Often I'm puzzled over obvious inconsistencies in the census materials as I search for ancestors in England and Wales. Recently, I found the following on a Canadian genealogical site:
How old? The Age recorded on the census: The general rule in the 1841 census was to round down the age of adults to the nearest 5 years. This general rule was not always followed. Some ages were rounded down to the nearest 10 years, while others were recorded exactly. On the other hand, some people simply did not know their exact age. When the age of consent was 21, it was not unusual to find people lying about their age in order to rent accommodations, get married or similar adult privileges. At the same time, the age of a child may be falsified if that child was a worker and did not want to loose their job. For these reasons, the age recorded for an individual should always be treated with some caution.
Ah, now I see!!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment