Boarders and lodgers? 1881

[John_8251]

I had a big breakthrough on my Irish wall the other day and discovered my 2 and 3x Grandmothers in Roscommon. My 3x GM maiden name was Roddy and the names shows up for 3 young working lads with my GG mother (Irish side) in 1881 census.
The relationship for Roddy is shown as 'lodger'.... then a line has been struck through it and 'boarder' has been written above it.
Does anyone know if this could be significant? To me boarder and lodger mean someone paying to live in the house.

[Orangeblossom]

I think the difference is that the boarder gets meals, where the lodger just gets a bed.

[Little Nell]

Yes, lodgers paid for a roof over their heads and sorted themselves out. Boarders shared "board" (ie the table) and had their meals provided.

[Jill on the A272]

Sometimes boarders & lodgers can be relations too, I've got two families where a brother and a cousin are described as such (sorry to muddy the waters)

[John_8251]

Thank you all... that clears the muddy waters for me. Just exploring every every little hint I can spot on documents and what Jill says is helpful

[Just Barbara]

Like Jill I have a daughter and grandson described as lodgers by their father, that was in 1901

[Little Nell]

My ex has a gt gt gt grannie who describes her son as "servant"!

[SueinKent]

I have a mother in law described as boarder. I suppose she paid rent.