Where would they go?

[LynneP]

Hi all

I'm looking for a family, and for ten years on the census they have disappeared.

I have paid ancstry access, so can see all the census returns, but for 1891, i can't find my Potter family.

I have done a soundex search on each of the six members of the family i expect to be living together (the four children are under ten) and it doesn't matter if i search by first name, or surname only, i just can't find them, yet they reappear on the 1901 in the same parish (different street).

I've searched all POTTERs in that ward, as well as all just the first names. I've also gone through first names and POTTERs in Suffolk in general (although, given how many, it's possible i missed them).

But it's looking more and more like they weren't in the country. yet they were ag labs.

A soundex on Thomas POTTER with two years either side, just on county of birth gives me two people who are not him. Does anyone have any light they can throw on this?

Lynne

[Carrie Meerten]

have you used the wildcard search - * -, tried with only first name and parish/county of birth? also, I have families that i have the same problem with. apparantly some pages are missing in some of the census'. also between enumerator and transcribers, things can be totally messed up as well - totally mistranscribed. have had this happen to me as well. the transcriber has typed the previous families surname instead !!!!

[Geoffers]

Also consider the possibility that they were in a workhouse and only recorded by initials; or the page on which they are recorded is damaged or missing (end pages of census books have sometimes been torn off over time); or they were just missing.


I suggest that you try searching without an age - ages were often crossed through by the person analysing and this can make them difficult to interpret.

Where the indexing has not been carried out by someone used to local names and spellings, there are often mistakes made, so try to think of variations in spelling.

Geoffers