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Were ages on Irish census rounded up or down in 1901 and 1911

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  • Were ages on Irish census rounded up or down in 1901 and 1911

    I have a man who says he is aged 44 in 1901 and 51 in 1911 but the death Cert for Nov 1929 I have says he was 79 last Birthday?
    Trying to pin his Birth year down Thanks

  • #2
    No, they should not have been but Irish ages on census are often wrong!! None of mine have their correct ages on both 1901 and 1911 Census. I reckon it had something to do with the fact that pensions came in 1908 and proof of age had to be produced to obtain a pension, so they would go back to the churches to find out when they were born/baptised and as mainly baptisms rather than births were recorded pre 1864 then many probably genuinly forgot how old they were so the age they thought they were is probably on 1901 Census but age at 1911 may be more accurate, as they found out how old they really were!! However, even that may be confusing as many would have rounded up their age to pension age if a record did not exist!! My 1901 Cork census show a man of 27, should be 23, and the same man in 1911 is 34. In fact all mine are like that with about 7 years between census for each of them. Irish logic?? Had me confused for a while wondering if I had the right families, especially when head of house was often missing, working in Dublin probably on the railways!!!

    Janet
    Last edited by Janet; 13-06-13, 22:16.

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    • #3
      thanks Janet that makes sense,

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      • #4
        I think age confusion applies to all census, not just the Irish ones. Remember that apart from the 1911, someone else had copied what was on the form, so mistakes could arise there and as Janet says above, many people genuinely didn't know (or care) what their exact age was. Some lied, like my 3 x GGM who brazenly lopped 13 years off her age to marry a man who was actually 20 years younger, lol. She waited till he died to adjust her age back to reality again.

        OC

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        • #5
          I wonder if she actually looked 13 years younger OC ??? I would have thought as times were so hard she would have looked 13 older not younger lol;)

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          • #6
            I found crossing the Atlantic had a dramatic influence on ladies' ages. OH Scottish gt aunts all got much younger when they went to Canada in 1904. It was astonishing to see what a rejuvenating effect a sea voyage could have when I found them in Montreal in 1911 :D

            Beverley



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            • #7
              my personal experience, the english know their age, but not their family relationships (lots of aus death certs with english parents unknown.) but the scots and irish are spot on with their families, but no clue about age. i have aus certs where the ages fluctuate for all of my family members, but the english ones are always exact with age. go figure.

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              • #8
                It's not just historical that the rural Irish don't know their age.. my father-in-law always said he was born some time in October, but no clue as to the day and very vague about in which year, so celebrating birthdays was a bit random. When he died, the date of birth on the funeral card was the 2nd NOVEMBER 1915 ... I have recently found out that his birth was registered in Q1 1916.
                Caroline
                Caroline's Family History Pages
                Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Caroline View Post
                  It's not just historical that the rural Irish don't know their age.. my father-in-law always said he was born some time in October, but no clue as to the day and very vague about in which year, so celebrating birthdays was a bit random. When he died, the date of birth on the funeral card was the 2nd NOVEMBER 1915 ... I have recently found out that his birth was registered in Q1 1916.
                  Well that's a possibility as there was 8 weeks to register so could have been registered early Jan 1916.
                  Margaret

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                  • #10
                    Irish registrations are a minefield too.
                    OH's grandfather was born in Donegal, although his parents were resident in Glasgow ...his official birth registration said he was born 15 Oct 1875. Funny how he was christened on 22nd July 1875 :D

                    His Irish aunt was responsible for registering the birth, as well as that of another niece, both registered on the 18th October 1875...I queried the discrepancy with Donegal Ancestry and was told that "it was a requirement to register full details of a child's birth within 21 days. Failure to do so invoked a fine and in rural areas particularly, the 21 day deadline for registering births was frequently disregarded. In order to avoid payment of the fine the dates of birth were adjusted to comply with the deadline."

                    Beverley



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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Macbev View Post
                      Irish registrations are a minefield too.
                      OH's grandfather was born in Donegal, although his parents were resident in Glasgow ...his official birth registration said he was born 15 Oct 1875. Funny how he was christened on 22nd July 1875 :D

                      His Irish aunt was responsible for registering the birth, as well as that of another niece, both registered on the 18th October 1875...I queried the discrepancy with Donegal Ancestry and was told that "it was a requirement to register full details of a child's birth within 21 days. Failure to do so invoked a fine and in rural areas particularly, the 21 day deadline for registering births was frequently disregarded. In order to avoid payment of the fine the dates of birth were adjusted to comply with the deadline."
                      That just about sums up anything you find in Ireland!! One thing you do know when looking for Irish rellies, you will usually get a good run for your money!! Iam sure that is the reason why all my Census ones are totally out of sink with regard to their ages. Even the young ones did not know when they were born! :D Mind you I am not sure what happened when the child was walking! He must be a very forward 21 day old baby!:D

                      The moral of this story is always try to find the baptisms because in the main they were always within a few days of birth. The registration offices in Ireland were fewer and far between than in the rest of the UK and usually many miles away from the rural areas into a town and so few women would bother to walk the miles necessary with a family in tow just to register a birth! Definitely not top of their priority list. So when they then emigrate to other parts of the UK they often did not bother to register so if you cannot find a birth in England/Scotland/Wales then consider looking for a baptism!

                      Janet
                      Last edited by Janet; 14-06-13, 14:44.

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                      • #12
                        blimey wish I hadn't asked :(where is the best place to look for a christening possibly in Dublin between 1850 and 1860 any ideas?? thanks

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
                          blimey wish I hadn't asked :(where is the best place to look for a christening possibly in Dublin between 1850 and 1860 any ideas?? thanks

                          Hm Dublin should have a handy registration office but how do you know the child was born/baptised in the City of Dublin??? Could it have been Dublin County??? Sorry Val I really have no answers but I cannot help smiling as I have been down this route so many many times in Cork City. I know that my Great Grandparents had about 10 children, but I can only find baptisms for 5 of them, as they could be anywhere between Thurles Tipperary and Cork City, along the railway line somewhere! You try to find Irish births/ baptisms at your peril, but when you do find one, wow it is the most exhilarating find ever!

                          Janet
                          Last edited by Janet; 14-06-13, 18:54.

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                          • #14
                            You could try this site, Val....or else Familysearch.org

                            This Irish Government supported, official web site, is dedicated to helping you in your search for records of family history for past generations.


                            I was lucky with my Donegal one as it was in the Presbyterian Church and the LDS had the marriages and christenings for the area....but I've used the church record site with some good results
                            Last edited by Macbev; 14-06-13, 18:49.

                            Beverley



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                            • #15
                              thats going to be a problem he says born in Dublin City in 1911 and Cork in 1901??? I wouldn't mind but its not even really for me am still trying to find out more about my aunts family she never knew.
                              Thanks for replying.

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                              • #16
                                Originally posted by Macbev View Post
                                You could try this site, Val....or else Familysearch.org

                                This Irish Government supported, official web site, is dedicated to helping you in your search for records of family history for past generations.


                                I was lucky with my Donegal one as it was in the Presbyterian Church and the LDS had the marriages and christenings for the area....but I've used the church record site with some good results
                                Not many baptisms online through the Heritage Sites as these are mainly in Library Dublin up to 1864 for Catholics and TNA Dublin for Protestant. Most BMD on Heritage sites tend to be post 1864 and only about 25% of records pre 1864 are on Family Search.

                                Janet
                                Last edited by Janet; 14-06-13, 18:57.

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                                • #17
                                  thanks again had a look at that link Macbev but no luck, I think Janet I shall leave it again for now thanks again.

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                                  • #18
                                    Val,

                                    Just one other serious thought that may be worth a look, though this is a last resort, are the census fragments for Dublin 1850's which MAY produce a name for you.

                                    1851. The 1851 census lists the same information as the 1841 census. In addition, it has two schedules that were filled out if applicable. One reported absent members of the household and provided the standard census information plus the current place of residence for each. The other listed members of the household who had died since the last census and recorded for each the cause and year of death, age at death, sex, relationship to the head of the household, and occupation. This census was taken under the Parliamentary Act 13 and 14 Vic., c. 44.
                                    There is an index to the heads-of-household for the 1851 census for the City of Dublin. It has been published on CD by Eneclann. This was taken from a transcript available in the National Arhives, Dublin.
                                    Online access to the 1821-1851 census fragments is through:


                                    You can strike lucky with the census fragments. I was very lucky to find my Great Grandmother in the English 1901 census stating the townland she came from in Cork County and then was even luckier to find an 1851 Census fragment for that same townland. I had a hunch that she was the one living in a household but no father, just mother and a sister. I wrote to the parish priest of that church asking for possible marriage details and baptism details and received information back to say I was correct in my assumption and so was able to take the family back another generation. Cork County has similar fragments. So.............You never know your luck and it was a eureka moment for me.

                                    Janet

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