Does the 1921 census differentiate between visitors and children?

[CovidCorvid]

So my grandmother is listed as a small child as a “visitor”. In a household with two adults with the same surname. I suspect those adults aren’t her parents. If they were her parents would the record say daughter rather than visitor?

Absolutely it would. The only census which didn't record relationships within the household was the 1841 census.

It's important to remember that the census is just a snapshot picture of who was in the house on that particular night. If your grandmother's parents were away at a wedding, ill, working shifts overnight or something, your granny might have been staying with a family member, friend's parents, or the next door neighbours overnight.

My aunt appears twice in the 1901 census, once with her parents, and once with her grandparents, where I assume she happened to spend the night. Perhaps it's worth checking in case your grandmother appears twice. (At the grandparents, she is down as granddaughter, though, not visitor.)

If there was a relationship, I would expect it to state it but you never know as people filled in the returns themselves and there is always the chance of human error!

Can you trace the names of all involved back a bit to see if you can establish a relationship? That for me is part of the fun of genealogy, sleuthing through the records finding links. But you need to have access to the Births Deaths and Marriages records of course. Have you? If the names are not too common, I'd be happy to look for you.

Thank you. I’m going to sign up for a 14 day free trial of find my past and see how far I get. I remember my mum (who’s dead now unfortunately so I can’t ask) said her mother had been brought up by her grandparents not her parents so I think the other people on the census are probably grandparents.

If I get stuck @Dumbledoresgirl I’ll give you a shout.

Best of luck @CovidCorvid. It can be very addictive and you might emerge with an entire family tree going back centuries!

@CovidCorvid

So my grandmother is listed as a small child as a “visitor”. In a household with two adults with the same surname. I suspect those adults aren’t her parents. If they were her parents would the record say daughter rather than visitor?

Could the adults be her uncle and aunt?

My aunt appears twice in the 1901 census, once with her parents, and once with her grandparents, where I assume she happened to spend the night.

The 1901 census should list only those people in the property overnight on 31 March/1 April 1901, so that sounds like an error.

My grandmother is listed as a boarder on the 1921 census (although I can’t see who is head of the household), and her younger sister as a visitor.

The 1901 census should list only those people in the property overnight on 31 March/1 April 1901, so that sounds like an error.
It was an error, but there are often mistakes on the census. (I assume my grandad had already filled in the forms including his children, but then at the last minute, his mum offered to have my aunt overnight.)

My grandmother is listed as a boarder on the 1921 census (although I can’t see who is head of the household), and her younger sister as a visitor.
You could find out who else is in the household, if you go to advanced search, leave person blank, fill in what you do know, and add your grandmother to the "other household member" field at the bottom.

Thanks, I’ll try that.

She is listed as the person responsible for completing the census form at that address and it’s just her and her younger sister listed in the household - she declared them as boarder and visitor. They are the only people on the form (I bought the copy).

@TheAbbotOfUnreason

My aunt appears twice in the 1901 census, once with her parents, and once with her grandparents, where I assume she happened to spend the night.

The 1901 census should list only those people in the property overnight on 31 March/1 April 1901, so that sounds like an error.

My grandmother is listed as a boarder on the 1921 census (although I can’t see who is head of the household), and her younger sister as a visitor.

Ours will cause confusion in the future then for the 2021 return. Our children were recorded at school (they’re boarders) and at home. And we double/triple checked that this was the right way to do it 🤷🏼‍♀️