Not only did the clocks Spring forward today, it's also the date for the 2011 UK census return. There's some contention about completing it as usual; some people believe its an invasion of their privacy (they're presumably happy to be here and use resources but don't want it recorded) and then you have the middle-class, middle-aged numpties who think they're being daringly non-conformist by stating their religion on this historical document as Jedi.
Because I've traced my family tree back to the late 18th century, the census have been invaluable to my success; I would never have gotten as far back as I have if my ancestors had not wanted to be counted as one of the English population. Well there is one I can't find (he's possibly at sea) but he has been the bane of my life for years! You can't have a society and not know who is here, what they're doing and how they're living - that would be incredibly bad business management so I see no difference as to why it's important for our Government to know either.
Most of the books I read are on history; I love reading about the past and how people lived. I know that my family included assayers, school mistresses, dressmakers, riverboat drivers, agricultural labourers, lacemakers, miners and many other professions. I know that they called little Ellen Nellie, I know that some of my family lodged with some of the others, I know one was in service counties away from where she was born, and I know some were Wesleyan. They were normal people doing normal things in a normal way, but I know quite a lot about them because they bothered to complete the census.
I know future generations may trace their trees back and find it amusing that their ancestors stated their religion as Jedi - how cool and avant-guarde; what an incredible snapshot of the 21st century mind... but personally I'd think my ancestor was a bit of a idiot.
I agree totally with you. My family tree research has relied heavily on the census and I have a couple of relatives who disappear and then reappear or are lodging with other families.To find the actual address of relations, where they were living in 1841 and who they were living with, along with their occupations is fascinating.I am quite looking forward to filling in my census and I agree that if I looked back and saw that an ancestor had filled in the form as a Jedi... well, I would consider him/her a numpty too!! Sarah
ReplyDeleteI too have taken genealogy heroin and like Sarah and yourself I have found the census invaluable. Without it I wouldn't have found out that I am a mix of Irish and French, that my grandparents lived round the corner from each other when they were children and that my Great Grandad was bought up in a workhouse, joined the Navy and got VD.
ReplyDeleteThe census does not ask anything that is that confidential, I bet there is more info on your Tesco Clubcard!