Endeavour Web for Senior Citizens

Genealogy

Genealogy Corner … Jim Bassford.

Click on one of the blue links below to go to that section:

United Kingdom Census Dates

Early in the 19 th Century a decision was made to hold a Census in the U.K. every ten years. To ensure privacy each Census was not to be released to the Public for 100 years. Only limited information is available in some of the early Census Returns but in later years more data was collected.

Here is a list of the actual Census dates that could be in the Public Domain :

1821 … 28 May 1851 … 30 March 1881 … 3 April

1831 … 30 May 1861 … 7 April 1891 … 5 April

1841 … 6 June 1871 … 2 April 1901 … 31 March

You can see that prior to 1851 each Census was held in the middle of the year but from 1851 it has been held at the end of the First Quarter. Subsequently, if you are calculating an individual's year of birth from the age on the Census, it depends on who gave the original information. The Census Age could be –

• the age from a birthday in the previous year's Quarters 2,3 or 4

• the age from the current year's 1 st Quarter

• the age which the individual will be later in the year

• an estimate or even ‘guesstimate' of the individual's age (how good would you be at guessing someone else's age? Highly reliable / Way out?)

* You could try checking from “Free BMD”.

The 1911 U.K. Census should be due for release on 1 st January 2012.

Information From English Census Returns

English Census Returns provide quite a lot of information.

If you are able to locate a family member on an English Census Return you are likely to find :

• Who was the Head of the household

• Who else was in the dwelling on the Census date

• What was the address at that time

• The ages of each person present

• Their occupations

• The relationship to the head of the house

• Where each individual was born

When considering the AGE on the Census Return I suggest that you take note of my comments on Census Age in my previous article on UNITED KINGDOM CENSUS DATES.

Society of Australian Genealogists [SAG]

Website: www.sag.org.au Phone: 9247 3953

This Society is located in Sydney and publishes a monthly electronic newsletter called ‘SAG-E'.

‘SAG-E' is freely available to non-members and you will be able to susbscribe for receiving it by making application online through SAG's website. ‘SAG-E' contains up to date information on programs, websites, research, seminars and activities for family historians.

The SAG Website is also a valuable resource for its online catalogues, bookshop, databases, research guides and much more. Why not explore it at www.sag.org.au ?

Have you heard about “ Now&Then ” ?

“ Now&Then ” is an electronic newsletter for anyone interested in the State archives of NSW. It provides information about new research tools and resources, services and seminars, exhibitions and other activities.

“Now&Then” is published in two ways:

1. as an email message containing short news items, plus pointers (including a URL/hyperlink) to new material on our website ( www.records.nsw.gov.au ) or elsewhere

2. as a page on our website ( www.records.nsw.gov.au ) with identical content to the email version, plus images in some cases.

Publishing Now&Then this way means that you can:

1. read it on-line, following the links to other resources as you go

2. print it to read at your leisure or distribute to others in hard copy or

3. forward the e-mail version to other people.

Subscribing to Now&Then is easy - and it's free!

Simply send an email containing your telephone number and a request to be subscribed to the Project Officer, Web Development at webdev@records.nsw.gov.au.

If at any time you would like to be removed from their mailing list, please email the Project Officer, Web Development at webdev@records.nsw.gov.au. If they do not hear from you, they will automatically continue to send Now&Then to you.

Please also note that they only accept requests to be placed on the “Now&Then” mailing list from the person who sends them an email message.

i.e. They do not accept nominations to be added to the list for people other than yourself.

BBFHS Library & Research Centre

Botany Bay Family History Society operates a Research Centre which is located on the eastern end of the same building where Endeavour Seniors Computer Club carries out its classes at Port Hacking Community Centre, Gannons Road South, Caringbah.

BBFHS Volunteers are available to assist with Family History Research from 10 am to 2 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The phone number for the Research Centre is 9523 8948. A charge of $5.00 for 2 hours applies to non-members of BBFHS. Access to the Centre is free for members of BBFHS.

Membership rates for Botany Bay Family History Society are :-

New Member Joining Fee …….. $10

Annual Single Membership ……. $25

Annual Family Membership …… $35

As well as a library of Genealogical books, the Research Centre has computers and readers available and also a growing collection of microfiche and CD's .

FREE BMD http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl

Free BMD is an ongoing project, the aim of which is to transcribe the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales, and to provide free Internet access to the transcribed records.

The recording of births, marriages and deaths was started in 1837 and is one of the most significant resources for genealogical research. The transcribing of the records is carried out by teams of dedicated volunteers and contains index information for the period 1837 to 1983. There are currently 107 million distinct records.

Click on one of the links below to go to that section:

SEARCHING FOR BIRTHS

• Select ‘Births' from the Search Type and then fill in the SURNAME and FIRST NAME.

You may also need to select Phonic Search in the ‘Options' if there are variants.

Only the first name is needed as the programme will give a middle name or initial if you are successful.

• Select a choice in either ‘Districts' or ‘Counties'.

You can select All Districts or All Counties but it is better to be more precise if you can.

(3) Insert your ‘Date Range'. This must start no earlier than September 1837.

• Click on FIND and wait for the results.

When you find a successful result you will be given several pieces of information:

* The person's name and the Quarter and Year when the Birth was registered.

[St Catherine's Index (now the GRO Index) was compiled once each Quarter]

** The District in which the Birth was first registered.

If you click on the District in your successful result you will find where the original record is recorded. This will also provide a link to a list of all centres in the District.

*** The Volume and Page of the Index. This is the information which you will need if you want to purchase a full Certificate. N.B. Often you don't need a Full Certificate or you may find it less expensive to purchase it directly from the District Office.

SEARCHING FOR DEATHS

• Select ‘Deaths' from the Search Type and then fill in the SURNAME and FIRST NAME.

You may also need to select Phonic Search in the ‘Options' if there are variants.

Only the first name is needed as the programme will give a middle name or initial if you are successful.

• Select a choice in either ‘Districts' or ‘Counties'.

You can select All Districts or All Counties but it is better to be more precise if you can.

(3) Insert your ‘Date Range'. This must start no earlier than September 1837.

• Click on FIND and wait for the results.

When you find a successful result you will be given several pieces of information:

* The person's name and the Quarter and Year when the Birth was registered.

[St Catherine's Index (now the GRO Index)was compiled once each Quarter]

* The District in which the Birth was first registered.

If you click on the District in your successful result you will find where the original record is recorded. This will also provide a link to a list of all centres in the District.

* The Volume and Page of the Index. This is the information which you will need if you want to purchase a full Certificate. N.B. Often you don't need a Full Certificate or you may find it less expensive to purchase it directly from the District Office. If you are really fortunate you may find more details from an online index.

* Most of the results give an age at death. If you have obtained a date of birth or an approximate year of birth ( such as from a census record or elsewhere ) you are more likely to identify the correct BMD record . This is a distinct advantage over BMD's Birth and Marriage records.

SEARCHING FOR MARRIAGES

• Select ‘Marriages' from the Search Type and then fill in the SURNAME and FIRST NAME.

You may also need to select Phonic Search in the ‘Options' if there are variants.

Only the first name is needed as the programme will give a middle name or initial if you are successful.

• Select a choice in either ‘Districts' or ‘Counties'.

You can select All Districts or All Counties but it is better to be more precise if you can.

(3) Insert your ‘Date Range'. This must start no earlier than September 1837.

• Click on FIND and wait for the results.

When you find a successful result you will be given several pieces of information:

* The person's name and the Quarter and Year when the Birth was registered.

[St Catherine's Index (now the GRO Index)was compiled once each Quarter]

* The District in which the Birth was first registered.

If you click on the District in your successful result you will find where the original record is recorded. This will also provide a link to a list of all centres in the District.

* Left clicking on the Page Number in any result will bring up the names of other persons listed on that page of the Index. You will need to be aware that the original page may have contained up to four marriages (i.e. 8 persons) and that they have been indexed in alphabetical order. Consequently you can find up to 4 possible spouses. If the luck is with you there will be only two names on that page or you may already know the other spouse's name/surname. A census subsequent to the marriage may provide the answer … or another index … or a Full Certificate.

This page was revised on 9 May, 2008