Why Can't I Find My Ancestor in the Census?

1. They have married or remarried (women only) 

A single woman in one census may have wed by the time the next census came round. Alternatively, a woman's husband may have died, meaning upon remarriage she would appear under another surname.

2. A surname variation or entry error 

Surnames were less fixed in stone than today and may have evolved over time. For example, the name Thomson may have become Thompson. On the other hand, the enumerator may have mistakenly entered a homophone variation where a word sounds the same, but is spelled differently - an example being Read, Reed and Reid. 

When searching by surname, Ancestry offer a drop-down option to select one or more from 'Exact', Sounds like', 'Similar' or 'Soundex'. The latter, Soundex, is a phonetic algorithm which covers homophones. Findmypast have a 'Name variant' option for both surnames and first name/s. Another tool is employing wildcards in your surname search - see point 5. below.

3. They have adopted a new surname or reverted back

If a women with children remarried, her children may have adopted her new husband's surname. This was temporarily the case with my grandfather. His true surname was Arnold, but come 1911 it is Gibson - the surname of his stepfather. Come 1921, by which date he had left home, he reverted back to his birth name. 

Divorced women and widows sometimes reverted back to their maiden name.

4. They are listed under a middle names or nickname

It was not uncommon for persons to go by their middle name. Sometimes this was lifelong; for example my grandmother went by her second name Marie, rather than Alice. Within the family and beyond individuals often went by diminutive names or nicknames. Some appear to have little relation to the original; Polly for Mary or Daisy for Margaret. Come census day the head of the household may easily have relayed such a name form to the enumerator.

Choice examples of given names with their alternatives include:
Abigail: Abbi, Abbie, Abby, Gail, Gayle
Agnes: Aggie, Nancy, Nessie
Alfred: Al, Alf, Alfie, Fred, Freddy
Dorothy: Dolly, Dot, Dottie
Edward: Ed, Eddie, Eddy, Ned, Ted, Teddy
Eleanor: Helen, Ellen
Elisabeth/Elizabeth: Beth, Bess, Bessy, Beth, Betsy, Betty, Eliza, Lisa, Lisbet, Liz, Liza, Lizzie
Ellen: Ell, Elle, Ellie, Nell
Frances: Fannie, Fanny
Francis: Frank
Frederick: Fred, Freddie, Freddy
Henrietta: Harriet, Hetty
Henry: Hal, Harry
Hubert: Bert, Hugh
Isabella: Bella, Bell, Isabel, Isabelle, Isobel, Issy
Isobel: Bel, Belle, Isa, Isabelle, Issie, Issy
James: Jim, Jimmy
John: Jack, Jackie, Jock, Johnnie, Johnny
Katherine: Kat, Kate, Kath, Katie, Kay, Kit, Kitty
Edward: Ed, Ted, Teddy
Margaret: Daisy, Madge, Maggie, Meg, Meggie, Peg, Peggie, Peggy
Mary: May, Moll, Mollie, Molly, Polly
Mary Ann: Polly
Martha: Pat, Patty
Matilda or Mathilda: Tilly
Richard: Dick, Dickie, Rich, Rick
Robert: Bob, Bobby, Rob
Sarah: Cissie, Essie, Sadie, Sal, Sally, Sara
Thomas: Tam, Tom, Tommy
William: Bill, Billy, Will, Willie, Wills, Willy

5. Original entry and transcription errors

These are not uncommon and could have arisen at various stages in time:
1. When the enumerator (1841-1901) or head of household (from 1911) completed the original schedule.
2. When they were transferred into the census enumerators' books (1841-1901).
3. When they were transcribed into electronic databases.

An approximation or assumption of spellings may have occurred at stage one. Then one throws into the mix words that may have been misheard. Census contemporary and latter-day transcription of difficult to interpret or faded handwriting can compound original mistakes or create new ones. 

To get around this you may have to employ what are termed wildcards in your online search terms. Both Findmypast and Ancestry use an asterisk (*) and question mark (?) as wildcards. They are used as follows:

• * replaces up to five characters. For example, typing McN**l will return McNeil, McNiel, McNeal, McNell and more.
• ? replaces a single character. For example, typing Be?sy will Betty and Betsy.
  
  

6. Your search is overly specific

It may sound counterintuitive, but 'least is best' is a maxim amongst seasoned census searchers. Entering too many or very targeted search terms will often lead to few or no results. Here are some reasons why searches may fail:

• You enter all forenames. It was not common for all of these to be recorded. For example, in 1841 the enumerator was only required to enter the first name.
• You stick to one possible birth year. Allow for some variation using the +/- options; this is most applicable to the 1841 census with its rounding down of ages for those aged over 15. Remember that census dates were not exactly ten years apart, so depending on their birth date a person's given age can vary by nine or ten years between enumeration. 
• You target a birth location. Honing in on a village or town can backfire as your ancestor's entry may have varied between censuses. On one occasion it may have been the county, on another the town and on another a parish. For example Stoke-on-Trent in the county of Staffordshire is made up of six towns.

7. British Army postings

A serving male relative or one who joined up between censuses may have been posted elsewhere in the British Isles. To find them - and their possible family - you would need to switch between census records, namely those for 'England and Wales', Scotland (via ScotlandsPeople) and Ireland (via the The National Archives of Ireland). 

Also consider that British Army members and their dependents stationed overseas were not enumerated until the census of 1911.

8. They have emigrated or are travelling/working overseas

An indication that a family may have travelled overseas or worked abroad between census dates would be a child or children listed as having been born overseas. As a major trading nation, large numbers of British merchants would have been resident in or travelling to and from foreign parts.

Thousands of British citizens emigrated - many permanently - especially to outposts of the Empire, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India.

The Canadian (1825-1931) and United States Federal (1790-1950) censuses can be found on both Ancestry and Findmypast. (The US operate a 72-year privacy rule, unlike the UK's 100-year embargo.)

In 1861, over 2 million people born in Britain were in the US, of which nearly three quarters were Irish. In the same year 40,000 Britons were living in India.

9. They are working at sea

If serving with the Royal Navy (RN) or on a merchant vessel they may have not been in a British port during the assigned period for vessel returns. No records survive for RN ships in foreign waters in 1891.

For further information read our blog article Special Returns: Institutions, the British Army, Royal Navy and Merchant Marine Vessels.

10. They have simply died

Your relative may well have passed away before the next census came around. If married, an obvious indication of this would be that any surviving spouse is listed as a widow/widower - check the schedule 'Condition' column for Wid. or Widr.              
 

11. Still no luck?

If you've hit a dead end, try some alternative resources. These include:

• Electoral Registers (or Voters' Rolls)
• Trade and Local Directories available via Ancestry

Why individuals may be genuinely unaccounted for

Despite residing within the British Isles and its waters on a given census date, there are inevitably individuals who do not appear in available records. Nine possible reasons include:          

1. Harvest Night 1841
The 'first modern census' was on Sunday 6 June 1841. For those employed on the land this turned out to be a fine harvest night. As a result some agricultural labourers spent the night under the stars, rather than under a roof. Later censuses were taken in March or early April to avoid such a reoccurrence.

2. Evasion, Lies and Protest
Some individuals purposefully avoided the census taker or provided false details. They may have distrusted the authorities, been keen to avoid detection or possibly 'living in sin', namely unmarried. Unless patently obvious, such as exaggerated age claims, challenging wilfully-made false answers was difficult. In 1911 some suffragettes boycotted the census by spoiling their schedule or entering slogans, whilst others hid or kept on the move. For more information read our blog article 'No vote, No Census': the Suffragette Boycott of 1911. The next boycott was in 1991, in protest at the so-called Poll Tax.

3. Itinerant Travellers (Vagrants, Tramps or Gypsies)
Not being part of a formal household or institution meant they slipped through the census net. Amongst their number were rough sleepers, those 'on the road', and circus and fair workers. In 1841 and 1851 those sleeping in barns, sheds, tents or the open air were simply counted.

(In 1861 as full details as possible were to given at the end of the local household schedules under 'List of persons not in houses'. From 1871 onwards those not in houses were enumerated where they slept, according to the nearest road, lane etc.)

4. Lodgers and Boarders
Though officially considered part of a household, it is possible to see how the head may have erroneously not included them.  

5. Royal Navy 
Not until 1861 were special naval schedules issued.  

6. Merchant Marine
In 1841 there was only a headcount of the Merchant Marine.

7. Fishing Vessels
In 1841 fishing vessels were not enumerated.

8. Inland Navigation
In 1841 and 1851 only a headcount by gender was taken. Come 1861 enumeration was undertaken, but on a very ad hoc basis.

9. Missing pieces
Your seemingly elusive relative may have unfortunately have been amongst the lost census records. These fall into the period 1841-1911 and generally lessened over time.
For missing area listings by date for England, Wales and Scotland see this devoted page on Findmypast.