Using Census Transcripts
The transcript indexes record more census data fields and so provide you with more search options, allowing for greater accuracy in pinpointing individuals. Whether using the online images, microfilm or census CD images they will help make your research faster and more accurate.
In addition to the information already available for searching in the surname indexes you can search for the relationship to the head of household, the occupation and the birth county.
Search terms
The transcripts can be searched using a combination of Forename, Surname, Age (+/– 5 years), Estimated Year of Birth (+/- 5 years), Occupation and County. You can also exclude records with an ambiguous age or no age. Like the name indexes, RootsUK's census transcripts are also divided into Counties, so it isn’t possible to search across the whole country at once at present.
Nicknames and Variants
You can opt to search for Surname variants too, so that Smith would also find Smythe etc.
Ages
Ages are automatically searched in +/– 5 year bands and you have the option to omit records with no age recorded.
County
If you know the County, you can select it to narrow down your search.
Wild cards
The wild card symbol * can be substituted for letters anywhere in a search term, as long as the word contains a string of at least 3 letters.
Thus Rob* will find Roberts, Robertson and Robinson etc., *ton would find Hamilton and Washington and Rob*n would find Robertson and Robinson.
Occupation
A useful field for finding ancestors with common names, there may be 5 John Smiths in the district, but they are unlike to all be butchers.
Accuracy and omissions
Remember that the enumeration books themselves are only a transcript of the individual household census forms, so the enumerator may have transcribed the information incorrectly in the first place or the information may simply have been wrong. Also some people managed to miss being enumerated at all, whilst others manage to be in two places at once. To help find awkward entries that have been mis-recorded, the search form offers the facility to use wildcard searches, or to look for nicknames and surname variants.
Follow the other census links to find out more: