How to search the Census when you can’t find an ancestor

It is not always possible to find an ancestor by surname search but you can search by Christian name, location, place of birth, age, etc.

For the purpose of this exercise we are going to use Ancestry.co.uk. (Please note that the following example is a random selection of research I have recently carried out on behalf of a client, Nicole Sheard.)

I was trying to locate a family by the name of Warhurst in the 1841 Census in Cheshire. I tried searching for one particular member of the family but the one shown below is the wrong person. I tried again and chose to search using Soundex but still got the same result.

I altered my search criteria, took out the surname of my subject but added place and estimated date of birth.

This search came up with 484 possible candidates to check through, so I decided that, as the surname began with W, I would start at the last page and work forward. It worked, and on the penultimate page I found the Catherine I was looking for transcribed as Catherine Whartursh.

So, as you can see, there is great flexibility when searching for that elusive ancestor. I have searched many times using the above method and have had a great deal of success.

There is another way I could have located Catherine Warhurst. I knew from previous Census records that she came from Mottram in Longden Dale and had I not been successful finding her, I would have chosen this next method. I did not choose this method originally as it can be quite time consuming.

From the home page in Ancestry.co.uk I selected the 1841 Census for England.

If I had an address, I could look at the descriptions of the enumeration districts. Failing that I could search through each district, but upon closer inspection District 1 and 2 were for Hattersley which didn’t mean anything to me, but District 3 was headed Mottram in Longdale. Luckily, I found my Warhurst in District 4.

Estimating death search years post-1901

There is another way to help estimate a death during the 20th century. We are currently concentrating on creating a four- or five-generation pedigree tree, but you naturally collect other family names from the Census as you go. Let’s go back to the 1901 Census for Martino and family:

In 1901, Martino and Amy had seven children living with them. It would be safe to assume that some if not all went on to marry at some stage during the early part of the 20th century. Their marriage certificates will provide information as to whether Martino was still living at the time of their marriage. I sourced marriage certificates for Amy Marelli in 1921, which recorded that Martino was still living and working as a restaurant proprietor.

Other marriages gave me further clues. William Marelli in 1924, Kathleen Marelli in 1925, Philomena Marelli in 1926, Winifred Marelli in 1931 and Henry Marelli in 1932, all recorded Martino as still living at the time of their marriages. Previously without this information, I had to search from 1911 to 1940 to find the death details for Martino, but with the clues provided by the marriages of his children, my search years shrink to 1932–1940.

Searching with limited information: a live exercise

There will be occasions when funds just don’t permit the purchase of certificates to begin your research, or, as in the next example, because the information has been mislaid.

Besides writing about family history, I also provide a research and gift service www.dianemarelli.co.uk. For my good friend Lisa Castle’s 50th birthday, I decided to research her family history and obtain old family photographs with the help of her children Danielle and Lewis, to present to her in a bound landscape book. Cleverly, her daughter Danielle said she needed to have all the old family photographs scanned for a college project and persuaded Lisa to allow me to remove all her pictures from her family wall and take them away for scanning. I returned the photographs and she was none the wiser as to the real reason I required the photographs.

A few days later I phoned Lisa and said I was currently without a client and needed to keep my hand in with research and would she mind if I did a bit for her. She was happy to allow me to do this but couldn’t find her parents’ birth or marriage certificates. Several phone calls later I managed to acquire the following information:

Lisa also mentioned a surname of Bonfield but wasn’t sure which side of the family or where she’d heard the name before. Although I desperately wanted copies of the birth and marriage details it was getting to the point of being obvious, so there was nothing left to do but order the certificates myself.

Using findmyfamily.com I found the Civil Registration birth records for both parents, then, rather than wait for these certificates to arrive, I looked for the marriage records for Thomas Pask and Edgar Garbett. Having no idea about when they married or where Denzil and Muriel fell in the pecking order of possible siblings, I decided to search from 1925–1931 and further back if necessary. (I was dreading the Wales connection with possible surnames of Jones or Davies to contend with.) I looked for Edgar Garbett’s marriage and found one in the December quarter for 1930, to someone with the surname of Cousins. If I could find the mirrored marriage details for an Ellen Cousins to Garbett then I was onto a winner. This got me thinking, how far could I realistically get without purchasing certificates?

I am now going to take you through a research exercise from scratch. Together we will see how far we could get with limited information before ordering certificates. Still using findmyfamily.com I revised my search criteria and entered Ellen Cousins.

Yes, I had the right details. I could now add Ellen’s surname and marriage details to my tree.

I carried out the same procedure for the Pask marriage to Annie and was beginning to think my luck had run out when I found their details in the September quarter of 1920. Thomas Pask had married Annie Meskill in Newport, Monmouthshire, meaning I could now add her surname and marriage details to the tree.

Thrilled by the result, I thought I would now purchase marriage certificates for Denzil, Edgar and Thomas but before I did that I wondered if it might be possible to trace at least birth records for one set of grandparents enabling me to search further on the 1901 Census. I checked first to see if there was an Edgar Garbutt and Ellen Cousins on FreeBMD.

And I found them. Thank you so much FreeBMD!

The location of birth and surname of the mother, Bonfield, was so exciting and it confirmed that I had the correct Ellen Cousins, as Lisa had remembered the name Bonfield. A quick phone call confirmed that Edgar was indeed born in Wales. I wondered if I could find a marriage for Cousins and Bonfield and did a quick check on FreeBMD.

Then by clicking on the word ‘here’ I was led to registration districts in Dorset.

I selected Wareham and found the following:

This marriage took place in a sub-district of Dorset as listed above. Even though I had the marriage record, I was unhappy with Dorset.

There was only one thing for it and that was to check the 1901 Census to see if there were any clues I could pick up there, even without hard evidence that I was on the right track. I tried Alice Cousins born in Dorset, first hoping to find her married to William and couldn’t believe it when Alice Cousins popped up at the top of my search. With only four to choose from and only one married to a William, it would be safe to assume this is the correct record.

The original document also informed me that William Cousins was born in Portsmouth, Hants. I knew I should be ordering at least a couple of certificates at this stage to confirm what I had found so far, but with the ages of the Cousins family I couldn’t resist looking at the 1891 Census.

The 1891 Census told me that Alice Bonfield was working in Bournemouth as a servant, but living away from home, so I had no other information about her parentage. The 1881 Census provided me with a very different picture.

I would get round to verifying this current vein of research but first I just wanted to check if I could find a marriage of a Charles Henry Bonfield to a Mary. Taking the age of the eldest child from 1881 gave me about 1872 as the year I needed to search from.

I really ought to be ordering certificates because the above finds could easily be incorrect, but my instincts tell me to continue. As Charles Bonfield and Mary Cooper were married in December 1871, then I was hoping to find them both living with their respective parents in the 1871 Census.

I found Charles in the 1871 Census aged 19 along with the names of his siblings and his parents. I found Mary Cooper in the 1861 Census living with her family.

I looked for William Cousins and found him living with his brother Charles in the 1881 census.

Looking for William Cousins in the 1881 Census caused me a little concern as the one I found that appears to be correct but has place of birth as Havant, rather than Portsmouth even though closely linked.

At this stage I go only by instinct.

If all the unproved research above is correct, this is what Lisa’s family tree will look like this so far:

I am now going to send for some certificates to help me prove the above and will provide the results at the end of this book (see page 243). The certificates I will order first are:

• Denzil Garbett’s birth certificate
• Certificate of Edgar Garbett’s marriage to Ellen Cousins
• Edgar Garbett’s birth certificate
• Ellen Cousins’s birth certificate

Things you should know about the Census

1841 Census

For those under 15, ages were given exactly (if known). For people over 15, ages were rounded down to the nearest five years. For example, someone of 64 would appear as 60, another of 29 as 25. However, this was not always the case. When viewing the 1841 Census for two of my husband’s ancestors, Richard and Harriet Jordon, Richard’s age is recorded as 36 and Harriet’s as 26. So do be aware and cross-refer where possible.

Some information relating to the place of birth was also given, but was restricted to whether or not a person was born in the county of residence (‘Y’ for Yes, ‘N’ for No), and, if not, whether in Scotland (S), Ireland (I), or foreign parts (F).

Census dates

A census was taken to record those living in a household at midnight on a Sunday. The dates of the Census varied from year to year.

• Sun/Mon 6/7 June 1841
• Sun/Mon 30/31 March 1851
• Sun/Mon 7/8 April 1861
• Sun/Mon 2/3 April 1871
• Sun/Mon 3/4 April 1881
• Sun/Mon 5/6 April 1891
• Sun/Mon 31 March/1 April 1901

Knowing when the Census was taken is useful when trying to assess dates of birth.

Public Record Office Census references

The Census records at the PRO are classified under the following:

1841	HO107
1851	HOI 07
1861	RG9
1871	RG10
1881	RG11
1891	RG12
1901	RG13

Finding other related sources on the Internet

How other researchers on the Internet can help you

There are many people researching their ancestors who post their findings on the Internet. There are also one-name study groups that are compiling lists worldwide of a variety of differing surnames, some obscure and some common. Posting your research information on the Internet will help you if you are searching for a family member by a particular name. Others looking for ancestors will also contact you, enabling your research to expand more quickly and efficiently. There is more about family history forums in Chapter 7, and how to launch a web page using Family Tree Maker in Chapter 8.

I have two examples to show you now. The first is one I sourced while searching the Internet. I decided to look for various family names in different areas, keying in similar information to below:

This search brought up lots of possibilities, but the most thrilling was finding the last two entries from the same website http://www.stevenjones.me.uk.

Down the left hand side of the page is a list of surnames, including Chapple, so I clicked it and the most amazing information came up.

To say I was flabbergasted was an understatement and although I knew it was going to be interesting viewing, I really couldn’t quite believe that I would be lucky enough to have a family link. I checked my records for what Chapple or Chappell family members I had against those recorded on the website.

The eldest known ancestor I have on this branch of the family is William Chapple (Chappell) who was married to Honor Stone. The William Chapple on my tree I believed was born in Colyton where he married Honor Stone. I had also found information relating to the births of both Honor Stone and William Chapple.

Everything connected well except for the fact that Honour (Honor) Stone, who looks illegitimate as there is no mention of the father, was born in Branscombe. I wasn’t sure how far Branscombe was from Colyton, and even if a great distance, it didn’t really prove anything as she could have been born anywhere and travelled to find work. I located Branscombe in Devon via Genuki.

I selected ‘Nearby Places’ at the top of the screen and, as you will see, Colyton is only 4 miles from Branscombe.

I went back to the Chapple family history site to see if I could find my William Chapple born in 1764 in Colyton.

Eighth Generation

27 Henry CHAPPLE. Henry died 1805

On 18/2/1764 Henry married Elizabeth JOY, in Colyton, Devon. Elizabeth died 1809.

They had the following children:

i. William, born 1764. William was baptized in Colyton, Devon on 19/8/1764.

ii. Mary, born 6/12/1766.

iii. Ann, born 7/8/1767.

iv. Betty, born 1/4/1769.

v.Esther, born 7/12/1770.

vi Henry, born on 1/3/1773 in Colyton, Devon. Henry was baptized in Colyton, Devon on 11/3/1773. Henry died as infant on 1/4/1773 in Colyton, Devon.

vii. Samuel, born on 29/5/1779. Samuel died on 28/2/1798, age 18.

viii. Richard [37], born 1780.

Detailed information on the Chapple family from http://www.stevenjones.me.uk

I cannot describe my excitement at this find. If this connection could be verified, then the Chappell/Chapple family tree would have another nine generations.

I had to find out more. I took the plunge and emailed Steve Jones, the owner of the website, and sent him what information I had, and asked if he thought there might be a link. This is a copy of the reply:

Hi Diane

Thanks for jour message.

I have looked at the tree you supplied and there is certainly a link, insofar as the ancestors you have for William Chapple b. 1764 match the ones I have. It is who William married that has always presented me with a difficulty.

It is this. William was born in Colyton so it is a reasonable assumption that he was married there too; my early Chapples did not stray far. But there are 2 marriages for a William Chapple in Colyton. One on 17 Nov 1790 to Honor Stone (the link you’ve made), and another on 21 Nov 1789 to Jenny Stoford. I’ve never been able to prove which one’s ‘my’ William.

Now, if you have the evidence to resolve this it would be very helpful to say the least. Please let me know what your source is.

I was thrilled to hear from Steve and remembered some confusion over the marriage of William Chapple. The marriage Steve is talking about is detailed below:

How irritating! Not only had I completely forgotten about this marriage, I could not remember why I discounted this record because I had not made any notes, or if I had, they were now lost to me.

I sent Steve all the Census and civil records pertaining to my William Chapple and descendants, to prove my connection and he agreed; but his concern, quite naturally, was how we could verify that my William Chapple married to Honor Stone was the correct descendant of William Chapple and Elizabeth Joy. He wrote:

I have no doubt that your research from William C and Honor Stone is sound. The only remaining niggle in the back of my mind is whether the William who married Honor Stone was the son of Henry C and Elizabeth Joy. As I mentioned before, there were 2 William Chapples from Colyton who married in 1789 (to Jenny Stoford) and 1790 (to Honor Stone). We need to sort out which of them had the Henry / Elizabeth parentage to be sure of the link.

I am in touch with Chapple descendants in Canada, NZ, Australia and here in UK so I will email them to see if they can help. (It also means, of course, that if we can prove the link, your husband will have gained instant global cousins.)

If you have any info on this tricky point please let me know.

Somehow we had to eliminate the marriage of a William Chapple to a Jenny Stoford as neither was connected to me, but they could be the rightful link to the family tree of Steve Jones.

I searched every avenue – the Census, the NBI (National Burial Index) available on CD-Rom and church records for Devon also available on CD-Rom, but with no luck. I could find nothing else about a William and Jenny Chapple in the Census. Neither could I find a record of Jenny Stoford’s birth using a variety of different spellings, or a record of her death. The only information I could find that led me to believe that my William belonged to Steve’s family history was by looking at the names of the children:

The children of Henry and Elizabeth:
William
Mary
Ann
Betty
Esther
Henry
Samuel
Richard

The children of William and Honor Stone:
Esther
Henry
Samuel
William

Searching for children of William Chappell and Honor Stone resulted in the following:

Is it a coincidence that both families share the same Christian names or is there something in it? The only evidence of Jenny Stoford on FamilySearch is the following:

You searched for:

Jenny Stafford, Devon, England, British Isles Exact Spelling: Off

International Genealogical Index / British Isles - 2

Select records to download - (50 maximum)

Both entries could relate to the same person but there is no record on this site that I can find for a death of a Jenny Stoford or similar, also there are no children recorded under the names of William Chapple and Jenny.

You searched for:

Birth/Christening, British Isles Father: William Chapple, Mother: Jenny Exact Spelling: Off

IGI record for children of William and Jenny.

International Genealogical Index / British Isles (No Matches)

I hate it when this happens (‘No Matches’)!

However another thing of interest is the name Lucretia that appears in both my husband’s and Steve’s family histories. As I have no evidence to contradict my findings, as yet, I am inclined to believe there is a link between my husband’s Chapple, Chappells or Chapels and Steve Jones’s Chappels. I received this last email from Steve and it looks as though all the Chappell hunters have come to the same conclusion.

Hi Diane

Thanks for your last email/Apologies for the delay in replying but I was awaiting responses from fellow Chapple researchers on the two William Chapple marriages in Colyton.

The consensus seems to be that William married twice – once to jenny Stafford in Nov 1789 and second to Honor Stone a year later. The conclusion must be that Jenny died very soon after the marriage for William to remarry again a year later. The info has come from Keith Chapple, my first cousin once removed, who derived much of his info from Roy Chapple who still lives in Devon and has done all the leg work looking up original sources. Don Chapple Feist in NZ concurs.

All of which means, to cut a long story short, that your husband Brian is my 6th cousin, once removed.

I have been doing a bit more research and found a family for Henry Chapple b. 1837. He married Charlotte CARNELL in the quarter ending Sept 1869 in Axminster. They had no children of their own that I can find but in the 1881 Census an ‘adopted child’ appears – John Bowden LUJGG who was born in 1879. John appears with them in the 1891 Census but I can find no trace of him in 1901. Charlotte had died by then as well – in 1900. Henry was living on his own.

One thing struck me in the Census records about the spelling of the family name. There’s more variation in this branch than I have ever come across before – and you will see from my website that I’ve come across quite a few! I will update the site with the new info as soon as I can.

Do you know what happened to Frederick Stone Chapple’s other children – Reginald and Frederick Jnr in particular? I’ve located both in the 1901 Census but after that the trail gets more difficult and, I guess, will remain so until 1911 comes along in 2012 unless family memories / records still survive.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Steve

My instinct is to agree with Steve that William did marry once before to a Jenny Stoford and that she died shortly afterwards, but I will keep looking for more corroborative evidence.

I continue to stay in contact with Steve Jones. It’s great when you can share research and help one another. Heaven only knows how long it would have taken me to find all the wonderful information in his website, if ever! It never ceases to amaze me how many family historians are loath to share their information with others. Why?

Another interesting piece of information is that one of the ancestors on Steve’s family history, James Chapple b. 1612, could be Brian’s second cousin 10 times removed. Nothing interesting in that you might think, except when you look at his death in detail in 1635. The cause of death was hanging! James, baptised in Colyton, Devon 15/11/1612. James was hanged at Exeter for the murder of Alice Bragg. An abstract from the Chancery Warrants:

24th May. II Charles I. (A.D. 1635) … at the Assize held at Exeter on the 18th March 8 Charles I (A.D. 1632) James Chapel and Thomas Whitmore, husbandmen, both of Colliton, in the county of Devon, were convicted of the murder of Alice Bragg, on the previous 2nd of February, by inflicting a mortal wound in her throat, and that John Sampson, of Colliton, gentleman, was also convicted for having aided and abetted the said James and Thomas before the murder, namely on the 31st January before the said 2nd of February, &c. The lands &c of all are therefore forfeited &c. It was found by Inquisition taken at Exeter the 15th January 10 Charles I (A.D. 1635), that the said John Sampson was seized in his demesne as of fee of and in all that late dissolved Chantry of St. John the Baptist in Colcombe within the parish of Colliton and of and in &c. Here follows the description of other property of the said John Sampson: Know ye that we by these presents &c do give &c, to Peter Newton, John Chase of Membury, Henry Godsall of Taunton, merchant, Philip Lissant of Taunton, the younger, mercer, and Robert Carswell of Lyme Regis, mercer, all the said Chantry &c. Delivered to the keeper of the Great Seal to execute on the 4th June, 1635.

Another interesting point above is the name Sampson. The Chappell family would marry into the Sampson family some generations later. Again, thank you, Steve, for this wonderful piece of history. I was beginning to think that my husband’s family were saints and mine sinners. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has information about the Chappell family.

In the meantime, should I claim all those extra generations on behalf of my husband? I think it would be rude not to!

How you can help other researchers on the Internet

If you are searching the Internet for family history connections then I can guarantee that something in your research will be of interest to someone else. Since my first book was published I’ve have no end of letters and emails from people who believe we share common ancestors, some of which are still open to question but some with very definite links.

Obviously, we are not all lucky enough to have a published book about our findings but you can donate your research to history centres or places such as The Society of Genealogists who have their own website (http://www.sog.org.uk) and promote their findings in their Library Update Magazine online.

On the menu to the left click on ‘Recent additions’.

Once transcribed, you can view the SOG progress, select one from the list and scroll down to the family history section.

Another way would be to list the names of ancestors for which you have a particular interest on family history forums, such as GenForum, (more about forums in Chapter 7). By far the best way is to launch your own family history website or page. You can launch a page through the Family Tree Maker software, more about this in Chapter 8.