ancestry.co.uk

[Prudie]

I know dotty and craft are really good at this stuff - I've been given access to the above by a friend (not the full package) but I'm finding it useless. I know the full names of my grandparents who would have been alive in the 1901 census but I just can't get it to give me any info. My gran comes up some days but not others. I don't seem to be able to enter her birthday (month day not year) at all and my grandfather isn't coming up at all.
Is this not a good site or am I not getting the hang of it?

[Pumbah]

I think you may be missing something, somewhere, Prudie. I have used the site for the past 6 years, and have traced one line in my father's family back, allegedly, to the Norman Conquest! Funnily enough, more recent data is sometimes harder to find. Have you tried searching for your grandparents in previous Census returns? Another problem can occur if the hand written originals were wrongly transcribed - don't limit the search to the exact surname (example, the surname Gillians has appeared as Gillions, Gillins and Gillons).

[dotty.]

On the home page you should have the census years listed to the right hand side, click on 1901, in the boxes fill in the names and dates and location of known, the search results you get will be based on what you put in of course, but the more you put in, the better the first resulrs \are. give me one set of info that you have and i shall see what it is you are getting, email it to [email protected] if you prefer

[Prudie]

well I only use the search button (is that not right?). I think my gran has come up in the 1901 and 1891 (as a 1year old) but not sure it's her because actual birthday isn't mentioned. Her husband (my grandpa) doesn't come up at all, not a single name match (even though he got an OBE or MBE which is recorded somewhere surely?)

[dotty.]

if you have your grandparents marriage certificates, you should know the names of thier respective fathers, whcih is one of the pieces of corroborating evidence you would use to identify the correct census entry

[dotty.]

email the info and i can have a look

[Prudie]

Thanks dotty, have done so

[Prudie]

Thanks for your answer pumbah and dotty has been a sweetie. I'm finding things on the site now, I just wasn't using it properly.

[DosAmigos]

How many times has your Gran come up now?

It must be very worrying.