Hi:   I've found my main family in 1911 living at Chequer Tree Farm, Goudhurst and the three other sons living at Maplesden Farm, Beneden.  The father has signed the census form for the three boys living at the other farm.   Would this indicate that he owned both farms?   How do I determine that he actually owned the farms, as opposed to just farming on them? The census just says farmer, not farmer of XX acres.   Is there a land registry for previous years that we can look at?   Thanks, Linda

LINDA MARTIN wrote: > Hi: > > I've found my main family in 1911 living at Chequer Tree Farm, > Goudhurst and the three other sons living at Maplesden Farm, > Beneden. The father has signed the census form for the three boys > living at the other farm. > > Would this indicate that he owned both farms? Not necessarily. The census asked for details of all those who spent the night at a specific address so if there were three boys stopping there on census night, they had to be included. The father would have signed both forms because he was the head of the households. The father might have owned both farms but he could equally have just farmed them for the landowner. > How do I determine that he actually owned the farms, as opposed to > just farming on them? The census just says farmer, not farmer of XX > acres. That was jut the way it was designated by different enumerators or the farmers themselves. It isn't an indication of ownership. > Is there a land registry for previous years that we can look at? There is a land registry and some registrations are available online but I don't know how far back they go or what the criteria for viewing them is. The original paperwork is, apparently, being destroyed as it's being uploaded. -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Greinton and Clutton, SOM Asst OPC for Ashcott and Shapwick, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk