Understanding how times have changed...

By appreciating the way the census was taken, and by knowing that  have changed over the last hundred years, you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble when trying to solve the many puzzles which crop up during analysis of the census returns. Below is a list of the terms which are crucial to understanding, and those which do not have the same meaning today.

• Married women generally recorded their married name, but the maiden name could also be used
• Widows especially recorded their names as their maiden names
• Children may have taken the name of a step-father
• The given birthplaces of eldest children may reflect the fact that many women returned to their parents' home for their first confinement.

Census Return Terms

• In-Law
  
  In the censuses the term 'in-law' meant 'related by marriage' as it does today, however the key difference is that in the 19th century it was applied to children which is not the case now. A son whose mother re-marries would today be called a 'step-son', however he may be recorded on the census as 'son-in-law'.

• Brother/Sister
  
  To add further confusion to the above, often when the term 'in-law' would have been applicable it was not used. Hence a wife whose true relationship to the Head should be 'sister-in-law' may only be written as sister, next to her husband. So watch out for random sisters you've never heard of before, who suddenly crop up! (It is easy to spot the reverse of this because the mysterious new brother will carry a different surname!)
  
  
• Niece/Nephew
  
  In a similar vain, when a young man or unmarried girl appears on a census as a "nephew" or "niece" to the Head, but has a different surname, then this can give you the married name of the Head's sister, or a sister of his wife.
  
  Not only that, but the more archaic usage of the word 'neice' simply meant a female who wasn't in the immediate family group.
• Cousin
  
  At the time of the censuses, 'cousin', like the archaic term 'niece' simply meant a relative who wasn't a sibling. There was never any distinction between first or second cousins. The