As experts in family research, Kin Tree are pleased to pass on some of our top tips for searching census returns. Don't forget though it can often save you time and money to ask an expert for help so please feel free to get in touch for a free chat. We offer hourly rates or packages so you are always in control of how much you spend. Contact us at kintree@ymail.com
Top Census Searching Tips
Names
People's names were written down by the enumerators and so often names were spelt incorrectly or even misheard. After that, these records have been transcribed and however good the transcriptions are, there is room for error and illegible writing! It's a good idea to included the various options such as soundex that widens the return of names.
Birth Dates
Even when you know a person's exact details such as their birth date, it is better to give a wider search for their birth year. Sometimes there can be different ages given on each census as people were much more vague about details such as their date of birth. Also, it's worth remembering that depending on when their birthday falls, their birth year has often been calculated from the age at the time of the census and takes no account of whether they have had a birthday that year.
Official Name Vs Every Day Name
Census records often recorded the name that a person was known by rather than their birth name. It could be something easy like Tom for Thomas or Peggy for Margaret but it can be enough to throw a spanner in the works. It's always worth trying variations of the name to see if it produces results.
Unusual First Names
It can be great to search for unusual surnames in general family research but within the census, an unusual first name can be a great bonus too. If you are having problems, try putting only the first name in if it is unusual and it will often bring up the result for which you are searching.
Family Connections
Check out the census returns for other members of the family. You may find your ancestor living with them! Especially useful for tracking down younger and older relations.
Census Years
When you can select more than one census at a time then select to search only one at a time. In most searches, the more years that the search engine has to search through, the less specific it is with the results it returns.
Away From Home At The Census
Many people were absent from home on the night of the census. This means they will not be recorded at the expected address. They could be visiting someone, in the armed forces, hospital or prison, for example.
Less Is More!
Don't feel the need to fill in all the search information in the boxes provided. If you do, it only takes only one thing to be different and you will not find what you are looking for. It's easier to refine your search further if you need to but sometimes it is necessary to simply look through a number of results to find the correct one!
Different Site, Different Results
There are often multiple sites where you can search for census records. Often a search on one can produce no results whilst on another site, the same search will bring up your record straight away.
Don't stick to the same search variations
Things like a wildcard search, soundex, fuzzy matching are a good way to look for alternative spellings but each indexing method will always leave some variations out that you might expect it to include. So remember to try all the variations if your favourite doesn't return what you are looking for.
Keep Notes
Record all the information on the census. You can find that even those who seem like no more that casual visitors can be part of your family's story in the future!
Don't Give Up!
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