Sandra et all I can only go part way to agreeing with what Sandra has said about Birth Certificates V Census. I have obtained several birth/ wedding /burial documents and in the main they appear to be accurate but there are still inconsistencies with even this documentation. It is quite possible, even up to 1880 that no member of the family could read or write. Many of my paternal and to some extent maternal side were making with the sign of a X up to this date. So who could be sure about age, date of birth even birth place? Its never 100% Spelling is another matter. On census it depended on the enumerators to understand the enumerated (is that a correct word?). I have a Daniel, who became a Samuel, a Walter who became a William who became a Wallace (thankfully the DOB remained constant!). Surnames often were mis-spelt eg Watcham /Watsham/Wadley/Wordley, Prior, Pryor, Notley /Nutterley/Cutterley I have some Watcham relatives, some Watsham relatives, some Wordley and some Wadley. Watchams all from one source, Wadleys all from one source. In one case I had an Italian Vicar marrying an Indian man and a woman from East Anglia. I would have loved to have heard the reading of the banns!! Sometimes a name has been deliberately given to hide something that a person wanted to hide (in my case an illegitimately birth in the 1830's). DOB can vary by up to 5 years. Place of birth can also. Rule of thumb- check one source, compare with another and check again. If all appears to tie in then it probably will. If you have any doubts never, never assume. I had one person last week said we must be related because our families both come from Norfolk!!! Come to think of it in this case she could be right (with apologies to Norfolk!!) Graham -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandra J Smith Sent: 12 March 2007 11:17 To: ENG-HAMPSHIRE-L Subject: [ENG-HANTS] Birth Certificates v Census Hi List, This email is triggered by a number of emails recently asking for help with identifying parents of individuals. The appearance of indexed census returns on the web in recent years appears to be encouraging new researchers to take short cuts with their family history - in short - anything but pay for a certified birth or marriage certificate. I come from the "old school" of researchers, whereby you found and purchased certificates and then confirmed or enhanced your findings with census information. Whilst in many cases it can now be done the other way round, I still believe that the original method of researching is robust and can save time and grief in the long run. The certificates are legal documents - the census is not. What is reported on a birth certificate is usually fact - what is reported to a census enumerator could be a long stretch of the imagination. I have come across a number of people recently who have researched an incorrect line of ascent, because they failed to purchase a certificate of birth to verify correct parentage. For example, on the census someone could be listed as a child of the head of household, whereas in reality they were the illegitimate child of the mother and not necessarily a child of the head of household. There is no need to buy certificates for everyone on your tree - few of us could afford that. However, it is essential to purchase the appropriate certificates for your direct line, and then use the census to confirm and add siblings and other relatives to the tree. Regards Sandra ............................................. Want to contact the local community? Please visit Hampshire Parish Jottings http://hants.parishjottings.org.uk ............................................. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.7/712 - Release Date: 06/03/2007 15:42

Graham, Had to chuckle at the Italian Vicar story. Everything you have said is very valid. Just a couple of additional points: Births had to be reported to the registrar within 6 weeks of the birth, so unlikely that place of birth would be "forgotten" in that time. Ages on marriage certificates, like ages on census returns, are always a bit problematic and not always because an age wants to be hidden. These days we are forever being asked either our age or our date of birth. In days gone by, it was a question rarely asked, so easily forgotten. Ages on death certificates are the same. The person reporting the death might not have known the age of the deceased, so the registrar would use the best estimate. My grandfather, Leonard Mabey of Southampton, lied about his age to go to sea, adding on a couple of years to "qualify". Over the years he maintained this age, getting married, raising a family of 4, etc etc. It all went well until he came to retire and claim his old-age pension - they sent him back to work for 2 more years. (He never had a birth certificate, so they took his baptism as the record). My grandmother was furious - not because of the 2 more years work, but because it turned out that she was older than him! Regards Sandra The Taylors wrote: >Sandra et all > >I can only go part way to agreeing with what Sandra has said about Birth >Certificates V Census. > >I have obtained several birth/ wedding /burial documents and in the main >they appear to be accurate but there are still inconsistencies with even >this documentation. > >It is quite possible, even up to 1880 that no member of the family could >read or write. Many of my paternal and to some extent maternal side were >making with the sign of a X up to this date. So who could be sure about age, >date of birth even birth place? Its never 100% > >Spelling is another matter. On census it depended on the enumerators to >understand the enumerated (is that a correct word?). I have a Daniel, who >became a Samuel, a Walter who became a William who became a Wallace >(thankfully the DOB remained constant!). Surnames often were mis-spelt eg >Watcham /Watsham/Wadley/Wordley, Prior, Pryor, Notley /Nutterley/Cutterley I >have some Watcham relatives, some Watsham relatives, some Wordley and some >Wadley. Watchams all from one source, Wadleys all from one source. In one >case I had an Italian Vicar marrying an Indian man and a woman from East >Anglia. I would have loved to have heard the reading of the banns!! >Sometimes a name has been deliberately given to hide something that a person >wanted to hide (in my case an illegitimately birth in the 1830's). DOB can >vary by up to 5 years. Place of birth can also. > >Rule of thumb- check one source, compare with another and check again. If >all appears to tie in then it probably will. If you have any doubts never, >never assume. I had one person last week said we must be related because our >families both come from Norfolk!!! Come to think of it in this case she >could be right (with apologies to Norfolk!!) > >Graham > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] >[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Sandra J Smith >Sent: 12 March 2007 11:17 >To: ENG-HAMPSHIRE-L >Subject: [ENG-HANTS] Birth Certificates v Census > >Hi List, >This email is triggered by a number of emails recently asking for help >with identifying parents of individuals. > >The appearance of indexed census returns on the web in recent years >appears to be encouraging new researchers to take short cuts with their >family history - in short - anything but pay for a certified birth or >marriage certificate. > >I come from the "old school" of researchers, whereby you found and >purchased certificates and then confirmed or enhanced your findings with >census information. Whilst in many cases it can now be done the other >way round, I still believe that the original method of researching is >robust and can save time and grief in the long run. The certificates >are legal documents - the census is not. What is reported on a birth >certificate is usually fact - what is reported to a census enumerator >could be a long stretch of the imagination. I have come across a number >of people recently who have researched an incorrect line of ascent, >because they failed to purchase a certificate of birth to verify correct >parentage. For example, on the census someone could be listed as a >child of the head of household, whereas in reality they were the >illegitimate child of the mother and not necessarily a child of the head >of household. > >There is no need to buy certificates for everyone on your tree - few of >us could afford that. However, it is essential to purchase the >appropriate certificates for your direct line, and then use the census >to confirm and add siblings and other relatives to the tree. >Regards >Sandra > > >............................................. >Want to contact the local community? >Please visit Hampshire Parish Jottings >http://hants.parishjottings.org.uk >............................................. > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >[email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > >