I think we have all had people or families that just cannot be found, some seemed to have escaped the census and others are just missing sections. Like any transcription project Ancestry has plenty of errors, it is not uncommon to find a whole household given the wrong surname because the name from the previous household has been continued down the page by the transcriber. (If you do find an error then don't forget to report to Ancestry, they are getting quite quick and add an alternative name within days). Martin Briscoe Fort William M&LFHS | Gwynedd FHS > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Meg Galley > Sent: 28 February 2008 08:59 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ENG-LAN-BOLTON] Census > > Robert > > So far as I am aware the censuses are supposed to be a full > record of the whole population on specific Sunday nights in > Spring. There were obviously people away from home but even > they are supposed to be picked up staying as visitors and > lodgers etc. The information was collected by Enumerators > and the process overseen by local Registrars. A few census > pages from some areas went missing years ago and you can find > the list of these on Ancestry I believe.