Genealogy Chat

See below

either side of what Brian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's always worth looking at a census image rather than a transcription, because it's amazing how many times there is a brother or sister living in the same street! Latest example: Just looked at the image for James Coley and his family in Oldbury on 1861. James was born in Eadington, Gloucestershire. Living (actually in the same house, apparently) is Henry Cowley and his family. Henry also born Eadington, so almost certainly James's brother.

Patience, Trudy. I'm an accountant, not a secretary bird!

You are absolutely right there, Brian. I have found quite a few instances of my rellies living next door to their parents or to a married son or daughter. It is also useful when you find a rellie living with a grandchild with a different surname because you can sometimes find the child's parents within the same street and be able to make the connection.

Thats so true. I recently found somebody for a friend, but as the name was so common it wasn't definite. When she looked closer at the neighbours there was another family with one of her more unusual family names there, which tied it up and proved the connection.

Good advice! I found some of my mother's ancestors and when I checked through the pages I also found some of my dad's living in the same street. Lynne

It's true. I am so used to finding all my relatives on my dad's side living in either Chapel Street in Altrincham or Egerton Street in Sale, that it throws me if they are found elsewhere. Dianne xx

Sorry Brian - I usually write the message in Word, copy it, then come on here write the title and 'see below', then immediately add a reply and 'paste' the message in!!!!!!!! So I'm not that quick either really! Trudy

Mmmmm....Tell me about it!!! Found one family very easily, but the second were so badly mistranscribed it took me literaly months to find them. Only to discover they were living in the same house as the first lot but on the next page....Grrrrrr Upside was there was another lot, I hadn't yet looked for, there too, also mistranscribed :) Chris

I'm not thick - really lol, but how do you get to the next page of census. Sue

Yes, I well remember the long and painful search for my 2 x Gt Grandmother's maiden name and her origins. Staying with them on census night was 'Nephew, John Jackson'. Despite seeing a Jackson family in the same street, I did not twig for ages that this was the son of her sister! Her sister's eldest son had the unusual first name of Grinhan. Eventually looking at the IMAGE, it was clearly Grimshaw - woopee, that turned out to be the sisters maiden name! A cyber-walk up and down the street produced three brothers and their families, two sets of grandparents and various other relatives. Olde Crone

I did a cyber-wander round a village in Berkshire once. i wondered how many of the same name there were in the village...only every other Bl**dy household!! ended up with about 12 heads of house+ assorted offspring

Sue in Kent If you are looking at Ancestry images you can click the left/right arrow at the top which will go back or forwards one page - if you have a family at the very top or bottom of a census page, chances are there's more of them in the previous or next page. On www.familysearch.org you can look at the 1881 transcription and can check the previous/next households by clicking. In a small village you can go through all the pages in the village and get a flavour of what it was like. I would also offer the tip that its worth checking electoral roll neighbours too. I found that my great-grandfather John Smoothy's neighbour, John William Evans, who was with his wife Martha and children on 1901 census, turns up after Martha's death in the electoral roll with his 2nd wife - who is John's elder sister Emily. Keeping it in the family, I investigated John Evans - as a Met. policeman I found info about him at Kew - and surprise surprise, his and Martha's son Frank married one of John & Emily Smoothy's eldest sister's daughters! I knew that Alice had married a Frank Evans and that Emily had married a 'William' Evans from my mum, but as the name is fairly common - its now mine, since I married! - I didn't think there was a connection. nell