In our previous blogs we have introduced you to some of the problems when looking for names of Gypsy, Romany and Traveller ancestors, as well as some of the issues of searching through the censuses.
In this blog, our volunteer has taken a look at some of the problems the censuses had when recording occupations…
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‘Enumerators’ were the people hired to collect census information. They dropped off the forms for completion to each household, collected them a few days later and then copied the information into ‘enumeration books’ which are what we consult today to find information from historic censuses. For many households, where literacy was low, the enumerator would have filled in the form with the information he was given verbally. This is why over the decades the spelling of some names may vary – and even ages and places of birth.
From the first full national census in 1841, information about occupation was collected, although in greater detail as time went on. In the 1871 census instructions Gipsy appeared as no specific occupation under order 18, while Hawker and similar occupations appeared under order 6.
In the 1881 census’s instructions for enumerators, Gipsy appeared as no specific occupation under order 24, while a lot of occupations often listed next to Travellers can be found under order 22 which was far more expansive than order 6 on the 1871 census.
It is also important to remember that an individual may have had more than one occupation, but only their principal occupation was to be listed on the census return. As most individual household returns before the 1911 census have been destroyed, we will never know if the enumerator decided what was the main occupation when more than one was provided.
Eli HUGHES was recorded across census returns as licensed hawker of manufactured goods; tin plate maker; tinman hawker and tinman. His son, Arthur, was recorded as hawker, hawker of tin wares and hawking and OAP – all fairly consistent. However, a different view of Arthur’s occupations is revealed when the Dorset parish records are viewed in the Family Search Room at Dorset History Centre. Occupations for Arthur are listed as traveller and hawker, labourer, tin maker, basket maker, gipsy, horse dealer, peddler, tramp, and dealer.
The vicar or curate’s only instruction was to record the occupation of the father on the baptism or marriage records. Once again, we will never know whether the information was that provided by the father or the vicar or curate simply completed the information based on his own observations or knowledge of a travelling community who, most likely, visited his parish at least once a year.
Another key difference between the census and the parish records is timing. Most of the census were completed at the end of March or beginning of April. Whereas, the parish records were completed throughout the year and are more likely to reflect the seasonal nature of work undertaken.
So, if your ancestor appears to have a variety of occupations was it because they were a ‘jack of all trades’ or was the occupation attributed to them by the person completing the paperwork?
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Further reading:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/census-records/
archive.org/details/census-of-england-1871.-instructions-to-the-clerks-employed-in-classifying-the-o
archive.org/details/census-of-england-and-wales-1881.-instructions-to-the-clerks-employed-in-classif