Census schedule numbers

Apologies if this is a foolish question, but is there any way of
working out from the schedule numbers on censuses what number the house
would be on a street? Sometimes it lists the house name or number, but
often not.

Charles Ellson...

Often not because at the time the houses were not individually
identified by name or number but with reference to the

Astral Voyager...

I would have thought very difficult but one of the 'old sweats' here may
have a better answer.

The only way I could see of doing it is to retrace the enumerator's
route. That would depend heavily on the area not changing greatly since
the time of the census.

If you read the description of the enumeration district (available on
Ancestry census data) it will tell you where the enumerator started out,
the route and direction he took, and where he stopped. Then look for
recorded 'landmarks' in the census data on the route such as pubs,
shops, etc. and try and place the residence of interested in relation to
them and the route. A large scale map of the period would be useful if

roy.stockdill...

Not all enumerators followed an obvious route. Think about it - they
were human beings and were probably fed up of not finding people in,
having to go back, criss-crossing the road, dodging into courts and up
alleyways, etc. Plus they were probably roundly abused by some folks
who thought the government had no business poking its nose into their
affairs and, after a long hard day's slog all they probably wanted was to
get home to their tea and a (hopefully) warm and welcoming wife!

A further complication is that enumerators, being only human, were of
many varying skills and degress of efficiency, ranging from the
exceedingly competent to the downright useless and some of them
didn't follow their instructions properly.

Yes, it's possible to reconstruct an enumerator's route but when you
have only schedule numbers and no precise addresses you cannot
swear that so-and-so lived next door to so-and-so.

Steven Gibbs...

In one census I've examined of a small village, the enumerator listed
the vicar first, then the major farmers in decreasing order of
importance, and finally the rest of the village in the correct order.
(I know this census to be out of order, because all the other years are
consistent. The vicarage is normally enumerated roughly halfway
through.)

Steven Gibbs
Bedford

Roy Stockdill
Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History:

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about,
and that is not being talked about."
OSCAR WILDE

you could locate one - try asking at the library local to the area.

Might not work but at least you will have had a nice invigorating
walk... :-)

Alternatively, if they did not move around a lot then BMD certificates
might give you an exact address for them if an event occurred around the
time of the census you are looking at.

xyz...

But that can also be misleading as streets were sometimes renumbered - I
have a family where the earlier children are born at X St James Street
and then around 1900 the family appear to have moved house to Y St James
Street as shown on the births from this date, but number X (an odd
number) doesn't exist - that side of the modern street is the churchyard
and has never been built on. After some research I discovered that when
the first houses were built they were numbered 1,2,3,4,5 etc in order
but from the "wrong" end so that when the street was lengthened around
1900 the houses had to be renumbered starting from the other end and it
was decided to use only even numbers, so X and Y are actually the same
physical house - the family didn't move, just their home was renumbered.

mbnilspam...

I found the same thing when doing some research a few years ago.
Somebody bought half the street and those houses were renamed "something
terrace" using his name. So the family seemed to have moved to another
street but had just stayed where they were (and presumably paid their
rent to someone different).

householder/family.

John Cartmell...

I'm fairly certain there isn't. I've had to follow the census taker's route in
order to identify the actual house - using directories or 'obvious trades' (eg
shopkeeper/publican on the premises) as reference points.

Hugh Watkins...

the same

using old-maps

house numbers change but some of the old "Rose Villas" kind of signs
survive in the facades

Hugh W

Eve McLaughlin...

Numbers generally don't kick in until way down the C19 - London came
first (for main streets) then other towns, and in country places, much,
much later - we are still fighting a rearguard action against such
things.
If you follow the family through various censuses, there is a chance
the later ones will reveal a number.
However, then comes the problem. Most town streets have been renumbered
more than once - first numbers go down one side and up the other, second
set may have evens on one side and odds on the other. But the extending
of any road or combining two roads in line meant alteration, so did any
activity like widening roads or slotting in railway lines, tramlines,
major municipal building etc. Extended or truncated roads were
renumbered once more.
The only safe thing to do -short of finding a deed with a house plan
in relation to other plots in the road, or a will which leaves "14
Acacia Avenue formerly 23 Acacia Avenue and earlier 10 Gasworks Alley" -
is to study the whole road, looking for fixed points like churches,
chapels, pubs, schools etc, which may be there or at least a
recognisable conversion. Directories show crossing roads - listing
houses in Spinks road with 'here is Binks road' indicated. Earlier
still, tithe and enclosure maps have large scale plans linked to names
of owners/tenants. The 1910 Lloyd George Valuation is also very useful,
with named owners and tenants and a precise location of the plot.
(Copies at Kew and/or local archives.) If a railway is involved, the
proposal plan includes names of owners of property adjacent. Local
Studies libraries may have similar local plans for specific streets.

Don Phillipson...

City directories may meet your need faster,
where they exist for the years that interest
you. These listed whole towns, organized
by address, usually showing business
or domestic occupants.

I'd like to know as I want to go and visit some of my ancestors' old

Astral Voyager...

You don't actually go knocking on the door do you?

mbnilspam...

You may also find that the houses are in multiple occupancy.

myths...

I've done that when there were three houses that might have been the
one. (My companion cringed with shame in the car. )

Astral Voyager...

Better than I would have done. I would have shouted 'Pick you up in an
hour' and sped off before anyone knew I was connected to you. :-)

One "knock" involved an entry-phone system at the drive entrance,
quarter of a mile from the house, which was out of sight. Conversation
was along the lines:

"Excuse me; I'm looking for the farmhouse at Keepings in 1800. Is
your house that old?"
"Sorry, no."
"Thank you. Sorry to have bothered you."

At the second house I talked to the handy-man, who thought it was
late 19C (I thought Edwardian, myself).

The third was apparently partly 15C, and the occupier thought it
would have been what I was looking for. He kindly told me to what
estate the original farm would have belonged, roughly how big it would
have been, and where to find the tenancy records for the 1800 period.
The interior of the house had been much modified in the 20C, so I
didn't even want to go in.

C Rihan...

It may be possible to look at the neighbours in the street, and see
whether the same families are there in the next census, and it might
have the numbers on a later census so that you can work out what
number your family would have been at.

However, over the years, there may be new houses added to the
street, and old houses knocked down.
The street could have been renumbered too.

You might be able to check in street directories to see what changes
may have happened.

Best wishes
C.Rihan

homes.

Charles Ellson...

Your success is likely to be variable; at the least you should consult
the pages of consecutive censuses to see if various reference points
(e.g. public houses or other fairly unmoveable non-domestic premises
and road junctions) indicate whether or not the enumeration has been
repeated in a "sensible" sequence or (as occasionally seems the case)
the schedules have been randomly pulled out of a pile before
transcription. If you get two censuses with dissimilar sequencing then
you will have to look at the next one before or after to determine
which one (if any) is not randomly arranged.