Swaffham Union - Swaffham Workhouse

[Peter Goodey]

I don't understand the confusion.

The 1841 census mentioned clearly relates to the parish of Saham Toney. The covering pages of the enumeration book provide the additional information that Saham Toney was in the Hundred of Wayland and in the Superintendent Registrar's District of Swaffham Union. The word 'Union' is superfluous but I explained the relationship between Unions and Registration Districts in my earlier message.

[JohnG_Swansea]

Good Morning both.

I think the confusion is a combination of me still 'Finding My Feet' with the new venture of family tree's, and the addition of the word "Union" in the Genesreunited results page, effectively, throwing a wobbly at me.

But thanks to all of the replies above the light has gradualy dawned, for which I thank you all.

I'm now off to the library to tackle a brickwall, with another branch of the family, who knows, I might yet be back here asking a different set of questions. All part of Life's Rich Tapistry of Experience.

Thank you all,

John
Swansea, South west Wales.

[Pam Downes]

I don't understand the confusion.

The 1841 census mentioned clearly relates to the parish of Saham Toney. The covering pages of the enumeration book provide the additional information that Saham Toney was in the Hundred of Wayland and in the Superintendent Registrar's District of Swaffham Union. The word 'Union' is superfluous but I explained the relationship between Unions and Registration Districts in my earlier message.

Blame FMP.
I don't know why they decided to stick 'Union' after Swaffham in the 'registration district/parish' column. They don't seem to have done it for any other districts in Norfolk or Lincolnshire, and if John is a newcomer to FH then it's very easy to understand his confusion.
I can remember in my early research days being thoroughly bemused by ".......is in Smallburgh union, Happing hundred, Happing and Tunstead petty sessional division, North Walsham county court district, Norwich bankruptcy district, Stalham polling district of North Norfolk, Happing division of Waxham rural deanery, and Norfolk archdeaconry" as a description I found in a directory of one village my ancestors lived in. (Took me about five years to suss it all out!)

Some of the further ramblings in this thread were not helped by the fact that I missed the census ref in the first post.

Pam

[pennydog]

Pam
(who is stomping her foot in rage as she's been proved the slowest typist yet again. )

You might be a slow typist, but your explanation is so much better

[Peter Goodey]

I don't know why they decided to stick 'Union' after Swaffham in the 'registration district/parish' column

Because it is a correct accurate transcription of what is shown in the enumeration book "Superintendent Registrar's District: Swaffham Union".

One of the deficiencies of FMP - and one of the reasons I won't subscribe to them - is that they saw fit not to scan the introductory pages of enumeration books, in particular the very useful description of the enumeration district.

Ancestry haven't done it terribly well but in most cases the description is there although it's a bit of a fiddle to reach it (you have to click the district number from a census image page and then select View Description of Enumeration District)