1901 Census discrepancy

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Florrie
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 4:56 pm
Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

1901 Census discrepancy

Post by Florrie » Thu May 02, 2013 8:17 pm

I recently located one of my families (Robert Strachan b1845) in a 1901 Census file at Ancestry.com (no image available though). To confirm the information I also searched at ScotlandsPeople. Try as I might, using soundex, alternatives, advanced search by page number etc, I cannot find the information in the Census records. How would it appear in Ancestry.com with roll numbers etc but not be at ScotlandsPeople? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

AndrewP
Site Admin
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by AndrewP » Thu May 02, 2013 8:20 pm

Hi Florrie,

[TS_welcome]

What age did Ancestry give him, and what registration district was he in for the census?

All the best,

AndrewP

Florrie
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 4:56 pm
Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by Florrie » Thu May 02, 2013 8:34 pm

Hi Andrew - My Robert Strachan died before the 1901 census but it is his wife, Anne (or Annie McConnell, aged 54) and the children who appear (according to Ancestry.com) in Maybole, enumeration 1, page 33. In all my searches at SP, I cannot raise any 605/00 001/00 0033 records. Not sure if it will work, but this is the link to the record at ancestry.com http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/s ... plz0q3dpid

Eta: Thank you for the welcome :)

AndrewP
Site Admin
Posts: 6153
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by AndrewP » Thu May 02, 2013 8:43 pm

Hi Florrie,

Like you, I am not finding them by advanced searching. What are the names and ages of the people shown on Ancestry?

The following advanced search criteria should find all the people on that page:
rdno:605 && enumdist:1 && pageno:33

On searching for rdno:605 && enumdist:1 no results are returned. That should return all the people in enumeration district 1 in Maybole. My feeling is that enumeration district number 1 in Maybole is missing from ScotlandsPeople's index. I will take that up with them.

All the best,

AndrewP

Florrie
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 4:56 pm
Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by Florrie » Fri May 03, 2013 4:03 am

Yes, that was the search string, among others, that I was using, Andrew. I came to the same conclusion. What is the source of the ancestry.com records? The only reason I went to SP to confirm the census result was the sudden appearance of a "Sarah Strachan" aged 18 in the family, listed as "son" where there should have been a Josiah. I wondered if it were a transcription error, hence the attempt to double-check. Thank you very much for your help!

Florrie
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 02, 2013 4:56 pm
Location: Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by Florrie » Fri May 03, 2013 4:49 am

If this works, here is a screen clip of the ancestry.com page including source information...

Image

AndrewP
Site Admin
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by AndrewP » Fri May 03, 2013 6:13 am

Hi Florrie,

I expect that Ancestry will have used the microfilms of the 1901 census to get their information. Transcription errors are quite common on Ancestry, so it is highly probable that son Sarah should be Josiah. I have contacted SP, and hopefully will get a useful answer for you.

All the best,

AndrewP

AndrewP
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Posts: 6153
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by AndrewP » Fri May 03, 2013 10:17 am

Hi Florrie,

I now have a scanned image of the census page. It is Josiah, but I can see very easily how it was transcribed as Sarah.

All the best,

AndrewP

trish1
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Location: australia

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by trish1 » Fri May 03, 2013 11:03 am

Find My past now has transcripts of Scotland Census 1841-1901 - tend to be better transcriptions than ancestry. You can search for free - but need subscription or credits to view all details. The free search gives a useful amount of information.

http://www.findmypast.co.uk/search/census/1901/person

A search for 18 year old Josiah in Scotland returns only 1 result - in Maybole (no find for Sarah)

Trish

AndrewP
Site Admin
Posts: 6153
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Edinburgh

Re: 1901 Census discrepancy

Post by AndrewP » Fri May 03, 2013 12:48 pm

See a clip from the page image here. Josiah Do. (ditto)
Josiah.png
All the best,

AndrewP
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