| For general information see
Introduction to Census Returns |
The Exploring Family History Tutorial
The 1891 Census
Midnight Sun/Mon 5/6th April 1891
|
Task: Locate Thomas and Florence Horwood in the 1891 census |
The 1891 census is online and accessible on the Ancestry web site. A search is made using the following terms
| First Name | Thomas William |
| Last Name | Horwood |
| Birth Year | 1863 |
| County | London |
An examination of the list of possibilities led to the following household living at:
10 Chadwell Street, in the Parish of St Mark, Clerkenwell
| Thomas Wm Horwood | Head | Married | 28 | Jeweller Gold | City, London |
| Florence M Horwood | Wife | Single | 24 | Jewellery Polisher ?? | St Lukes, London |
| John Wellerley Perrin | Boarder | Single | 27 | C Clerk | Ireland |
| Sarah Parsons | Servant | Single | 16 | Domestic Servant | St Pancras, London |
| Walter F King | Head | Single | 25 | Cellerman | London |
| Eliza M King | Sister | Single | 27 | Waitress Inn | Islington, London |
| Alice S King | Sister | Single | 33 | Wapping, London | |
| Archibald W King | Brother | Single | 18 | Jewellery Mounter Gold | St Lukes, London |
The return demonstrates that the census returns contain errors:
Florence is described as Thomas's wife - and being "Single".
One would normally expect the sisters to be listed in decreasing age order. In fact a comparison with the ages given for Eliza and Alice in the 1871 census (view) and for Eliza in the 1901 census (view) suggest the ages have been swapped and should be Eliza 33 and Alice 27. This may have resulted in a mistake when the census enumerator copied the entries from the household form into the book. It is not clear whether the occupations and places of birth have been swapped as well.
The "X" in the box after the occupations indicate that Thomas was a employee (and hence is unlikely to be listed as a jeweller in the London trade directories, while Florence was an employer (possibly only that she worked at home).
| Result of
Investigation
The census revels little extra about Thomas and Florence except that the were living at the same address in 1891 and 1901 (view), and followed the same occupations. More interestingly they were sharing the house with four of Florence's siblings. The places of birth are given in more detail than the 1871 census (view) - and suggest that the King household moved around London between the birth of the children. We know that Florence's father was dead in 1881 (view) and her mother may have died by 1891. The newly married couple may have moved into the King household. By 1901 all the siblings, apart from Eliza, had moved out (or died?). |
Page created November 2005