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How accurate are online census/family tree type websites?

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,680
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in Advice #1
I was wondering what people thought of these sites that you subscribe to to find out your family tree etc...

I'm asking as I drew a blank on the 1911 census for all my great grandparents despite having all the correct names and dates etc.. I can't understand how this can happen, isn't a census supposed to be accurate?,

Out of curiousity I looked up my marriage on the 'Find My Past' website which was recommended to me only to find that my marriage doesn't appear to exist - despite a church wedding (in England) and a certificate to the contrary!

Are they all just a complete rip off or have I been unlucky?

Comments

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 754
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    #2
    Hi, free sites i use are www.freebmd.org and www.familysearch.org

    I subscribe to Ancestry and am happy to be a second pair of eyes if you want to pm me the details.

    With the BMD, not all records/counties have been subscribed yet so that may be why you haven't found your marriage.

    Let me know if i can help :)

    Lisa
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    #3
    Ancestry.com have been known to not transcribe entries correctly.

    Not sure how complete the 1911 census is, I know with the older census records have been lost etc.
  • ElanorElanor Posts: 13,326
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    #4
    The Free BMD is not complete - it's only a partial record. The complete archives are only available on paying sites.

    The 1911 census also isn't complete yet - they're adding counties in turn, and it'll all be online by 2011. Also, a transcription error (if the original handwriting is poor, for example) can mean that people can be hard to find. And in the census, people are often listed by other variants of their names - my great grandmother for example was Gertrude Mary Sarah P..., but I've found her listed in various census records as Gertrude M S P, Mary G P, Sarah G P, Mary S P... they went with whatever people used, and people those days often used different formulations of their names at different times.

    Also, if your relative was away at the time of the census, there's a chance that they got missed off. You were meant to add any overnight visitors, but it didn't always happen.

    There was also a big suffragette movement during the 1911 census that meant that many women boycotted it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 475
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    #5
    Not being funny but I reckon you don't understand how the site works. Check out the help and advice section as to looking for your marriage - it won't come up exactly but it should be there in an index.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,680
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    #6
    Mrs.W wrote: »
    Hi, free sites i use are www.freebmd.org and www.familysearch.org

    I subscribe to Ancestry and am happy to be a second pair of eyes if you want to pm me the details.

    With the BMD, not all records/counties have been subscribed yet so that may be why you haven't found your marriage.

    Let me know if i can help :)

    Lisa

    Thank you that is very kind :). I've just fired off an e-mail to their help/contact department so I'll see what they say about my great grandparents.

    Regarding my marriage, I've just found it by typing in my husband's details but nothing comes up for me personally and it doesn't suggest the search should be in the male name only . I find this a bit silly what if you only know the female name when searching and not the male? :confused:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,680
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    #7
    babeegirl wrote: »
    Not being funny but I reckon you don't understand how the site works. Check out the help and advice section as to looking for your marriage - it won't come up exactly but it should be there in an index.

    That was the first thing I thought of! but since then I've typed in various friends' marriages and found them all. I feel left out now :D
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    #8
    There are bound to be errors when you are dealing with that much data and the key is to assess the record. The Mormon site can deliver some very good info from transcribed records and some really horrible guesswork.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,680
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    #9
    Elanor wrote: »
    Also, if your relative was away at the time of the census, there's a chance that they got missed off. You were meant to add any overnight visitors, but it didn't always happen.

    There was also a big suffragette movement during the 1911 census that meant that many women boycotted it.

    Ah I never thought of things like that, makes sense really. Thanks.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,680
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    #10
    Sorry to post and run, my toddler has just decided to wake up so it may be awhile before I return...
  • ProvenceJaneProvenceJane Posts: 799
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    #11
    I've been doing my family tree online for over a year now and have found nearly 200 relatives of past and present. I use about 7 websites for this and I understand your frustration. I was only able to find a couple of my relatives on the 1911 website. The rest drew a blank, despite the wildcard searching etc.
    I have also found that some websites will provide different information - Fred Bloggs born 1880 Southampton on one sight becomes Fred Bloggs born 1875 on another. Yet on a third site there'll be no trace of him at all.

    I was very frustrated at not being able to get back very far with my surname and then discovered that it was changed 3 generations ago to disassociate one half of the family from a criminal.

    Keep persevering. Try these sites, if you haven't already:
    www.familysearch.org (free)
    www.familyrelatives.com (subscription but incredible amount of info)
    www.genesreunited.co.uk (put me in touch with distant cousins who provided lots of data)
    www.1901censusonline.com
    www.findmypast.com
    www.ancestry.co.uk

    Good luck!
  • teresagreenteresagreen Posts: 16,444
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    #12
    Mrs.W wrote: »
    Hi, free sites i use are www.freebmd.org and www.familysearch.org

    I subscribe to Ancestry and am happy to be a second pair of eyes if you want to pm me the details.

    With the BMD, not all records/counties have been subscribed yet so that may be why you haven't found your marriage.

    Let me know if i can help :)

    Lisa

    I agree. The Ancestry site is very good, and the message boards might help you to find someone else researching the same family. Have you tried typing in your ancestor's name and town on the search engine? You never know. GENUKI is another one. It might be a good idea to buy a book or get a few from the library about researching your family tree. have you tried the 1901 census? I can offer another pair of willing hands to add to Mrs W's.
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