Hi Anitra The enumerator was not generally told anything, the information was transcribed from the householders schedules Even if the householder was illiterate and could not find someone to fill it in for them and gave the information to the enumerator, the enumerator would fill in the schedule(s) for them and would know you would not have a head of household as mother or lodger The census pages show one household with two schedules, the strikes that denote the start and finish of a building are in my opinion in the wrong place and the High Road has been entered one schedule to early If you look at the Inhabited column there is a "1" against schedule 70, the next "1" is against schedule 72 The enumeration of "mother" shows she was in the same building rather than a separate one To me the enumerator has not been accurate in marking the start, finish and subdivision of some buildings Nivard Ovington in Cornwall (UK) > Hi Phil, > > Looking back at the 1871 census might be helpful here > Green, Mendlesham > Jacob Snelling Head wid 69 Ag Lab Mendlesham > Mary Ann Snelling Daughter unm 47 Housekeeper Mendlesham > Ann Eliza Snelling Granddaughter unm 19 Mendlesham > > Annie Eliza Snelling married George Osborne in 1872 > > I would suggest that Eliza Osborne was the illegitimate daughter of > Mary Ann Snelling. Mary Ann Snelling did not marry so the 'Unm' is > correct. I suspect that Eliza and Mary Ann Snelling are living in > separate homes on the corner of Gipping Road and High Road. As for the > mother part, it all depends on what the enumerator was told and by whom, > for example he could have been told Mary Ann was the mother of the lady > next door whose lodging here. > > Hope this helps > > Anitra