Hello again, Just found this on Ancestry - slightly useful - doesnt answer all of my previous questions but is a start .......... *How the census forms are organized:* Localities were organized into enumeration districts. These districts were roughly equivalent to parishes, but not always. A description of the district and its boundaries is given at the beginning of each new enumeration district. The returns are generally organized by parish and enumeration district. Each parish has been assigned a “Parish Number”. This number was originally assigned in 1855 when civil registration began being kept. The numbers were assigned in a general north to south, and east to west direction by county. Within each county, numbers were assigned in alphabetical order by parish name. *A full reference for a record in the 1881 census includes: the Parish Number, Enumeration District Number, Entry Number (Page Number), Parish Name, County Name, and the Census Year. * SO from the above my full reference would be ................ ParishNo. : Enumeration No. : Page No. : Parish Name : County Name : 1881 147/00 007/00 014 Banff Banffshire ? 1881 Bill On Sun, Dec 27, 2009 at 11:59 AM, Bill Wood <steamingbill@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello, > > *Understanding Census References* > > This message was prompted by me getting into a right mess on the lost > cousins web site, the demonstration version of the Clooz database and I dont > really know how to properly quote a census result. > > If I want to formally and properly refer to or cite a census result how do > I do it ? From Scotlands People I get the following ......... > > > WOOD, JESSIE ANN (Census 1881 147/00 007/00 014) 146Kb<http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/GROS-DUN-WEB2/viewers/DownloadImageFile.aspx/864715/A1A3C051-5B46-4521-B88D-C459E077AB1D-C1881_147_00_007_000_2_014Z.tif> > > If I wrote down Scotland 1881 147/00 007/00 014 would that enable somebody > to find Jessie Ann Wood in the census ? > > All I can figure out from the above is that she is on page 14 of something > ? > > Is there a web site somewhere that explains what the numbers mean (Folio, > district, page number etc.) and what the hierarchy of an address in a > census is ? > > ie (from the Clooz census form) > > Country - yes I understand this - Scotland > County - Yes I understand this - Aberdeenshire- Banffshire (doesnt exist > any more) > City - yes I understand this - Aberdeen - Edinburgh - Glasgow > Town - starting to get confused here - when does a town become a city - > Banff - Macduff - Portsoy - Portknockie > Parish / Township - well and truly confused - Difference between Township > and Town ? A parish was a subdivision of a County ? Was a parish the > equivalent of a township - Is a township the same as a village ? > Can I have several villages and/ or townships in a parish ? > Ward / Parliamentary - havent got a clue what this means > Sanitary / Ecclesiastical - Whee ! off with the fairies - here is a wild > guess - some sort of reference to subdivisons around the > town/township/village where different sanitation regimes were implemented ? > Or different churches held sway ? > > And Happy New Year to you too ............. > > Bill >