1881 census - Staffordshire: two people listed as 'Head' in the same household?

[MerciaAnglii]

Is it possible to have two people listed as 'Head' in the same household -- & if so, why?

I am currently researching Phoebe Hulme:
On the 1891 census, she is living at 28 Lovatt St, Longton, Stoke Upon Trent, with her husband, James Hulme & 5 children -- Lucy, Arthur, William, Martha, Ellen.

On the 1881 census, she is living at 28 Lovatt St, Longton, Stoke Upon Trent as a 'boarder', with two children, Ellen & Lucy. The same 1881 census also lists a James Bates (age 35) as 'Head', & a John Turner (age 40), also listed as 'Head' -- both at 28 Lovatt St, Longton, Stoke Upon Trent.

[Gadget]

Hi

There can only be one head per household but you can have more than one household per address.

The image has division lines between the two households which suggests that John Turner's household had one part of number 28 and James Bates's household the other.

gnu

[tedscout]

Hi,

I think they were sharing a house but were different households. It happened a lot back then when people could only afford to rent a room, and houses were split up into many "units".

See the single See the single diagonal line between Sophia Place and James Bates - that denotes different households in same dwelling.

Hope that helps  

[MerciaAnglii]

Hi gnu & tedscout,

Thank you very much for your relpy & your help in hepling me to understand the census.

[stanmapstone]

The household on the census page.
In 1841 the beginning of the first 'family' coincided with the beginning of the house but its end was signified by a single oblique stroke on the dividing line between the houses and names columns. The next 'family' then began, ending with a single stroke unless it happened to be the last household in the house when the end of a house was marked with a double stroke. In 1851 the end of the 'family' was marked by a line across the page, similar to that indicating the end of a house, but only running across part of the second column, as well as the third and fourth. The line for the end of the house ran completely across the first four columns. In addition the beginning of a new household was marked by a new schedule number in the column provided for that purpose. The conventions in the following censuses were a mixture of those of 1841 and 1851. From 1861 onwards oblique strokes were used in the same manner as 1841 but the beginning of each household was also marked by a new schedule number. In 1841 and 1861 the oblique stroke sloped from left to right but this was reversed from 1871 onwards. The 'short line' was only used in 1851.
From "Making Sense of the Census" Edward Higgs


Stan