How to . . .
Your guide to researching your family history

Censuses online

There are two censuses which can be viewed on line as well as be seen at various local and national record centres (including the Heritage centre at The Forum).

The 1901 census is viewed by a site set up by the public record office and here you can search for a name and if a result turns up you are given the option to view for a fee.

Compared to the cost of going up to London, if the addresses are oputside you area, the prices are reasonable.

http://www.census.pro.gov.uk/

The second site is the Familysearch site set up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints which has the whole of the 1881 census online.

Obviously any transcription is subject to error but these sites can offer early leads to your ancestry.

http://www.familysearch.org

Examples of censuses online

When Ferdinand Fry and his wife first lived in Norwich he was a waiter in a cafe — as shown in the 1881 census, above. Twenty years later, in 1901, Ferdinand was now a painter (whether an artist or a housepainter we do not know) and his wife Maria was a cafe proprietor – as revealed in the 1901 census, below.

Back to the census page