In a message dated 26/06/2009 11:02:57 GMT Daylight Time, watsonb@iinet.com.au writes: I have the 1841 census and the 1851 census (without Henry) Would he have been down the mine when the census was on.Did they count the men down the mine working, at all. In all British censuses anyone at work overnight on census night would be enumerated at their usual place of abode - ie at home. Most workplaces therefore do not even have a census return for them, as one would only be needed if it was also the home of someone such as a caretaker etc. Anyone "missing" from home in the census must have been away elsewhere, on a visit. Some were elsewhere in connection with their work or business, such as those farmers who were gathered in Durham City for a cattle fair in the 1851 census. You could try the houses of close relatives in case they were visiting there. Family birthdays, weddings, funerals etc could all be reasons for someone spending a few days on a visit, but if it was the main breadwinner of a family then they would need to have had a very serious reason to take time off work, unpaid, just to visit a friend. You could try local institutions such as a hospital, if the person might have been injured in a dangerous job such as mining, or a workhouse if he might have retired before falling ill. Prisons and lunatic asylums (as ahywhere dealing witih mental illness was then called) all need to be looked at. Geoff Nicholson