Hospital patients in census returns

[mamiesue]

Good evening

I understand that the census record people actually physically present at a certain address on the night of the census. Presumably then everybody is listed somewhere, either at home or visiting.

I have come up against a brick wall with a couple of female ancestors (married).
They disappear from the census for a whole decade and then reappear. I have searched everywhere, even using a variety of spellings of the names etc.
The only thing I can think of is that they were in hospital (or prison!)
Do any of you experts know where hospitalised people were listed (same question for prisoners) and perhaps point me in the right direction to continue my research?

Many thanks

[christanel]

Welcome to Brit-Gen mamiesue :smile5:

If in hospital they should be on a census return. However it could be that they are listed under initials only as happened, in my experience, with some workhouse inmates.
Another reason for their 'disappearance' could be that some census records are missing. ancestry or Findmypast lists which ones.
Then again it could be that the transcriber of the census has badly mangled the name so some imaginative use of wildcards is called for.

Why not post all the details of the people you are looking for and see if our sleuths can solve your mystery. :smile5:

Christina

[Peter Goodey]

Further to Christina's points, none of the censuses is 100% complete.

You can list major missing chunks by searching the National Archives catalogue with keywords missing OR wanting filtered using the relevant census series reference (eg RG12)

There is no comprehensive listing of minor omissions such as an odd page of an enumeration book.

Furthermore some enumerators missed some dwellings. Some householders misunderstood the instructions and didn't list visitors.

[emmteeyess]

If in hospital they should be on a census return. However it could be that they are listed under initials only as happened, in my experience, with some workhouse inmates.
Another reason for their 'disappearance' could be that some census records are missing. ancestry or Findmypast lists which ones.
Then again it could be that the transcriber of the census has badly mangled the name so some imaginative use of wildcards is called for.


I've got a family on the 1881 census - 2 parents and 4 children.

The 7yr old daughter is in the Cottage Hospital (full name given in this case)
The 5yr old and the 2yr old are staying with their grandmother - (different surname and widowed). She also has 4 other grandchildren staying with her with 2 other surnames - so grandma and 6 grandchildren share 4 surnames.
The 4 month old baby is with the parents. Possibly grandma is looking after the other 2 to let mother cope with a newborn and a child in hospital.

This entry also includes an example of 'enumerator/transcription error'. The father is shown as 'Painters Labourer' and the 4month baby is shown as 'Painter'. The head of the next household, on the next line, has no occupation listed so I'm guessing he's the painter - or else 4mth old George is a child prodigy!

It's a good job all my families are not as widespread as this - though at least they were findable, which is more than can be said for some of the others! Just don't expect your families to all be listed in 1 household.

cheers, MTS

[mamiesue]

Welcome to Brit-Gen mamiesue :smile5:

If in hospital they should be on a census return. However it could be that they are listed under initials only as happened, in my experience, with some workhouse inmates.
Another reason for their 'disappearance' could be that some census records are missing. ancestry or Findmypast lists which ones.
Then again it could be that the transcriber of the census has badly mangled the name so some imaginative use of wildcards is called for.

Why not post all the details of the people you are looking for and see if our sleuths can solve your mystery. :smile5:

Christina

Thanks for these useful tips. However, you say: “If in hospital they should be on a census return” – how can I look for/where can I find this information?

[mamiesue]

Good afternoon to all the helpful member sleuths!
Following Christina's suggestion, here is what I know about one of my "missing" ancestors:
1843 Emma Jackson born 28th March in Wadsworth (Yorkshire) (I have her birth certificate)
1861 Emma married Ely Whiteley on 21st September in Parish Church Halifax (again I have the marriage certificate)
1871 and 1881 censuses: Emma appears with Ely and their various children
1901 census carried out on 31st March shows husband Ely as “married” but Emma is not listed. Ely is living at Queen’s Road, Halifax
1901 24th October, Emma died aged 58 of “cancer – 4 months“ (I have the death certificate) at 10 Otley Street. The informant was her daughter (Amanda Culpan living at Bains Street - not too far away from Queen’s Road).
I wonder what this address (Otley St) is. Is there any way of doing a search on an address rather than a name to find out who lived there?
I did find an Emma Whiteley in the 1901 census living as a lodger at n° 1 Wellington Square, Harrogate, but I can’t find anything further about Fred Clegg (widower aged 61, labourer and bricklayer) who was the head of household. This census was taken just 2 months before Emma became ill and 6 and a half months before she died.
It’s all rather mysterious! Many thanks for all your help.
Mamiesue

[grisel]

Perhaps Emma went to Harrogate to take the waters there, once used to treat many ailments.

[Megan Roberts]

1901 24th October, Emma died aged 58 of “cancer – 4 months“ (I have the death certificate) at 10 Otley Street. The informant was her daughter (Amanda Culpan living at Bains Street - not too far away from Queen’s Road).
I wonder what this address (Otley St) is. Is there any way of doing a search on an address rather than a name to find out who lived there?


10, Otley Street, Halifax, Yorkshire



Elizabeth Mountain Head Widow Female 50 1851 Worsted Coating Weaver Eccleshill, Yorkshire, England
Transcription

Mary Emma Mountain Daughter Single Female 26 1875 Cotton Spinner Eccleshill, Yorkshire, England
Transcription

Sarah Elizth Mountain Daughter Single Female 23 1878 Cotton Spinner Eccleshill, Yorkshire, England
Transcription

John Mountain Son Single Male 15 1886 Cotton Spindle Oiler Manningham, Yorkshire, England

1901 census refs: RG13 Piece number 4125 Folio 16 Page 23

[mamiesue]

Many thanks Megan for your quick response.
The plot thickens....
How did you find this information on that address - it is a trick I might need in the future?
Kind regards

[Megan Roberts]

How did you find this information on that address - it is a trick I might need in the future?


Depends which site you use:

FMP - select the 1901 census for the A-Z list of records
just above the box where you insert name you will see this:


https://www.british-genealogy.com/extensions/uploads/4e2fa65e-0f10-4eb4-9d66-d7066f3c19e8.png

Click on "address" and then fill in the details.


I don't think that there is a direct equivalent for Ancestry, but I may be wrong. I am sure that others can assist with other sites.

[mamiesue]

Many thanks - I haven't quite got the hang of this forum yet so this might not be the right place to post my thanks - I'm sure you'll understand!

[christanel]

Hi
this is exactly the place to post your thanks :smile5: and thank you for doing it :smile5:

Here (https://www.british-genealogy.com/threads/79725-Searching-Census-by-Address-on-Ancestry?) is a thread from a couple of years ago about searching on ancestry by street address. (saves me typing it all out again :smile5:) Hope this method still works because these sites do change things.

Christina