Family Historian User Group

Have just received the Census questionnaire.

Looking quickly through it, it appears this Census only asks
for First and Last Name.

Seems like a retrograde step from the Census's we view at present.[frown]

ID:5037

I don't think there is anything to stop you adding your middle name(s) - except possibly the available space.

Gerry

I don't think it asks your gender either. This could be important with some of the unusual names that have been used.
Peter E

It asks for gender in the Individual Questions starting on page 7.

The census web-site says that you should not enter middle names or maiden names. http://www.census.gov.uk

Is there anything to prevent us scanning the form into FH and allowing our descendants to beat the 100 year rule?

Great software as it, maybe a bit ambitious to think FH will still be going in 100 years time!

Why not just copy your completed form and keep the copy with your personal effects?

Brian

Alternatively .... fill in the form and keep it with your Family History stuff. Fill in the one for the Government on line!

Anne

I am going to write in my middle name and be done with it. After all there are some people who have double barrelled first names like Billy Ray or Mary Jane. My real name is David Brown and I estimate there are between 3000 and 10000 of us in the country. They may not record my name into the data they enter, but at least if they release all the scanned images in 100 years my great great grandchildren will have a better chance of knowing they have found me.

I also intend to write my place of birth somewhere on the form. Again they may not record it, but it will be on the scanned images in 100 years. As far as I am aware there is nothing illegal in adding extra information outside the entry fields. Is this any different from the people who plan to put their religion down as Jedi?

I would have preferred to have entered the data online, but as I doubt it will let me enter middle name and place of birth I will have to use the paper form. Yes I will keep a copy as well, but that doesn’t guarantee it will end up in the hands of any descendent of mine who is researching their family history in 2112.

It is such a shame that when there are so many people researching family history they don’t recognise the benefit of adding these two pieces of data which have been on all the censuses from 1851 to at least 1911. I don’t know when they were lost, I know the 2001 didn’t include them.

Just this morning I found my hand-written copy of my 1991 Census entries for an address in England.
Both of my forenames were entered, but the place of birth was just a selection of 'England'.

Derek L

I agree with the above comments - how many times have I been able to find someone in the registers because the place of birth was recorded on the census and how often confused because middle names were not.
All genealogists should get together and create one of those online petitions for the government requesting these details be included in the next census. Maiden names would be useful too. The strange thing is these censuses are used for generating statistics, how much more useful would they be if they could record movement of people by these facts.
Eddie