We see him here, we see him there

In England and Wales, the first census of the general population took place in 1801, then every ten years.  From 1841 onwards the given name and surname were recorded for each person.  The census date chosen was always a Sunday, when most people would be at home.  From 1851 onwards it was always at the end of March or beginning of April, before seasonal farm work would take many people away from their family.

Enumerators were recruited and each one was allocated a specific area, aiming for a route that could be covered in one day.  In the week before the census they delivered a form to every household and institution, such as hospitals and prisons.  It was the responsibility of the head of the household to ensure that the form was filled in.  They may have needed the help of someone who could read and write, which could have been a schoolchild in the family, or the enumerator themselves when they returned to collect the form.

The aim was to list the details of all the people who were living there, specifically those who slept in the house at midnight on the Sunday night.  Also recorded were night-workers who were away at midnight, but would be returning to sleep in that household.  The intention was certainly to count everyone, and count them once each.

On three occasions I have come across people who were counted twice - once with their family and also on a vessel.

• Joseph Dwyer in 1881:
• Star Inn, 4 Albert Terrace, Portland, Weymouth, Dorest - shipwright, lodger with wife.
• Vessel Boscawen, also Portland - skilled shipwright 3rd class.

• Enoch Stockwell in 1881:
• Peaked Elm, Kingstanley, Stroud, Gloucestershire - waterman bargee, head of household with wife and two sons.
• Canal Boat, Lower Mitton, Kidderminster, Worcestershire - boatman, with captain of the boat.
• Enoch Stockwell again in 1891:  
• Noahs Ark, Stonehouse, Stroud, Gloucestershire - waterman, head of household with wife and five children.
• Vessel Sea Breeze, Bathurst Basin, Bristol - able seaman, one of two crew with master of the sloop.

One can only speculate where they actually did sleep on census night.  In a contrasting example, Frederick Austin is not listed at his home address in the 1911 census, although he did sign the form for the household.  Instead, he is recorded at the Hotel Metropole, Bournemouth, occupation Hotel Porter.  If only all people who were away from home on census night were that easy to trace.

Something old, something glued

The oldest original certificate passed down to me is for the marriage of one set of my great-grandparents nearly 115 years ago.  It has been folded to pocket size and become so thin along the folds that they have given way.  On the back you can see the glue of sticky labels and sticky tape has been used to hold the pieces together, but those repairs have also worn and torn.  Handling it is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

At the time of a birth or death registration the person themselves does not speak their name for the record.  However, for a marriage the wedding couple are providing their own names to be written down.  The front of the paper shows the groom and bride were John Dwyer and Alice Webb.  The condition of the certificate suggests that it was carried around for a long time, which perhaps indicates the personal value of the document or the relationship it documented.

He was born in 1875 in Upper Glanmire Road, City of Cork, Ireland, baptised the next day in St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Lower Glanmire Road and then the civil registration took place two weeks later.  Both the church register of baptisms and the copy of the civil registrar's book of births have clear handwriting and both show the name John James.

She, on the other hand, was born in late 1881 in an area of Hampshire in England which is now absorbed into Southampton.  As a baby she was registered as Mary Alice but baptised as Alice Mary then later recorded as either Alice, Alice M or Alice Mary on census records and in a newspaper report I've seen as well as for her marriage certificate and death registration.

Also passed down to me in the same bundle is a cemetery receipt for £2 15s.  It too is very well worn although not to the same extent as the marriage certificate.  I have visited the couple's shared grave and seen their family headstone, initially for him and subsequently also for her after the second burial seven years later.  The text reads "In Loving Memory Of My Beloved Husband John Dwyer ... Also Alice Mary Wife Of The Above John Dwyer ...".

Since the bride's surname changed when they married, one might summarise by saying that she began life as Mary Alice Webb and ended as Alice Mary Dwyer.  She is not the only one amongst her many siblings whose name evolved over the years, which has made tracing this family across the decades an absorbing challenge.  But that's what it's all about.