’d say try baptism records, but from what you say, it doesn’t sound like the baby would have been baptised.

AutumnAlmanack · 09/01/2022 09:19

@Dumbledoresgirl - yes I had the same problem. My father's family had a very, very unusual French surname, and it has been transcribed completely incorrectly, as has my grandfather's first name. I think maybe some of the transcribers did not apply a lot of common sense - would a man of 40 in 1921 be called 'Andie' rather than 'Andre'? I have submitted an error correction request and hope that works as otherwise nobody else will be able to find the family!!

Clawdy · 09/01/2022 09:41

Thanks LIZS and Appleseesaw. The birth certificate said her mother lived some miles away. Her name was so ordinary there were dozens in that area, and she could have been any age from sixteen to thirty six, I guess.

longwayoff · 09/01/2022 11:18

@Clawdy, I had similar problem and refused to even consider looking for family named Jones in the Rhondda. But a bit of arm twisting from my sister and I tracked them down to my complete surprise. Try tracking her mother through census returns, daughter may pop up there, or, if you can, work backwards from your gran's marriage certificate. Try school records. And DNA can be very helpful.

Clawdy · 09/01/2022 13:18

Thanks, longwayoff I will try the census for my great-grandmother. I did find my gran on the census years ago, she was living with a foster family who took her from the workhouse. But he real mum disappeared as soon as she was born, probably an unmarried girl. Sad.

LIZS · 09/01/2022 13:50

You can try freebmd to narrow down options to search for on earlier census or any subsequent marriage.

Clawdy · 10/01/2022 08:19

Thanks LIZS, will try that.

WeAreTheHeroes · 10/01/2022 08:44

I accessed the 1921 census via Find My Past at Manchester Central Library at the weekend. You don't need to live in Manchester to register, you just need proof of your address.

Of four families I looked up, two had the male head of the household out of work. The wives didn't work outside the home and all had at least two pre-school children. There was mass unemployment at the time the census was taken. The spelling of names seems to have been fluid - my great grandfather spelled two of his daughters' names differently from what we knew as a family and didn't put his wife's full name down.

Several of the families had lodgers living with them, one of whom was a single pensioner in her mid 70s.

The free access meant I could see the actual census pages and this additional info. I'll be going back.

JuergenSchwarzwald · 10/01/2022 10:17

I presume other libraries will have access too - in the near future if not right now, but probably only if you go in person.