Census, People and Genealogy – 1881 Census

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

Continuing with the Census, People and Genealogy series – all posts can be found HERE. There is also a Census downloadable to be found HERE.

The page at the start of the census for the parish is not the most descriptive we have seen.

Puttenham 1881 Census – Surrey History Centre – RG11; Piece: 780; Folio: 86; Page: 1

The 1881 Census was the one that began my genealogical and family history journey. It is well documented on this site that I grew up visiting and listening to my great aunts and uncles – the siblings of my maternal Grandparents. The 1881 census shows my Great Grandmother, Annie Prudence Harris.

Puttenham 1881 Census – Surrey History Centre – RG11; Piece: 780; Folio: 86; Page: 7

Annie is marked with the green arrow. I remember being a little 3 year old, snuggling up to Granny, as all of us called her. It was seeing Granny on this census that was just magical to me; the linking of the person that I remembered to the past. In turn, that created the urge to understand, and get to know these people that I shared a genetic link to.

In 1881, Henry Harris is shown a shepherd, he is aged 37 and born in Headley Hampshire. He is head of the household and unsurprisingly, living with his wife, Caroline who is aged 36. Also there are six children, the youngest of which is Annie P who is my Great grandmother.

Henry and Caroline had ten children, the first two daughters were not living with the family and the two children who were born after Granny were not obviously born as yet. The details gathered during this census was the same as the previous one, there would not be a change to the details until the early 20th Century,

The oldest child, Emma Jane was born to Caroline and Henry before they married, but she was part of the family, considered and loved as such. Emma was aged 17 in 1881. She was a domestic servant, living at Home Farm in Shackleford, which is just a few miles from Puttenham. Home Farm was occupied by Henry Plummer and his wife, and their one year old son, and was a farm of 330 acres, employing 13 labourers and two boys.

Daughter Mary who was the second daughter, but third child born to Henry and Caroline was born in Puttenham in 1867. Mary, who was known as Polly was living away from home, although still in the village. She was aged 13 in 1881, employed as a domestic servant in the home of John Shrubb, who was a farmer with 100 acres who employed five men and two boys.

Posted in Census, Ellis, Genealogy, Harris, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1871 Census

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

Continuing with the Census, People and Genealogy series – all posts can be found HERE. There is also a Census downloadable to be found HERE.

We see in the 1871 Census an increase in the description of the village and properties included in the census. In this instance it shows the order of the properties included.

Puttenham 1871 Census – Surrey History Centre – RG10; Piece: 815; Folio: 83; Page: 1

Puttenham 1871 Census – Surrey History Centre – RG10; Piece: 815; Folio: 83; Page: 12

In the family details we see several changes –

George Ellis (the line in yellow on the image above) has not remarried and is still recorded as a widower. He is aged 60 and working as an agricultural labourer. His place of birth is Guildford in Surrey. He is residing in The Street in Puttenham and in the household of his daughter, Caroline who was born in 1844 and her husband, Henry Harris. They have four children, my late Great grandmother has not yet been born, and would not be for another eight years.

Caroline (nee Ellis) and Henry Harris on their 60th Wedding anniversary – from the personal collection of Julie Goucher

I thought that I would share this photograph of Henry Harris and Caroline, formerly Ellis. This was taken by late Great Aunt when Caroline and Henry celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 1924.

Posted in Census, Ellis, Genealogy, Harris, Puttenham & Wanborough, Surnames, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1861 Census

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

Continuing with the Census, People and Genealogy series – all posts can be found HERE. There is also a Census downloadable to be found HERE.

At the beginning of the census is the description of the parish. It does give some additional information, as it names the additional corners of the village, by naming three areas – Gadwick, Shoelands and Rodsall.

Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861 – Surrey History Centre

Over the last few days we have followed the family of George Ellis and his wife Prudence, formerly Budd. By 1861 there has been a significant change in the family and it’s dynamics.

Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861 – Surrey History Centre

The family are still living in Puttenham, and although the document does not state it on this page, further towards the start of the census the address is recorded as The Street.

George is now a widower, aged 51 years and says he was born in Guildford. If we remember back to the 1841 Census he is reported to have been born outside of the county of Surrey, which is where Guildford is. In the 1851 Census he is reported as being born in Kent. George is still an agricultural labourer.

Also living with George is son William, daughter Caroline, who is my great great Grandmother and the youngest son Edward.

Posted in Census, Ellis, Genealogy, One-Place Studies, Puttenham & Wanborough, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1851 Census

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

The 1851 Census moved on from the questions asked in the 1841 Census. As we can see, there is not much improvement in the description of the parish recorded at the start of the 1851 Census.

Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851.

There was additional questions asked of parishioners in the 1851 Census.

Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851.

The family we met yesterday in 1841 are now featured here, indicated by the * (red astrix). The family are listed as they were in 1841, although the family is a bit bigger, with the addition of three children, including my great great Grandmother Caroline who was born in 1844.

  • Place – in this case it is recorded as “the street”
  • Houses – this is either uninhabited or a building, or the second option is inhabited which this one is
  • Names of those who were inhabiting the property on the night of the census
    • George Ellis
    • Prudence Ellis
    • George Ellis
    • Harriott Ellis
    • Frederick Ellis
    • Caroline Ellis
    • MaryAnne Ellis
    • Edward Ellis
  • Age and sex (gender) – the age the enumerator was provided was “accurate” age – what he was told, which may or may not be accurate.
  • Profession, or trade – in this case, George is described as an “ag lab”
  • Where born –
  • Whether born blind, or deaf and dumb

In terms of data consistency, George in 1841 was shown as born outside the county of Surrey. In 1851 George was reported as being born in Dover Barracks, Kent.

The line indicated by a yellow arrow is pointing to the line below the family. It that household there was just one individual, Richard Budd who is recorded as married and aged 78 years of age. The household is recorded as number 23 on the schedule which is the same as the Ellis family, although Richard’s home is referenced as one house. I took this to mean that whilst the Ellis and Budd’s were living on the same plot of land, they were residing in two distinct properties. Richard Budd was Prudence’s father.

Posted in Budd, Census, Ellis, Genealogy, One-Place Studies, Puttenham & Wanborough, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1841 Census

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

As we sit to search for our family members on the various census it can be quite easy to scroll through, not looking at anything but the surnames, but at the beginning of the Census for each location there is a description box, such as this one shown below. As they go, the description of the village of Puttenham is significantly on the light side, and that very much depends on the enumerator of the day.

Puttenham Census 1841 – Surrey History Centre SRY HO107/1073/8

The image you can see below is from the 1841 Census for the village of Puttenham in Surrey. It details my great, great, great Grandparents – George Ellis and Prudence Budd.

Puttenham Census 1841 – Surrey History Centre SRY HO107/1073/8

As you can see, the data recorded (from left to right) is:

  • Place – in this case it is recorded as “the street”
  • Houses – this is either uninhabited or a building, or the second option is inhabited which this one is
  • Names of those who were inhabiting the property on the night of the census
    • George Ellis
    • Prudence Ellis
    • George Ellis
    • Harriott Ellis
    • Frederick Ellis
  • Age and sex (gender) – the age was a rounded number, so 14 was rounded to 15, but in this instance, the enumerator provided the “accurate” age – what he was told, which may or may not be accurate.
  • Profession, or trade – in this case, George is described as an “ag lab”
  • Where born – in county or Scotland, Ireland or foreign parts. In this case, George Ellis is recorded as being born outside of the Country of Surrey.

Whilst the 1841 Census is limited in data, it is the first time we see family groups recorded by household. Tomorrow, we look at the 1851 Census and follow George, Prudence and their family.

Posted in Budd, Census, Ellis, Genealogy, One-Place Studies, Puttenham & Wanborough, Surnames, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – Growth of a Village 1801-1831

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

Over the last few days we have seen the details of Compton. We have seen how the village might have expanded and this post is to crunch the numbers, examining what they actually tell us.

At first glance the numbers are showing a gradual increase, in terms of property and families. That makes sense, if you grow your population they need somewhere to live, though there was minimal growth between 1801 and 1811; just 3 properties. No additional properties were built between 1811 and 1821 and then this significant growth between 1821 and 1831.

1801 1811 1821 1831 1841
46 49 49 88 96 Houses
58 74 81 95 Families
145 183 212 229 Males
125 150 211 226 Females
280 333 423 455 513 Totals

Despite the minimal property grown between 1801 and 1811, there was a population of 15 additional families, and that figure remains showing some growth. The gender split is not something that can be biologically determined at this point – essentially couples had no idea what sex their baby was to be until the point of delivery. To delve deeper into the numbers, around family groups and then how genders are reflected I need to spend time examining the baptisms, marriages and deaths.

Something else I want to look at is a map of the village and how that changed – did the village expand naturally or did the parish expand because of boundary changes? In addition to a map, I want to take a look at the Tithe Map – who owned the land in the parish?

Posted in Census, Compton, Surrey, England, Genealogy, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1831 Census

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

The census for 1831 in Compton showed there had been significant house building as the number of houses had grown from 49 in 1821 to 88 in 1831. The population though, showed minimal growth.

I considered the alternatives to building and wondered if there had been a boundary change, therefore incorporating properties that were previously been in another parish, though I have not had chance to research this.

Compton Parish Records – Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: COM/1/2

Posted in Census, Genealogy, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1821 Census

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using Wordscloud

As another Census dawned, the information of the 1821 Census was added to the parish registers for Compton.

When compared to the 1811 figures there had been some changes.

There were:

  • 49 houses
  • 81 families
  • 212 males
  • 211 females

Compton Parish Records – Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: COM/1/2

Posted in Census, Compton, Surrey, England | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1811 Census

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using wordscloud

As with the 1801 census, Compton a pretty parish in west Surrey, documented the details of the population of the village in 1811 in the parish registers. In this case, the register used was the same as was used in 1801.

This register was used for all three events – births, marriages and deaths. For those of you who read the post about the 1801 census will notice the citation is the same, indicating the register took over a decade to fill. From 1813 there was a specific register for each of the births, marriages and deaths.

Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: COM/1/2

Posted in Census, Compton, Surrey, England | Leave a comment

Census, People and Genealogy – 1801 Census

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Julie Goucher

Created by Julie Goucher, 2021 using wordscloud

We are familiar with the census form structures for 1841 onwards, and each decade the form undergoes changes.

The parish were sent copies of the parliamentary act and the schedule. This made it’s way to the Overseer of the Poor and then subsequently to the Officiating minister of the parish who was tasked with providing the number of births, marriages and deaths. Having made the official submissions, it depends on the incumbent if a copy or the details was retained.

The image below is from the Surrey parish of Compton. The page is from the parish register, where there are entries for births, marriages and deaths, and where the officiating clergy retained the information relating to the  1801 census – you can see a better copy of this below:

Compton Parish Records – Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: COM/1/2

Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: COM/1/2

As you can see, there is no individual specific data, but the information there is, enables us to have a snapshot of the village, which is replicated across subsequent census.

At first glance, it seems quite random that the rector would have chosen to have kept the information in this register,  until you understand the context of the questions asked and the individuals charged with providing the information, which we looked at in the first post in this series.

Posted in Census, Compton, Surrey, England, Genealogy, UK & Ireland (Eire) Genealogy Series | Leave a comment