Genealogy Chat

Anne,Lynn,Kath & Christine Many thanks for all your help Will check out those websites Ann

It was only by comparing the sequence of census results that I realised my g-g-mother must have lied about her age for most of her life! I'd thought that the 2-month-old in 1851 must have died and a later daughter given the same name, but in 1861 she was 9 (still feasible) but in 1871 she was 21. by 1881, curiously, she was only 27. I think she must have found some elixir after that, because when she was married in 1884 (to her ''age 20'' - well almost!) husband, she was only 26! After that she maintained the same fiction up to the 1901 census, anyway. Christine

Acid free pockets from W. H. Smith - £1.99 for 50. Occasionally half price - 99p. for 50. You can buy online too. As for census. Go for the earliest one available after the birth. As has been said earlier, less time for them to add or subtract years from their age. Kath. x

ann, try www(.)selco(.)co(.)uk/POCKETS(.) SHTMS they have price lists, quite reasonable. good luck lynnxx

Ann, For acid-free pockets try www*cab-search*co*ik (replace * with . as usual) I haven't tried them, but was given this infor last week Anne

Many thanks to everyone who replied to me Very,very sorry could not reply sooner had family problems Once again thank you all. Ann.

Yes, usually the earliest census will be the most accurate (though in 1841 ages over 15 were rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5), but don't forget that many of the ages have a thick line drawn through them where the people processing the information crossed them off to show that they had done them, so sometimes it is almost impossible to be sure what it says. Sometimes I am amazed that the transcriber has managed to get it right. And also, sometimes it is really difficult to see if it says 2 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 2, or whatever. Kate.

I agree with everything above. It used to be said, and I have no idea why, that transcripts and indexes were prepared of 1851, rather than 1861 because it was more accurate. What is very noticeable on the 1901 census is that the enumerators were clearly instructed to put town rather than village as birthplace and many of the subtleties of earlier censuses are lost. It is helpful to get as many censuses as possible and compare them. The literate are more likely to provide good info than the illiterate and servants lodgers etc suffer from having little control over what is written about them. (Great granny, with a distinct Devon accent, is shown as born in Portsmouth in1881, when she is a young woman, working as a cook.

the only time the youngest could be wrong is when ancestry put the year eg 1899 in 1901 but the child is 2months not 2 years that seems to happen quite alot Jeanette

I reckon that (apart from the 1841), the most accurate age is likely to be the one where they are youngest. After all, you are hardly likely to say that a 9 year old is 2, whereas you might well say that a 69 year old is only 62! Tina

Sometimes Smiths have sleeves which state, explicitly, that they are acid free. - They have them on offer, occasionally, inwhich case there's usually SKS who'll post a message about it on the board. Christine

All censuses from 1851 onwards listed exact age for everyone, but the accuracy is only as good as the information given to the enumerator. Not sure about the plastic pockets. I think that the only way to be sure of getting acid free, is to buy from a genealogy or photographic accessory supplier. I would have thought that the words acid free would be stated either on the packaging or the advertising.

Hi 1 Could anyone tell me which Census would most likely give the most accurate age for a person 2 The plastic sleeves (pockets) which hold certificates how can you tell if they are acid free. Going to bed now,will check for replies in the morning Thanks. Ann