Incorrect Census record

[Mary C]

Hi
I don't know if anyone has come across this before but there is a huge discrepancy in two census records relating to the same person.


1841 Place Coombe Florey, Somerset
John Newick born Somerset age 50, so dob between 1787 and 1791. His Wife Mary has the same age

John was born in 1789 in Lydeard St. Lawrence which fits in with the above date range.

1851 Place Coombe Florey,
John Newick born Lydeard St Lawrence age 78 so dob 1773 which is patently wrong. Wife Mary age 64 so dob 1787 (which fits in with 1841)

The age in the original census of 78 could possibly be 73 or 75 which would give dobs 1776 or 1778 - still nowhere near his actual birth year of 1789.

I have thought maybe the West Country accent might have made his age unclear but 62 or 63 doesn't sound a bit like 78!

Has anyone come across this sort of error before?

Thanks
Mary

[Sandyhall]

1841 census ages over 15 where rounded up or down 5 years. so if he was say 52 it would be rounded down to 50 or if he was say 58 it would have been rounded up to 60. Also depends on who filled the forms in as to weather the right age was put down.

I would be looking for a christening/baptism for a rough date as that is about all you will find, unless you have a death cert. and the person giving the details knew when he was born is real date of birth.

[Megan Roberts]

The 1841 census is notoriously out on ages. Enumerates were instructed to round down the age of anyone over the age of 16.
https://www.hunimex.com/warwick/censu...enum_inst.html

Lots of us come across inconsistencies between different censuses. There are a whole range of reasons for that including the obvious one that the person who supplied the original information got it wrong.

Have you found a baptism for him as that might give you a clue as to his date of birth.


OOPS I CAN SEE THAT SANDYHALL CAN TYPE FASTER THAN I!

[helachau]

General Register Office (GRO) (Free to register/search)
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...ates/Login.asp

1837-1974 Combe Florey fell within the Taunton Registration District (source - Genuki Reg. Dists.)

The GRO has the death registration of a -
John Newick, March Qtr 1852, age 79, reg dist. Taunton, volume 5c, page 307

Again, age at death depends on the knowledge of the informant.

[elsinore]

The GRO has the death registration of a -
John Newick, March Qtr 1852, age 79, reg dist. Taunton, volume 5c, page 307

This appears to be the burial in Combe Florey (adjacent parish to Lydeard St Lawrence) as follows:

John NEWICK, Sexton, buried 1st January 1852 (original looks like 18th January) aged 69 (so born c.1783).

The 1851 Census has him at Rectory House, Combe Florey.

Could this be John-1? If so, the puzzle remains, why two Johns to the same parents?

This ties in with your other thread here:
https://www.british-genealogy.com/th...sm-death-dates

Peter

[Mary C]

Thanks for that. I have checked his baptism which is 1789 - so within the date range for the 1841 census. It's the patently incorrect age in the 1851 census that I cannot fathom!

[Mary C]

1841 census ages over 15 where rounded up or down 5 years. so if he was say 52 it would be rounded down to 50 or if he was say 58 it would have been rounded up to 60. Also depends on who filled the forms in as to weather the right age was put down.

I would be looking for a christening/baptism for a rough date as that is about all you will find, unless you have a death cert. and the person giving the details knew when he was born is real date of birth.

Thanks for that. I have checked the scanned originals and he was baptised in 1789 which is within the date range for the 1841 census. It is the patently incorrect age in the 1851 census which I cannot work out.

[Mary C]

The 1841 census is notoriously out on ages. Enumerates were instructed to round down the age of anyone over the age of 16.
https://www.hunimex.com/warwick/censu...enum_inst.html

Lots of us come across inconsistencies between different censuses. There are a whole range of reasons for that including the obvious one that the person who supplied the original information got it wrong.

Have you found a baptism for him as that might give you a clue as to his date of birth.


OOPS I CAN SEE THAT SANDYHALL CAN TYPE FASTER THAN I!

I did check the actual scanned registers and he was baptised in 1789 which is within the date range of the 1841 census.
It is the 1851 census which is giving me a headache with its obviously incorrect age recorded.

[Mary C]

This appears to be the burial in Combe Florey (adjacent parish to Lydeard St Lawrence) as follows:

John NEWICK, Sexton, buried 1st January 1852 (original looks like 18th January) aged 69 (so born c.1783).

The 1851 Census has him at Rectory House, Combe Florey.

Could this be John-1? If so, the puzzle remains, why two Johns to the same parents?

This ties in with your other thread here:
https://www.british-genealogy.com/th...sm-death-dates

Peter

Thanks Peter. I'll check up on that.