basic census question

[wimsey]

this is probably pretty basic. I don't fully understand why someone's place of birth changes from census to census. If you were born in a little hamlet near a village near a town near a bigger town, then you were born in the hamlet, not the big town. Did the enumerator "re-interpret" a person's stated birthplace ?

[Ladkyis]

It depends on How they remember it. It could be that when they filled in the form (or had it filled in for them) they put the hamlet in the first one and afterwards talked about it and someone said "Why did you say that? no-one knows where that is" so they remembered the next time and used the closest town that people would know.

On the other hand they could simply be doing what people still do (especially my great grandmother) and lie about things on the census because they don't want people to know

[wimsey]

well I'm jolly glad our ancestors sometimes did put the name of the little hamlet, because it has taught me a heck of a lot of geography !

[davyr]

Other possible reasons might include genuinely not knowing their place of birth, or forgetting with age. One of my illiterate Somerset ancestors gives his place of birth on three successive censuses as "On The Sea", "Brushford" and "Not Known"!

[wimsey]

Other possible reasons might include genuinely not knowing their place of birth, or forgetting with age. One of my illiterate Somerset ancestors gives his place of birth on three successive censuses as "On The Sea", "Brushford" and "Not Known"!

have you decided which of those is the 'correct' version, or are you happy to leave it as a mystery ?

[macwil]

My GGG'g'dad gave three different places for his birth. After some research I found his parents marriage in one, his baptism in another and all his siblings baptised in the third.
So do check the Parish Records in them all.

I still don't know exactly where he was born, all three are within walking distance of each other but I wouldn't do it these days, the traffic was horrendous and the footpaths non existent or unmarked when I visited last year.

[davyr]

There's no way of proving "on the sea", as it was before the National Archives records begin in 1854, and he doesn't appear on the parish records for Brushford. I'm not happy about it, but I think it's going to have to remain a mystery. I suspect he was illegitimate, as the name he gives for his father on his marriage certificate appears not to have existed at any time or in any place!

[stepives]

I have one relative 'born at Sea' & born 'Sea off Ireland'. He was baptised at the age of 7, in Stoke Mandeville. Buckinghamshire(which is one of the villages, which is quite far from any coastline). How he ended up in Stoke mandeville....who knows.!!

I also have 4 relatives born in Greenford, Middx, pre 1820's, and baptised in Amersham, Bucks.

As for why the different place of birth for your rellies. Place of baptism, isn't aways the place of birth, And it all depends who gives the information on the census return.

There is also a case, of .....'Where is that you live, never heard of it'.........'It's not far from Taunton', comes a reply. And Taunton is written. Blah blah blah.!!

[Peter_NB]

I have changes in location throughout my family tree. Old maps can be really good for understanding how names of an area can change. When there were just a few houses together, the name could be precise to that location, as the occupied area expanded, the name of the original location ceases to be used on official records. To further confuse the issue, one specific enumeration area in say the 1841 census may be described differently in all those that follow. I am currently working on the history of a specific area and had to create my own map to keep track of the change of names.

[David Tuson]

Another possibility ------ a person doesn't think their place of birth gives them "the right social status"
For example I know a person born in Smethwick who tells everyone they were from Hereford (a place they moved to in their teens!!!)