1921 Census release today

Germanshepherdsmum

Some people dodged the census. I’ve had that with Irish people in Scotland who evidently didn’t trust the authorities.
Can you find your grandmother or any other relatives on that side growstuff?

Not my grandmother (the one married to my grandfather) but all my other relatives on that side of the family back to my 4 x gt grandparents.

I doubt if my grandfather deliberately dodged the census.

The BBC has an interesting page:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59879470

I have a 2 x great grandfather who somehow skipped about three censuses. Very odd because his family were there but he plays the invisible man. I have no idea why or how. Maybe your ancestors decided they didn't want to be in the census, or maybe the page was damaged and lost as some of them were.

Some people dodged the census. I’ve had that with Irish people in Scotland who evidently didn’t trust the authorities.
Can you find your grandmother or any other relatives on that side growstuff?

unlike many of the trees online, many of which are complete fairy tales with nothing to back them up. I once saw my grandmother married to a complete stranger before she was even born.
AreWeThereYet yes at least half the Ancestry trees are complete nonsense and it can drive you crazy looking at them. There are so many lazy researchers (well they are not researchers at all actually) and then more lazy ones come along and take it all from their tree thus duplicating the errors over and over again.

AreWeThereYet and Chestnut

Yes, it can be very funny but extremely annoying too and these people won't listen if you do point out an obvious error. In fact, some are published online separately from the research sites.

I did, however, find a photo of my Great-Grandmother which was posted online, just by typing her name in the browser.

Yes, some of the transcription errors are astonishing. A whole family living at one address but with three different surnames because they were transcribed incorrectly.

This is the house where he lived in Hampstead. My guess is that he rented a flat and maybe moved because it wasn't suitable for a baby, but I can't find the new address.

Chestnut

The 1921 census was 19th June so how does that fit with your other 1921 dates?

My uncle was born in January 1921 and I'm not sure of the date of the electoral role. My father was born in Surbiton in 1924, so they must have moved some time between 1921 and 1924. My grandfather was the only person ever to have had his name. I know his dob, so I searched for that with name variants too, but nothing. Strange!

I love family history and I have compiled quite a list of ancestors to try to fill in a few more gaps. I tend to get a lot of queries ready then take out a 3 month membership on a certain website and get cracking.

Have you tried possible transcription errors? I eventually found a relative in 1911 by working out that 'rn' could be mis-transcribed as 'm'. There he was. The results online are only as good as the transcribers and I've come across some real horrors in a census transcribed in India. I don't know who transcribed the 1921 census.

The 1921 census was 19th June so how does that fit with your other 1921 dates?

I tried the address, but he wasn't there - it was somebody else. I have the same address on his 1919 marriage certificate, my uncle's 1921 birth certificate and the 1921 electoral role. He might have moved, but not have been registered at the new address.

growstuff don't give up. They may have had bad handwriting and been transcribed wrongly. There are a lot of transcription errors. I think you can search on address.

Strangely, my paternal grandparents aren't on it. I know they were married in 1919 and I know where they lived, so it's surprising. They must have been on holiday or abroad for some other reason.

I've paid 3.50 to view the one item on the 1921 census that I am really interested in. Surprisingly I did learn something new too. I subscribe to Ancestry worldwide.

AreWeThereYet yes at least half the Ancestry trees are complete nonsense and it can drive you crazy looking at them. There are so many lazy researchers (well they are not researchers at all actually) and then more lazy ones come along and take it all from their tree thus duplicating the errors over and over again. hey ho.

One thing I would say is that Ancestry has new records coming online all the time, so you will find things there now that weren't there a couple of years ago. They were very bad for Welsh records a while back but seem to have caught up now. There are so many parish marriage records too which saves buying the marriage certificate.

People are moaning about the cost on other forums, but any researcher who was around in the 20th century would say you don't know how lucky you are. Online records are so easy and cheap compared to the cost of travelling around the country and searching all day through dusty files. It was a mammoth task finding anything!

Absolutely true! We did most of ours before there was much online - when I first joined Ancestry there were very few records. Having said that, we exhausted the online records years ago, including the newspapers, as we have no interest in extending outwards forever and want to go back in time. We had to spend weekends all over the UK, taking up most of our holidays, and paying a fortune in petrol and hotels. But we have ended up with a very well documented tree with many photographs of places, unlike many of the trees online, many of which are complete fairy tales with nothing to back them up. I once saw my grandmother married to a complete stranger before she was even born.

Thanks for that Chestnut, very helpful indeed.?

Just to add, you can download the census page by clicking on the 'down' arrow at the top. Having paid for them it's essential to save them with your other records.

You also need the address! Go to "extra materials" in the film strip at the bottom of the page and choose 'Front' which has the address. It's on a separate page from the people, unlike the 1911 census.

That’s very true Chestnut. I’m hoping to get stuck in tomorrow.

I couldn't wait! I've downloaded 15 households today but no more until they become available with the subscription.

It costs £12.99 for a month's subscription, then £2.50 for each transcription of a household and £3.50 for the original document (which I would always choose).

People are moaning about the cost on other forums, but any researcher who was around in the 20th century would say you don't know how lucky you are. Online records are so easy and cheap compared to the cost of travelling around the country and searching all day through dusty files. It was a mammoth task finding anything!

Count your blessings because family research has never been so easy and cheap.

It’s a wonderful resource. I have virtually walked round the village where my ancestors lived with previous censuses, taking a peep at all the neighbours, on the strength of an Ancestry subscription, but that won’t be possible with this one for some time as you’re charged for each person/household.

A Census is a real social snapshot isn’t it? I read a bit about the 1921 one on the BBC news this morning.
A hundred years ago! Yet somehow ( to our generation) 1921 is when a lot of our Grandparents married and had our parents as little ones.
My own Mother was born several years earlier with Grandparents marrying in 1915.

Pittcity

You can access the index to the 1921 census on Findmypast but it's pay per view to see any detail even if you are a subscriber.
I am sticking with Ancestry, which I find easier to use. They will have it on there in a few years time.

You can view the 1921 census free if you make a trip to London National Archives.

Also free at the National Library of Wales and Manchester Central Library.

For most of us it’s cheaper to pay FMP!

You can access the index to the 1921 census on Findmypast but it's pay per view to see any detail even if you are a subscriber.
I am sticking with Ancestry, which I find easier to use. They will have it on there in a few years time.

You can view the 1921 census free if you make a trip to London National Archives.