How reliable are certificates do you think?

[Sorcha]

Hi, we know about the sometimes haphazard nature of census returns, but how reliable do you believe certificates to be? I suppose the obvious answer is that they're as reliable as the information that is given to form them but a recent marriage certificate I received has provided me with more questions than answers.  I was excited to discover that my great x4 grandmother was Bridget Conell and that her father was John Conell, sailor. Can I find them on the 1841 or 1851 census? Nope. Not as Conell anyway, and now I'm wondering whether the surname is Connell rather than Conell as listed on the marriage certificate.  Neither Bridget or her husband could write so I suppose there is a certain reliance on how te registrar interprets the spelling of the name.  I suppose the question is - could the certificate be 'wrong' or is it more likely that the name 'Conell' has been transcribed as 'Connell' on the census returns?

This is doing my head in....there are so many rumours and stories about this branch of the family and their antics and supposed origins that it should be no surprise that here is another puzzle for me to try to sort out!!!!!!!!!!!

[stonechat]

Was the certificate signed , or marked with an X

If the latter, then she was illiterate, and spelling is likely to be the Registrars best guess

Bob

[RJ_Paton]

The bad news is that all of the suppositions you have put forward are equally valid.
Spelling of surnames is not always standardised as we would think of it.
I have Mclellan Maclellan and Mclelland all referring to the same individual.
In addition to this you have the problem of "church names" and family names eg from my own records born Ann, Christened Anna, married as Ann Emilia, census returns Amelia died as Amelia. Personally I treat all finds as possibles until I either have corroborating evidence or there is enough doubt to dismiss a link.

[nanny jan]

Hi, if neither Bridget nor her husband could write then both the registrar and the census enumerator would write down what they heard.  A census transcriber would then put their interpretation of what was written.  If other details on the census sheet match; birthplaces, children etc. then you probably have got the right family.

Three of my surnames have appeared on various census sheets in several  variations.......does not make it easy to keep track of them!

Perhaps some of the 1841/51 census sheets are missing; I know they are on other years.

Nanny Jan

[stonechat]

what's more, the further back you go, the worse it gets.

Clark and Clarke are more or less interchangeable.

My Cocks become Cock further back

Dolby sometime Dalby


Pickford can be Pickforthe

etc etc

Bob

[ozlady]

Try O'Connell. Very often the 'O' was dropped completely!

[trish251]

Have to agree with everyone else. I have found spelling variations in my names well into the 20th Century. Sometimes by accident, sometimes, I think, by design.

Not only are the scribes writing what they hear, but if they come from different areas to the folks giving the details, they may well hear things completely differently to what a local would hear.

Trish

[Guy Etchells]

Was the certificate signed , or marked with an X

If the latter, then she was illiterate, and spelling is likely to be the Registrars best guess

Bob

No, No, No, an X does not necessarily signify illiteracy.

Times were different then and those of working class were not supposed to be able to write as this was considered dangerous to society. In many cases a person would be told to make their mark and would be expected to make a mark not sign.
There have been studies done on literacy and stats show that simple literacy was as high in the late 19th century as it was in the late 20th century.

It has even been shown that the peasants revolt of 1381 was organised by written notes passed between villages.
Cheers
Guy

[CarolBurns]

On one of my certs I have everyone correct except for the grroms surname!
His father's name is exact as is his occupation. Bride's father is excat right down to the occupation and so is the bride's

The groom decided to go with Wiliam AP William on the day instead of William Thomas. Confused the staff no end when I asked for a search at the records office but when I got there I looked myself and realised what he had done.

So no they aren't often 100% correct in anything.

Carol