Through an agreement reached with the Public Record Office, the
national archives of the United Kingdom, Ancestry.com is making the 1891 census
of England available through its websites, www.ancestry.com
and http://www.ancestry.co.uk
(UK-specific site). Oxfordshire is the first county to be fully available, including
an every name index and images; eventually the whole of England will be online,
also including every name indexes and images. This is a very large project and
the decision has been made to upload material as it is ready, images first and
indexes shortly thereafter.
Besides Oxfordshire, images can currently be browsed for seven other counties
in England (Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire,
Nottinghamshire), as well as for the Channel Islands. The remaining counties
in England will follow as well as images from Wales and the Isle of Man. Information
at the website is updated regularly to advise genealogists of progress and plans.
If you are interested in historical background and events leading up to the
decision to hold a national census, see my article:
"The
Census in Great Britain, Part I: How it Began"
For details on all census returns, see:
"The
Census in Great Britain, Part 2: Working with Census Returns"
Part 2 focuses on the three aspects of the 1891 census: its context, its information,
and the features of the online search.
Context and Connections
The appearance of the 1891 census online means, once complete, there will
be three in a row; it makes for quick checks back and forth over two decades.
Eventually, as the project progresses, Ancestry will post images and indexes
for earlier enumerations, 1841-71, expanding the ability to follow ancestors
across time.
The 1881 census of England has been available for some time,
first as a microfiche index, then successively on computer at Family History
Centers, on CD-ROM, and now online at http://www.familysearch.org.
This year, after a major stumble in January, the 1901 census index is freely
accessible at http://www.census.pro.gov.uk,
the website of the Public Record Office (PRO); nominal charges are made to see
entry details, the listing of a household and images. Payment can be made by
credit debit card or through the purchase of vouchers in advance. As this is
a test phase, the site is not operational 24/7.
In 1891, Queen Victoria had been queen for fifty-four years,
England was prosperous and the British Empire at its height. There were debates
going on about Irish home rule. This is the year legislation was passed in an
attempt to do something abut chimney emissions in London. Oscar Wilde published
The Picture of Dorian Gray. More important for the family historian,
1890 is the start date for Board of Trade Outwards Passenger Lists (at the PRO
in class BT 27); the arrangement is by date and port of departure. There are
possibilities of working this resource with the 1891 census. More information
can be found in the leaflet "Emigrants to North America after 1776,"
PRO, 2002) available at http://www.pro.gov.uk.
Another research connection is to records of Civil Registration.
They began in 1837 and although omissions and errors never disappear, they are
much reduced by this time. If you are checking the census, be sure to also run
the name through the significant portion of index entries at FreeBMD, http://www.rootsweb.com,
(this is also accessible through the Ancestry site).
Searching and Browsing
The search box offers enough choices for you to set the scope from specific
to broad. You can look for one individual giving the surname and forename, with
exact spelling, county, parish or district, gender, age and birthplace. At the
other extreme, you can search for a surname only, with Soundex turned on; it
is even possible to ask for all entries of a given name (stick to unusual names
for this).
Results of an index search appear in a list, 10 items per page.
The information is most of what is in the census itself and includes a button
to go directly to the image. The images are surprisingly good. The note tells
you that what shows first is of medium resolution, and that you can select a
higher quality view. Even so, I was able to read all the details clearly on
the small screen of my laptop.
Whether you want to manipulate images or browse through a section
of the census, the tools work well. 'Pan' generates a hand that grabs the edge
of the image and tugs it in the desired direction. 'Magnify' produces a small
box which, when placed and clicked, more than doubles the size of the selected
text. 'Select' allows you to choose an area to be magnified and 'set at' is
for setting a particular level of magnification for the full page. It is possible
to go back and forth a page at a time or a hit at a time (if working your way
through a number of index results), and to jump ahead to a particular page.
Whenever you need some guidance, 'Help' is there in the upper right corner.
One more feature is worth singling out for attention, the enumerator's
description of a sub-district--his territory. This is an exact description of
the area. You may be able to find it on a detailed map, you may find reference
to the property or business of an ancestor, and you will pick up clues about
the lay of the land. It puts you on the spot in 1891.
The Usual Caution
It is my hope that online images will impress upon researchers the importance
of looking at a good copy of the original record and browsing through that record.
Quick acceptance of an index entry and hasty progress without due consideration
of proof are all too common. Finding the proper basis in fact, in the documents
is getting easier all the time. Make use of this and ensure your research is
on firm foundations.
Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FSA (Scot) has been researching her British ancestry
for thirty years. She is an instructor and study tour leader for Samford University's
IGHR, and teaches for the online family history program of Vermont College.
Sherry is President of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She is
the author of:
Your
Scottish Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans
Your
English Ancestry: A Guide for North Americans
Sherry will also begin teaching a class on MyFamily.com on
English Family Trees, 3 December 2002. This course will help you to trace your
English ancestors using parish registers and other documents from approximately
1500 to 1900. Learn
more here.
Ancestry Daily News
